United replaces 38 lbs of pilot p-books with 1.5 lbs of e-books

[RockdaMan]

Is there bright sunlight in the pilots portion of the cabin? Only if there is a serious problem.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

What are they doing to ensure that the display is legible in bright sunlight?

[din155]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Ummm... why don't planes already have a built-in PC with display terminals for each member of the flight deck?

It wouldn't be news then!

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

38 pounds of paper that get referred to very little in normal commercial flights. The pilots were just looking for justification to get free iPads.

[stonetools]

Wow, I thought the iPad had no business uses whatsoever ! Those airlines must have missed what geeks have been telling everybody for 18 months!

[theducks]

Wait a minute!
Aren't you supposed to turn OFF all computers during Takeoffs and landings?


The Pilots are lost closer to the Navigation equipment than any passenger ?

[elcreative]

Ah, they've thought of that... the pilots will remote operate the plane from the rear seats using their iPads... nice safe distance then...

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

I think it is going to be a pain in the ass to find a specific page in an emergency. There is something to be said about a book and post it notes... not to mention the ability to have multiple books open at the same time...

You could always run a search for "engine stall" or "tail section falls off".

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

You could always run a search for "engine stall" or "tail section falls off".

Or they could carry this book as a backup:

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

What are they doing to ensure that the display is legible in bright sunlight?

That's what I was wondering as well.

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Is there bright sunlight in the pilots portion of the cabin? Only if there is a serious problem.

No, why do you think that most pilots that fly during day time will wear sunglasses... There might not always be direct sunlight, but they're usually flying above any cloud cover and thus there's a lot of light.

Originally Posted by theducks

Wait a minute!
Aren't you supposed to turn OFF all computers during Takeoffs and landings?

Hmm, that's a nice test... "Why should I have to turn off my Ipad if the pilot hasn't turned off his!"

[HappyMartin]

The iPad was cleared by the FAA for use on the flight deck. The FAA could detect no interference with flight instrumentation.

[Pinecone]

1) Some of the paper they carry gets looked at rarely. Other things like SIDS, STARS, Approach plates and airpot diagrams get looked at virtually every flight.

2) The "operator" can approve the use of electronic devices once they satisfy themselves that such operation is safe. Easy to do with 2 x iPads in the cockpit versus potentially millions of combinations of devices and locations throughout the rest of the aircraft.

3) The FAA approved the use of electronic devices instead of carrying the paper versions. The "operator" still has to approve the device(s) in specific aircraft.

4) There are electronic displays in the cockpit, that can display various information. But not a "PC." For emergencies, in the most modern setups, when the system detects a problem, it displays the appropriate emergency procedures on one of the displays.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Hmm, that's a nice test... "Why should I have to turn off my Ipad if the pilot hasn't turned off his!"

Exactly what I was thinking

Any compliant (non-wireless capable) equipment should not cause issues with domestic flights (strong signals). There may be a slight chance of weak signals being swamped from computer leakage, midway, on some trans-oceanic flights.

[DiapDealer]

1) Some of the paper they carry gets looked at rarely. Other things like SIDS, STARS, Approach plates and airpot diagrams get looked at virtually every flight.

The same pilot that flies the same flight, to the same destinations, day after day after day looks at paper approach plates and airport diagrams? Please. ARTCC hands them off to Tower Control where they lock onto the ILS. Once they're a few feet off the runway, they land and apply brakes. There's no scrutinizing of paper charts as part of a routine flight.

Emergencies are another story completely, of course.

[abookreader]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

I think it is going to be a pain in the ass to find a specific page in an emergency. There is something to be said about a book and post it notes... not to mention the ability to have multiple books open at the same time...

I don't know. I had to take a couple of open book certification tests last year and I had PDF and hard copies of all the materials.

I found it much easier and quicker to search key terms in the PDF files than utilize the book TOC and index and flip through the pages.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

There might not always be direct sunlight, but they're usually flying above any cloud cover and thus there's a lot of light

If we're going to be serious about this...it's been rigorously tested by both the FAA and by the individual airlines. There are links above detailing what was done to test.

No need to worry or to stop flying.