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Thread: I-Pad and commercial flying...

  1. #1
    David Pavlich's Avatar
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    I-Pad and commercial flying...

    Do any of you pilots carry an I-pad that is loaded with something like Foreflight onto a commercial flight and follow the progress of the flight? It might be more enjoyable than playing Solitaire.

    David

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    It's somewhat hit-or-miss whether the iPad GPS will pickup satellites depending on your seat (I have a high hit-rate when sitting in window seat, not so much from aisle seats YMMV).

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    Quote Originally Posted by S3flyer View Post
    It's somewhat hit-or-miss whether the iPad GPS will pickup satellites depending on your seat (I have a high hit-rate when sitting in window seat, not so much from aisle seats YMMV).
    Ditto for android tablet. Won't reliably receive gps in the airliner shipping tube. Works fine in my mustang II.

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    Chris In Marshfield's Avatar
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    I've tried, but the portable GPSes that I have won't lock onto the orbiting birds while inside the big tube. Not for lack of trying!

    The one thing I worry about is some passenger seeing this little box in my lap with a flashing light and panicking because they think I have some sort of harmful device.

    ~Chris
    Christopher Owens (EAA #808438, VAA #723276)
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    I've used Foreflight several times in commercial airliners. Window seats only will work. This is using the built in GPS in the iPad.

    I also download the IFR high altitude enroute charts, and go to Flight Aware before the flight to see the filed flight plan. I enter the flight plan into ForeFlight so I can see the route we are planning to take, and also to see what the amendments to the plan are once enroute.

    It's very fun in a pilot-specific way.

  6. #6
    David Pavlich's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FloridaJohn View Post
    I've used Foreflight several times in commercial airliners. Window seats only will work. This is using the built in GPS in the iPad.

    I also download the IFR high altitude enroute charts, and go to Flight Aware before the flight to see the filed flight plan. I enter the flight plan into ForeFlight so I can see the route we are planning to take, and also to see what the amendments to the plan are once enroute.

    It's very fun in a pilot-specific way.
    This is what I was thinking. It would be pretty cool to be on a flight that has headsets so that you can listen in on the flight deck and have the I-pad in your lap at the same time.

    David

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    MEdwards's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Pavlich View Post
    Do any of you pilots carry an I-pad that is loaded with something like Foreflight onto a commercial flight and follow the progress of the flight? It might be more enjoyable than playing Solitaire. David
    Getting back to the OP's question, I too would be interested in what the supposedly thousands of airline pilots being issued iPads are actually doing with them.

    I can't believe it's flight tracking, although it probably would work pretty well since every seat on the flight deck is a window seat. I'll bet it's more likely chart storage, email, company required documentation, user manuals, union rules and contacts, and a NASA form, just-fill-in-the-blanks-and-tap-SEND.

  8. #8
    EAA Staff / Moderator Hal Bryan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Pavlich View Post
    This is what I was thinking. It would be pretty cool to be on a flight that has headsets so that you can listen in on the flight deck and have the I-pad in your lap at the same time.

    David
    A friend & coworker of mine and I used to take our Windows PDAs running "Anywhere Map" with us on business trips. In those days, before built-in and/or Bluetooth GPS, the GPS was a separate unit that we would suction cup to the window and then connect by wires to our little Compaq Ipaqs. For pilot-geeks like us, it was great - we had our own little glass cockpits.

    I don't need to point out that this was before September 11th, 2001...

    As an aside, interesting that this was posted today:

    http://gizmodo.com/the-skyview-turns...-fre-645225106

    Hal Bryan
    EAA Lifetime 638979
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    I tried using my old "Skystar" GPS on airline trips back in the 90's, put the suction cup on the widow managed to get a signal on the ramp but no luck after take-off. Both the older GPS units and the IPad are great for those of us that fly. I am currently avoiding flying via airline for the US it isn't a pleasant experience anymore and I have the time to drive. The neat thing about the IPad is that it has a Maps App that works in any car if you have the cell-phone subscription, so it's good on the ground and in the air!

    Joe

  10. #10
    Eric Page's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MEdwards View Post
    Getting back to the OP's question, I too would be interested in what the supposedly thousands of airline pilots being issued iPads are actually doing with them.

    I can't believe it's flight tracking, although it probably would work pretty well since every seat on the flight deck is a window seat. I'll bet it's more likely chart storage, email, company required documentation, user manuals, union rules and contacts, and a NASA form, just-fill-in-the-blanks-and-tap-SEND.
    I fly for one of those airlines. I believe we are to this date the only carrier with full approval for iPad use both enroute and terminal (all the rest are in a test phase of one sort or another). We use Jeppesen's "JeppFD-Pro" app, which provides full IFR enroute charts (high and low), as well as all of the Jepp terminal charts (SIDs, STARs, approaches, diagrams, etc.) and enroute manuals.

    JeppFD-Pro can display own-ship position superimposed on enroute charts, but we're not authorized to do it (we're not allowed to use the iPad's internal GPS or any external GPS receiver). The FAA is understandably hesitant to have airline crews relying on uncertified GPS receivers to establish aircraft position, even if only for taxiing. [Amusing story. A few weeks ago an email went out from the Chief Pilot with a photo of a Dual GPS receiver, an explanation that it had been found on the flight deck of one of our planes, and a request that its owner come and get it. I still wonder if the offending pilot had the guts to show up and claim his contraband GPS!]

    Except on the rare occasion when the Flight Management System (nav computer) is inoperative, we seldom need to look at enroute charts. 99.9% of our iPad use is for terminal charts.

    The app can also manage company manuals, but for some reason our manuals haven't been integrated yet, though we can still put the PDF versions on our iPad and read them with iBooks, FileApp, GoodReader, etc. Same with the union contract.

    There's no app for the NASA form, but we can just use the ASRS website like anyone else. Many airlines (mine included) have a Safety Management System that works internally in a similar way to ASRS, and any report we file through SMS is automatically forwarded to NASA as well.

    BTW, don't waste your time downloading the JeppFD-Pro app. It won't do anything without an activation code.
    Eric Page
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