The FAA has given their final approval for iPads to be used in the cockpits of American Airlines aircraft during all phases of flight. Using iPads as electronic chart and digital flight manual readers means increased safety and efficiency on the flight deck.
The existing paper manuals and charts weigh in around 35 pounds, so with an iPad being closer to 1.2 pounds there will be a significant savings not only in the shoulder strain of the pilots who need to cart those things around but will result in an estimated $1.2 million dollars less fuel per year as well!
American Airlines will begin the transition by replacing existing materials with iPads on all B-777 aircraft. This will then systematically extend to all of their other fleets.
Using digital readers makes good sense. Not only can they be indexed allowing for quick information location and retrieval, they can also be updated much easier and are not as cumbersome as large binders and loose papers. (not to mention the benefit for the environment with so much less paper and fuel being consumed)
To receive full FAA approval, American Airlines conducted a 6 month test that included thousands of hours evaluating the iPad as a replacement. Currently their approval extends to both the iPad 1 and iPad 2 models of the device.
Other airlines are currently testing and evaluating the iPad as well, though we suspect many are looking toward American Airlines as the guinea pigs allowing them to work out all of the bugs and kinks that are inevitable during a large-scale transition such as this.
Source: Yahoo News
The AirplaneNut
