Tag Archives: IOS (Apple)

Thoughts on Using an iPad in the Cockpit

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Behold the iPad in All Its Glory.

Image via Wikipedia

I’m a very big Apple fan. My first Apple device was an iPod photo, which I purchased five years ago. Mind you, I paid for it myself (that was big money at my age). When it perished due to normal wear and tear my grandmother gifted me an iPod Classic. Two years ago I bought an iPhone 3G because my college offered a great discount on AT&T plans. This March, I upgraded to an iPhone 4. I haven’t really had a chance to use my iPhone in an airplane except for when I would hit bad Indiana weather and my only source of information was ForeFlight. I imagine if I have a chance to fly more often, my iPhone will be a blessing.

The one Apple device I can’t bring myself to buy is an iPad. The only thing I see an iPad as is a glorified iPhone with a bigger screen. I know tens of thousands of people will probably disagree with me. However, as I read new articles about airlines using iPads in the cockpit I’m slowly becoming more convinced that an iPad might be the way to go. But why do I feel I need to choose an iPad over the many other tablets that are on the market today? That’s easy; no other device or operating system offers the quality of apps which are provided for Apple devices. Naturally an airline can afford to buy 200 iPads for their pilots so they can eliminate 40 pounds of paper on each flight. But I am far from becoming an airline pilot or carrying 20 pounds worth of aviation charts, so how would the iPad benefit me?

As almost every other pilot I’ve ever met, I’m a complete weather junkie. I could read convection charts, winds aloft reports, and METARs until my eyes bleed. What I loved about my iPhone when I was flying in college was the fact that I could look up the weather and information for my route without leaving my chair. Of course, our chief flight instructor discouraged the use of handheld devices as a means of obtaining flight information. But could he really expect a bunch of tech savvy kids to not take full opportunity of their phones as a way to help them fly?

What I love about ForeFlight is the overall ease-of-use; I can have all the information I need for a flight in about 10 minutes.  Plus, if I ever needed to find an alternate airport (which happens pretty frequently) all I had to do was open the app, find my route, and geo-locate myself. Boy, we pilots sure are spoiled! It’s amazing to try and think of what aviation would be like today if the Wright brothers had this type of technology at their disposal.

Anyway, back to the point. What exactly are the benefits of an iPad over an iPhone for use in the cockpit? I personally believe that the iPad’s larger screen is the biggest benefit over the iPhone. This is a no-brainer. Honestly I believe that’s the only benefit of the iPad over the iPhone. Please remember that I do not own an iPad so I’m not terribly familiar with how it works. All I can tell is it looks almost identical to my iPhone.

The other really big drawback to the iPad is the fact that Apple seems to be coming out with a new version every six months. It seems to me like pilots don’t see a new version of the GPS system until at least three years after the previous model has come out. That’s just an estimate. My logic is, “why would I want to spend $500 on something that will be outdated before the year is over?” I honestly think Apple is ruining itself over this practice. But I know next to nothing about how a major corporation should run.

As the news articles about airlines transitioning to the use of iPads in the cockpit become more numerous all probably continue to consider buying one myself. My boyfriend is currently training for his multi-engine instructor rating and I’ve tried to tell him multiple times that an iPad would help make him a safer, more competent pilot. But how would I know this if I haven’t tested this theory myself?

I might just have to.

 

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