The Paperless Cockpit

[Barb-SAN]

Ironically, the NWA 188 pilots discusssed in this thread http://www.takingflight.us/forums/showthread.php?t=9255 were a couple years ahead of their time (though they have provided a cautionary tale of getting too absorbed in one's laptop).

Now the latest innovation in the cockpit is replacing the bulky flight bags with iPads. This article explains all the advantages of using iPads rather than paper manuals and charts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/bu...ewanted=1&_r=1 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/business/05pilots.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1) See link for entire article.

The Federal Aviation Administration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_aviation_administration/index.html?inline=nyt-org) has authorized a handful of commercial and charter carriers to use the tablet computer as a so-called electronic flight bag. Private pilots, too, are now carrying iPads, which support hundreds of general aviation apps that simplify preflight planning and assist with in-flight operations. The iPad allows pilots to quickly and nimbly access information,” said Jim Freeman, a pilot and director of flight standards at Alaska Airlines, which has given iPads to all its pilots. “When you need to a make a decision in the cockpit, three to four minutes fumbling with paper is an eternity.”

Alaska Airlines received F.A.A. approval in May to permit its pilots to consult digital flight, systems and performance manuals on the iPad — cutting about 25 pounds of paper from each flight bag. The e-manuals include hyperlinks and color graphics to help pilots find information quickly and easily. And pilots do not have to go through the tedium of updating the manuals by swapping out old pages with new ones because updates are downloaded automatically.

In the next phase of what Alaska Airlines calls Operation Bye, Bye, Flight Bag, the carrier plans to petition the F.A.A. to use the iPad to read aeronautical charts, saving another five pounds of paper per pilot. Counting both the pilot and co-pilot, that would remove 60 pounds of paper from the cockpit — a significant savings not only in paper and printing costs but also in fuel because planes are that much lighter.

[Captain Hutch]

Barb-San,

Yes, I support the paperless cockpit 100%, of course with the caveat of thorough testing of the system prior to approval. As far as professionalism, I echo my comments made in the other thread; personally, I think the addition of a paperless cockpit properly applied will be a great advantage. The advantage of rapid access to the mounds of information that the pilot is required to know or know where to find in an environment that is time critical is a major boost to safety. I could easily see where, for instance in Sully's case with a Hudson River landing, that a rapid computer analysis would recommend the same action that that Sully chose. I do stress recommendation--the Captain retains the right to accomplish whatever action he/she feels necessary and the ability to overrule a computer advisory.

Hutch:thumbsup:

[Barb-SAN]

I thought it was interesting the article also mentioned the health benefits of replacing the flight bags with iPads:
Switching to the iPad is also expected to reduce health care costs and absenteeism from shoulder and back injuries associated with hoisting heavy flight bags, said David Clark, pilot and manager of the connected aircraft program at American Airlines. “Cockpits are small, and lifting that thing up and over your seat causes damage, particularly when you consider a lot of pilots are over 40.”
As a big fan of Google, I do appreciate how rapidly one can find information on a computer, compared to thumbing through a book and trying to find the relevant information.

Presumably both the Capt. and FO will each have an iPad, so there's a backup?

[Captain Hutch]

BarbSan,

You are spot on with the article on the health benefits. I'm fairly certain that a torn meniscus in my right knee (had arthro over a year ago) and a left shoulder problem originated from slinging that 40 pound flight bag around in the cockpit for 28 years (well, 27 years of actual flying--I spent the last year trying to fix both). Just before I retired the company worked it out so that up-to-date flight pubs would remain in the cockpit, though going to the computer--each pilot and a back-up, would be better. Improvements like these are necessary if pilots are going to be healthy in the 60-65 year old range, which, as you might imagine, ends up being a benefit for the flying public.

Hutch :tiphat:

[Barb-SAN]

For all of us who have been wondering just what all is in that black bag we see all the pilots wheeling through the airport...:)...(maybe not much longer).
More on the paperless cockpit from Patrick Smith:
http://www.salon.com/technology/ask_the_pilot/2011/09/01/paperless_cockpit/index.html
The move to electronic manuals is the best idea I've heard in years, if for no other reason than it frees the average pilot from the savagery and tedium of having to update and revise his books. Anybody who flies for a living is -- or was -- familiar with this numbing, biweekly rite of uncompensated labor. In that bag of mine I was lugging around four separate binders of approach, arrival and departure charts covering hundreds of airports around the world; five pounds of en route maps; plus three different company and aircraft manuals. Together these volumes were subject to hundreds of pages of revisions every month. The tiniest addendum, the slightest change to a routing or a tweaked procedure, and bang, 18 pages needed to be swapped out. (Did you know there are 57 pages of arrival and departure profiles just for Madrid, Spain?)