Qantas pilots to be given iPads in cockpit to help navigate flights

[Gavin Otto]

From today's Herald Sun

Qantas pilots to be given iPads in cockpit to help navigate flights.
The airline plans to give 2200 pilots the iPads with wireless connectivity, installed with its own Manual Library, Forms & Flight Plan app.

It will also be installed with the Jeppesen Mobile Flight Deck Pro app, providing terminal and route charts designed to work with Boeing aircraft.

Boeing 737 pilots will get iPads first followed by B767, B747, A330 and A380 pilots.

The tablets will cut save $500,000 in printing costs but equally importantly, cut a precious 20kg off the weight carried - in paper - on each flight.

It comes as manufacturer Airbus this week unveiled its own iPad app for pilots, a "Fly Smart with Airbus'' which puts manuals and operating systems designed with work with the specific aircraft - the A320, A321, A330 and A380 in Australia - which the crew will be flying.

Licenses for the "Electronic Flight bag'' app is available exclusively to Airbus customer airlines and have been ordered for its flight test and training crews.

But Qantas has already taken a step ahead and hopes to begin issuing its own iPads by September, subject to approval by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Virgin Australia is still examining how well iPads can perform.

Qantas will do simulator tests and trials on flights without passengers will be completed first.

[Gavin Otto]

And a related story also in the Herald Sun

APPLE'S iPad has been approved for use by American Airlines pilots during takeoff and landing.


American Airlines began testing iPads as "electronic flight bags" last year and a number of other carriers, including United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, have followed suit.

But pilots were barred from using the touchscreen tablet computers during "critical phases of flight" - operations below 10,000 feet (3048 metres) - pending further evaluation.

Les Dorr, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said American Airlines received authorisation from the Federal Aviation Administration on December 1 to use the iPad in the cockpit during all phases of flight, including takeoff and landing.

"American Airlines is the first major air carrier to get approval for operational use of the iPad as an electronic flight bag," Mr Dorr said, adding that the authorisation followed an evaluation period of around six months.

"During that period they have to show that it doesn't interfere with crew duties and especially that it does not interfere with the communication and navigation systems of the aircraft," Mr Dorr said.

For the moment, use of the iPad during all phases of flight is restricted to American Airlines pilots flying the twin-engine Boeing 777.

Hank Putek, an American Airlines captain who serves on the safety committee of the Allied Pilots Association, welcomed the FAA move and described the iPad as a "real safety enhancer" on the flight deck.

"There's a significant improvement in situational awareness," Mr Putek said.

"The ability to have a backlit screen with a map on it that can be panned and zoomed really significantly increases the safety aspect of taxiing an airliner on the ground," he said.

"The same goes for when you're flying an instrument approach in bad weather," he said. "You have the approach chart on the iPad and you can zoom and pan and scroll to your exact location in the air while you're flying the approach."

Mr Putek said replacing the hefty flight bags, which can weigh 16 kilograms or more, with the 0.7kg iPad would help save fuel but the "primary purpose is to improve safety on the flight deck."

Passengers on US airlines are required to turn off electronic devices during takeoff and landing - a regulation which recently saw actor Alec Baldwin booted off an American Airlines flight for refusing to turn off his phone.

The requirement will not apply to iPads being used in the cockpit because Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity are turned off, eliminating the possibility of interference with aircraft navigation systems.

Mr Dorr, the FAA spokesman, said he expects other major US airlines to seek approval for expanded use of the iPad on the flight deck.

"It's fair to say that you will probably see more major carriers asking for this," he said. "The iPad seems to be the hot device for an electronic flight bag at the moment."

[Rowan McKeever]

Playing devil's advocate here, and recognising that iPads etc seem to be pretty reliable. But what good is a 20kg weight saving to the crew in a case where the iPad does stop working and all the paper charts have been removed from the aircraft??

[Mick F]

All about redundancy Rowan. You have a minimum of 2 crew on the aircraft, so there's a minimum of 2 iPads.

Mick

[Rowan McKeever]

Yeah good point Mick, hadn't thought of that I guess. Cheers!

[Michael Dawson]

I am sure they will have a dock setup, whereby the iPads charge during flight. Just like you can charge your iPhone etc in your car. Just gotta hope they don't start playing Angrybirds or the likes

[Todd Hendry]

And it will be linked to iTunes inflight so we can play DJ from the flight deck with requests from the pax.
Obviously it'll be first class, then business, premium economy then economy that get to choose the playlist.

Seruiously though, the 20 kgs over a year saves a lot of fuel burn. And I think that's 20kgs on a 737. 747 has a few more charts.

Plus we have Panasonic toughbook laptops for our performance at the moment. They must weight a good few kilos. They will be going I guess.

Todd.

[David Knudsen]

For true redundancy, shouldn't there be an android powered tablet onboard?

[Mick F]

There's one in every crowd isn't there

[Todd Hendry]

Only one though.