iPad Becomes a Flight Manual on Alaska Airlines

May 28, 2011 - 7 Comments

iPad becomes a flight manual on Alaska Air

Alaska Airlines has just announced that everyones favorite tablet computer is going to replace paper flight manuals for pilots operating their aircraft.

The move to the 1.5lbs iPad is intended to improve efficiency and reduce environmental waste by replacing up to 25lbs of paper flight manuals.

Here are some more details, courtesy of AlaskaAir:

The iPads contain an app called GoodReader that is loaded with PDF versions of 41 flight, systems and performance manuals, reference cards, and other materials. The electronic manuals include hyperlinks and color graphics, enabling pilots to find information faster and easier. Updating these reference materials can now be accomplished with one tap on the iPad screen instead of the former, labor-intensive process of replacing individual pages with new ones. The iPad is considered a Class 1 electronic device, meaning it is stowed during takeoff and landing under Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

The transition into the digital age will be complete by mid-June of this year, and is expected to save 2.4 million pieces of paper overall.

First the iPad became a restaurant menu, and now the iPad is replacing paper manuals for pilots on Alaska Airlines, is there anything this little device won’t do? Maybe Alaska Airlines will equip the iPads with the G-Form Extreme Sleeve so if a pilot accidentally tosses it out the airplane window it will survive? Whatever they do, let’s hope they keep those batteries well charged!


Fascinating news via Engadget

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Posted by: Matt Chan in iPad, News

7 Comments

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  1. Kuwaiti says:

    They won’t be able to read the IPad with their sunglasses on. This is a problem all users of IPad know of.
    Alaska will have to deal with this problem before impelementing the change (unless they will issue their own type of sunglasses to the crew, eliminating any type that may affect its readability).

  2. […] are getting a wide range of uses already become restaurant menus in China and flight manuals, what’s […]

  3. Fishcake21 says:

    I think they should have the original flight manual as a backup :)
    Technology spoils us

    • icebreaker says:

      Agreed, flight manual paper backup and for daily use just the iPad. When the sun is shining into the cockpit you can’t read the screen at all.

  4. Fishcake21 says:

    What if there’s an electromagnetic Pulse? What if the Ipad ran out of power? What if the screen is broken?

    Nothing will replace books, even if there’s a page missing, still got some valid information.

    Bye

  5. Carlos says:

    I hope they embed a charger on board

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