EFB/iPad usage in training syllabus (Air Facts Journal)

[Garfly]

https://airfactsjournal.com/?trk_msg=AE8M94KKDUJKD07B45OI3NEVKG&trk_contact=TP0NO766QS9G20UOM7VT2QLI2S&trk_sid=5J7N8E2OIFOQA7FLJRQE8IB5B8&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=AirFacts Header&utm_campaign=F19031A&utm_content=March 10%2C 2019 Edition - 5 New Stories

 

excerpt from "Bridging the Gap":

 

"A skills gap can exist between flight instructors and students, who come in expecting to learn how to use an iPad in the cockpit.

 

Mike says, “As a flight school, we have to answer that, otherwise we’re not going to be in this business for long. Some instructors feel they’re just here to teach you how to fly, not how to use a tablet. We don’t agree with that mentality.”

 

Justin recalled flights with students as a CFI: “We’d be on our way to Monroe and we’d tell them something has happened and we’re going to divert to Beloit. We’d ask, ‘How many miles is it to Beloit?’ Well, four minutes later after they look at their sectional and we’re already past Beloit, the student would say, ‘Seven miles. We’ll be there in seven miles.’ That question is fair game on a checkride. Now, they can just grab that magenta line in ForeFlight, drop it over Beloit and say, ‘Four minutes and twenty-two seconds.’ That frees us up as instructors to do more, to provide more complicated scenarios and add more depth to the training.”

 

The EFB reduces the workload, improving the safety and efficiency of a flight so the pilot can concentrate on the flying."

 

 

[kaz3g]

I learned to navigate at sea before getting into aeroplanes and, although I have been geographically confused a few times have never yet been hopelessly lost using clock, compass, drift and marks.

 

But the new technologies are fantastic and contribute enormously to safety and I routinely use my OzRunways maps and GPS to reference my position on the ground. I think the flying school in that linked story is right on the mark.

 

kaz

 

 

[Downunder]

The EFB reduces the workload, improving the safety and efficiency of a flight so the pilot can concentrate on the flying."

Totally agree with that!

 

 

[old man emu]

I find the intellectual exercise of using map, compass, chronometer and whizz wheel most enjoyable. However, it is only enjoyable while sitting at a desk doing the pre-flight planning. Digital technology adds to overall flying safety. It allows the pilot to carry out the primary role of a pilot - to fly the plane. Remember the first rule of emergency response? Fly the plane. Anything that lets a pilot spend more time concentrating on flying the plane is good.

 

 

[Student Pilot]

I learnt to fly well before GPS were invented, of all the stuff I learned up to commercial I have only used wizz wheel for groundspeed. Just used compass and clock, never used 1 in 60 and flown most of the country including remote and dessert areas. GPS has taken a lot of stress out of cross country, I have an ipad with ozrunways but for most general work including fire work I use a cheap $2 program called motion X and only use ozrunways for frequencies and runway diagrams.

 

 

[RossMc]

I find the intellectual exercise of using map, compass, chronometer and whizz wheel most enjoyable. However, it is only enjoyable while sitting at a desk doing the pre-flight planning. 

 I am with you there.  As easily as I can plan a flight on Avplan I still enjoy planning it on the VTC/VNC and then calculating GS/Wind Correction etc. manually.  I fly with Avplan but still have the paper chart in the bag with the lines marked up on it.

 

 

[Yenn]

The modern equipment is really great, but I don’t trust it for flight planning and always do my own planning as a check on the AvPlan. So far we usually agree, but I have had problems in flight with ridiculous info from my gps.

 

 

[Kununurra]

The fact that we are all here and posting on this subject means that whatever method we are or have been using is working well for us individually so keep the good work up.

 

It would be a very boring place if we all did the same thing.

 

Ozrunways works great for me and I too have flown over many remote areas within Australia. Do I trust it 100% I would like to say yes but reality is I have it on more than 1 device and also have an installed GPS and a small portable GPS.This works for me and I am happy to continue with this option.

 

I will be doing a flight in June which will take me across the centre of Oz and up to Longreach and back to Perth so I will let you know if I find any issues with my chosen navigation aides.

 

Cheers

 

 

[KRviator]

The fact that we are all here and posting on this subject means that whatever method we are or have been using is working well for us individually so keep the good work up.

Ozrunways works great for me and I too have flown over many remote areas within Australia. Do I trust it 100% I would like to say yes but reality is I have it on more than 1 device and also have an installed GPS and a small portable GPS.This works for me and I am happy to continue with this option.

I think that's what it comes down to.

 

I usually plan the flight on SkyVector and print out the NavLog page(s), then email the plan to the iPad, open it in OzRunways, and then WiFi the plan to the Dynon for the autopilot to track. While the engine is warming up, I'll plug it into the KLN-90. I have and can, but refuse to, use a whiz-wheel. It has no place in a modern cockpit. If I really want to do any E6B calculations, I use an app on the phone. I have no qualms about using any of the 4 GPS' I have on board for sole-means area navigation, though it is the KLN that keeps me legal for that, nor even about going VFR-on-top using the KLN for position fixing. Battery going flat? Plug it into the 12V socket. Ipad overheats? Pull out the phone and spin up RWY. Drop the phone on the floor? Pull up the VTC overlay on the Dynon. Dynon fails? Use the KLN to find the nearest suitable airport. There are a multitude of single-place failures in light aircraft, but consumer-grade electronics utilised for GA navigation aren't one of them anymore.

 

I can't even remember the last time I bought a paper chart...?

 

 

[kgwilson]

A  good free navigation app for Android or IOS is Airmate. It has all the latest VNC, VTC maps plus ERSA aerodrome data & METAR, TAF, SIGMET, weather, Wind & satellite charts Notams etc. Radar & rainfall not available in Australia as it isn't free. Easy flight planning & you can rubber band the route to another waypoint etc. I run it on my phone & a cheap tablet. Logs all flights for later review & there is a 138 page manual but you don't need anything to get up & running.

 

 

[Yenn]

KRaviator, you must have a lot more room in the cockpit. I find it crowded with an iPad.