iPad: An Essential Cockpit Tool
I was watching Netflix TV series, Into the Night, about a bunch of people in a plane trying to escape lethal sunrays. As the show was going on, a particular scene intrigued me — seeing an iPad in the cockpit.
Curious of the TV series accuracy in representing cockpits, I googled “ipad in cockpit” and ended up with some fascinating articles.
Apparently, iPads are an essential item in cockpits. Known as Cockpit iPads, these iPads are a replacement of paper charts and manuals. It is mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration to have an iPad along with a paper back up for General Aviation.
The motive behind this was to have an iPad replace the heavy (as heavy as 25 pounds) flight manuals, navigation charts, and other such related material.
Quoting Patrick O’Keeffe, vice president of Airline Operations Technology at American Airlines —
We’ve reduced the single biggest source of pilot injuries: carrying those packs. And we are now able to save $1 million in fuel costs and stop printing all the page revisions.
Apart from saving weight, the iPads help with updating flight-related reports easily. This simplifies receiving up to date information for the pilots. Also, in cases of system failure, having multiple Cockpit iPads makes it easier to respond to the corresponding issue at hand.
To check out the apps pilots use on their iPads, check out this article by Wired.
So the next time you board a flight, remember that iPads don’t just help you get over boredom — they help you in reaching your destination too.
