With iPad, pilots can now fly paperless

What is in those bulky, black flight bags that pilots carry into the cockpit? It is not a change of clothes but reams of reference material needed for the flight — about 40 pounds of it.

There are the aircraft’s operating manual, safety checklists, logbooks for entering airplane performance data, navigation charts, weather information, airport diagrams and maybe a book of KenKen puzzles thrown in for good measure.

American Airlines hopes the iPad will allow it to replace more than 35 pounds of paper materials. But instead of carrying all that paperwork, a growing number of pilots are carrying a 1.5 pound iPad.

The Federal Aviation Administration has authorised 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 FAA 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 FAA 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.

Because Apple’s tablet computer weighs less and is more compact than a laptop and its touch screen easier to manipulate, its introduction in 2010 made the move away from paper in the cockpit easier.

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.”

American Airlines won FAA approval last month for its pilots to use the iPad to read aeronautical charts. American received authoristion last year to use the device instead of paper reference manuals. Executive Jet Management, a NetJets company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, received the FAA’s permission in February for its pilots to read aeronautical charts on iPads.

Moreover, the FAA said pilots at the two airlines would not have to shut off and store their iPads during taxiing, takeoff and landing because they had demonstrated that the devices would not impair the functioning of onboard electronics. Alaska Airlines pilots, like passengers, still have to put their iPads away during those critical phases of the flight.

“Each airline must submit a unique proposal on how they want to use the iPad and prove that both the device and software application are safe and effective for that proposed use,” said John W. McGraw, the FAA’s deputy director of flight standards.

Executive Jet Management, for example, had 55 pilots test the iPad on 10 types of aircraft to prove that it was reliable and that it would not interfere with flight instruments. The iPad was also subjected to rapid decompression at a simulated altitude of 51,000 feet.

Private and corporate pilots, however, do not have to go through the same approval process. According to FAA regulations, they are responsible for determining what technologies are safe and appropriate for use in the cockpit. As a result, iPads are quickly becoming essential tools in planes ranging from Gulf Stream G650s to Piper Vagabonds.

“I don’t remember a time when one product seemed to get so much buzz and acceptance,” said Ian Twombly, spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “Many pilots approach new toys with skepticism, and the iPad seems to be almost universally appreciated as a cockpit device.”

There are now more than 250 aviation apps for the iPad, and one called ForeFlight is among the top grossing apps listed on iTunes. Its closest competitors are WingX, Jeppesen Mobile TC and Garmin My-Cast. Jeppesen is a subsidiary of Boeing, and Garmin is a leading manufacturer of global positioning and aviation electronic, or avionic, systems.

“The iPad apps can provide additional information and are often easier to use than avionics technologies installed in airplanes,” said Mark Erickson, a corporate pilot who flies a Gulfstream G450 and Falcon 2000 for a company based in St. Louis.

ForeFlight, for instance, helps pilots devise and file flight plans, as well as provides maps, aeronautical charts, FAA advisories, airport information and weather. If an iPad is equipped with 3G technology, it may even track a plane’s progress en route. The apps are usually free, but subscriptions to the data that makes them useful are $75 to $100 a year.

Jack Long, a technology entrepreneur in Austin, Tex., said he bought two iPads in December to use in his Pilatus PC-12, which he flies for business and pleasure. One iPad is for backup in case the other one fails. “I didn’t ease into using the iPad,” said Long, who has been a pilot for more than 30 years. “I jumped.”

His motivation was to save on subscriptions to paper maps and charts, which had cost him $1,414 a year. He now gets the same maps and charts digitally delivered to his two iPads for $150 a year. His iPads are also loaded with digital versions of all his aircraft, equipment and operating manuals as well as a complete copy of FAA rules and regulations.

“I never pull out paper anymore,” Long said. “It’s about safety as much as convenience. I can get at information immediately to make critical decisions.” Likewise, Alton Brown, a Food Network host and a private pilot, said his iPad had become standard equipment when he flies in either of his two airplanes — a Cessna 206 and a Cessna 414 — to book signings and locations where he is filming. “It’s especially helpful when you get rerouted” because of storms and such, he said.

Using an aviation app and information stored on his iPad, he can search for alternate routes, look up various airports’ approach procedures and tower radio frequencies and even compare fuel prices.

“Anything that makes me more alert, responsible and allows me to stay more focused on actually flying the plane is a good thing,” Brown said.