Possibility of iPads In Cockpits Sparks Fierce Debate Among Pilots

i should build a plane thats controlled by an ipad :D

iPads seem pretty reliable. To say it's trash, I don't know, that sounds more like prejudice than actual experience. Sure, they should be tested and certified, I would expect that testing would uncover any problems that might arise.

How are they going to play video games without a ipad?

Paper doesn't need batteries. Doesn't need a password (it's optional, but still). Lasts for hundreds of years if properly kept.

iPad has a search function for whatever you're looking for.

That's basically the lowdown on both options. One is faster and simpler to use, the other is more reliable- less susceptible to fuck-ups.

All boils down to personal taste, I'd say. I prefer paper, but hell- why not have both?

Why not use something like a... Toughbook. You drop an iPad, you break it.

the only real concern is will they replace emergency manuals and the such. You can rely on a glass screen battery operated device in an emergancy. what if the plain drops 20 feet cause it hit an air pocket and you loose an engine and your ipad just got smashed cause it hit the ceiling. do they need that ipad to properly shut down the engine and proceed to make an emergency landing. or would the ipad simply have navigatiion data, that if it was lost could be provided over the radio through a control tower.

You gotta be kidding me!
Ever watch MayDay?

Pilots over reliance on technology?
Simple software glitches completely unrelated to the plane could cause a human error!

The worst part is... if an iPad brought down a plane it could be impossible to figure out what software in the iPad created the human error. Just because the Captian installed angry birds on his/her iPad.

What happens when the iPad locks up. I don't have an iPad but my iPod never had an off button and would lock up and I couldn't do anything about it until the battery died.

If this is true, I hope there are a lot of restrictions what they can and cannot do!

48÷2(9+3) =

Pretty reliable is not a good thing in an aircraft. They're horrendously expensive because they're expected to operate reliably for a long time.

iPads were designed as consumer devices, tested and certified as consumer devices. That's not remotely like the process that is applied to avaiation electronics.

Given that, they probably could work (document source only) if:
1. They passed emissions/susceptibility tests
2. There were paper backups available
3. They were locked so that some moron wouldn't load them with angry birds.

Of those steps, 2) would probably be the most difficult. Alaska airlines probably wants to cut the expense of frequently updated paper documents, thus the iPad plan. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate backups would only be noticed at the worst time.

In addition to security concerns, Apple would probably have a field day tracking the plane's whereabouts without permission (due to a software glitch, of course).

I'm sure Apple will be happy to simply remove all wireless functionality, install an even more restrictive OS, call it an iPilot or iPlane- and then charge 10x-50x the standard price.

iPad breakability might be an issue, but if these were to be used formally, they'd either be in the pilot's hands, or in a secure holder somewhere in the cockpit. I would also be easy to ensure some kind of Qad-Redundancy system, so that if one breaks you have three spares with exactly the same information.

I agree with ANTIcarrot. Just buy four, put them in (duh) airplane mode, and load the exact same info on all of them. Then put them in those fancy gorilla cases with some kind of dash-mount. Problem solved, and huge, difficult-to-navigate (pardon the pun) paper books and charts are no longer required. Updating information is as easy as pushing a button, and can be rolled out to the entire fleet at the same time. Up-to-the-minute updates are possible, since they no longer require the huge printing costs normally involved in a revision.

Maybe I'm a technophile, but I can't find a downside to this. Of course, I'm not a pilot, either. :-)

well we all knew this was bound to happen. i dislike apple products but this is what skynets thinks is best for us.

Ostensibly, unlike apple customers, pilots should be able walk and talk and read and write and handle super basic concepts such as a coherent and accessible file system.

So obviously an android tablet makes much more sense than an ipad.

Besides android has a really good heads up turn by turn navigation system and ipad has none.

sure.. but just like every other piece of hardware on a plan it should be rated for aviation. They use bolts at times on commercial planes too, but they dont cost $.30 like the ones at home depot, they cost $6.00 or more oftentimes. Its not just the label, they are aviation rated, stress tests, quality controlled, and as close to perfect as possible.

Put various tablets to the test, make ridgid guidelines specifying the conditions these devices need to withstand to be flight ready. Add ports they can plug into in the cockpit so that they arent totally reliant on batteries.

These devices will offer a constant upgradable supply of information. There should still be a base level of information stored in paprt manuals for emergency situations, complete power failure, or some other form of catastrophe perhaps an emp burst, who knows.

Do things right and technology helps. Do things wrong and you're just being convenient and consigning some good people to death to figure out the problems later on.