I guess you can tell where our money goes. And that is the way I prefer it. Yes, if we had the money, I'd love to be able to shoot some civilian approaches, but let's be honest, how often do I have the operational need for that sort of thing?
I think the most recent NSAWC journal has a nice piece on it. If you can get your hands on one... you know why.
To echo what has been said WRT the IFC (having just read it), the iPad is out for pretty much all of the "gucci" ways people in this thread are dreaming up using them inflight. It also reenforces the point that the whole reason for the IFC was to fulfill a specific operational purpose - not to replace FLIP, not to have a moving map and not to navigate with. If you're doing these things with an iPad, you do so at your own peril. I encourage everyone to read the IFC.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...oes-high-tech/2012/04/12/gIQAVaLEDT_blog.html If its secure enough for the PDB...
We do have something like this in a very large and sometimes cumbersome system called an EDM. Works for tactical charts and Blue Force tracker, comes with a kneeboard set up that is too bulky, so most just leave it on the lower console. Improvements are supposed to be coming out to allow geo-referenced charts. I also heard Apple bought out the company that made these. As long as the DAFIF is current, our GPS is certified for IFR and WAAS is supposed to be a future addition. Army jet guys are allowed to start using them in the cockpit as long as they are "Army issued".
We use those too; I thought they were owned by Raytheon now. The hardware updates have gone a long way to making it faster and more responsive, but the interface is still from the 1990's (stylus on top of Windows) and needs to be brought up to modern touch interface conventions.
Yeah, I flew with EDM's in the sandbox. The 60S wasn't the right airframe for them, the cords were so short pilot's couldn't use them so we had to rely on the aircrewman in the back to relay information to us. So, we couldn't use them for charts/maps very effectively... our crewman got pretty good at talking us on to the BLUE forces with it. It was a good back-up to secure comms. When I went over the orizon and SATCOM was acting up, a quick textmessage back to base was always useful. I wish the EDM was in more general use, only having it in Iraq and not elsewhere is dumb. Also, wish the pilot could utilize it, as that's what it was designed for. The few times I did mess with it, it is a clunky old piece of software, ripe with bugs and glitches... and had like a 10 minute boot-up time.
Did you guys put anyone on notice via HAZREP or other means that this thing isn't working as it should?
What was the cord plugged into? I ask because we had a similar device (I'm guessing it's the same thing, I just don't remember the name) in the Bravo when I was in Hawaii and the pilots could use it just fine. GPS antennae and power reached and still allowed the pilots to tap away (if it had power...again, I can't remember).
The cord in the Sierra was mounted behind the right-seat pilot. So, you couldn't get it up to the cockpit without an extension cord of like 6 feet... and we didn't have them. Then, you had this long cord that would have been in the way of the collective. The cords supplied to us were approximately 1o inches long, if I recall. And yes, BigIron, we HAZREP'd a lot of the things that were wrong with systems in Iraq (from the EDM, lack of weaponry or armed-escort, to operating under the "Fighter Management Technique" that allowed extensive flight time without adequate rest). Nobody seemed to care, "Operational Necessity" and all that.
In the -60m course here at Rucker we just took a survey on if we have a tablet, iPad, etc and what apps we use and why. I wrote about Foreflight, AirWX, and my favorite app iAnnotate for all the pubs. They said they are thinking of issuing locked down iPads at flight school with all the pubs and study books on them instead of hard copies. I hope so. Saving a ton of trees, ink and paper.
I was just at the USMC assault support OAG. There are some very solid concepts for a tablet device to be used in the aircraft. It will be app based and have charts and terminal area pubs, etc. It's a pretty big priority. As discussed in earlier posts there are a lot of Information Assurance challenges, but it's coming.
I just bought a used 1st Gen iPad for $150 on eBay(I really couldn't justify the cost of a new one). I messed around with ForeFlight, and now have a subscription - and plan on using it during the CCX. The downside to the 1st Gen is the case I want is only available for the iPad 2. Upside is an OtterBox is only $14 on Amazon for 1st Gen. Can anyone recommend a good anti-glare screen protector? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I've used glare screens from Zagg with good success on both iPhones and iPads. http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/apple-ipad-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php Never used it in the cockpit and while it isn't cheap it seems to work as advertized and it includes free lifetime replacement warranty for the life of your device.
I'd be interested in how foreflight works out for you. I've messed around with it and it looks pretty amazing. I don't have a subscription, but it's cool to just have a complete set of non current charts to browse through.
The safenight i20 makes it nvg compatible http://www.wamcoinc.com/Upload\News\SafeNight i20 flyer_812201131226.pdf
I'll let you know at the end of June/beginning of July. As I said, I'm planning on taking it on the CCX and using ForeFlight (and possibly a BT GPS, since as far as I can tell the GPS is aGPS) to plan/file/use as EFB. There's a guy in the squadron that swears by ForeFlight, and said that he's never not had a flight plan in the system when he filed that way. I'm spending the time learning everything it can do now, before I bring it in the plane... That looks pretty sweet, but I'm only planning on using it day, VFR right now... Any idea how much those cost? I've used invisible shield in the past, it's a damn good product. I didn't know they had an anti-glare one, I'm off to buy one!!
When moving jets across the oceans and the weather goes to shit while you are on the tanker half way across.
Right, because that's our primary mission. I can't tell you how many times I've been moving jets across the ocean when that exact thing happened. Give me the option for a new EA pod, or civilian ILS, then I'll always take the tactical option.
And there's the problem- it shouldn't be a choice of one or the other. Were it not for our wonderful procurement system, we should be able to put an ILS on every single aircraft in the entire USN-USMC inventory for what we spend on just a few EA pods.
Pourts has always been a smart dude since I have known him, but he is silly for thinking that there will be anything cooler than 25X for the legacy Hornet. These bitties are about 5 years from the graveyard in most cases, so adding anything (ILS, EW, planing link #201, cup holders, ipod adapter, etc) is like putting a nice stereo in your 85 cut supreme with 350,000 miles and a rusted out suspension. I love it, but it isn't going to get any nicer.
Completely agree. HeyJoe showed me a really neat little box, the size of a Rubix cube, one day that did some stuff that a bigger piece of equipment regularly does. And the amazing part was that it was designed to plug into all the new airframes in the fleet (non-legacy). And yet somehow, I still can't shoot a precision GPS approach with my nanometer-accurate INS system that's already installed.
Got my iPad, my OtterBox, and my Invisibleshield anti glare screen. Looking forward to try it out on the CCX. Not so much from a moving map standpoint, but seeing if I can use the plates and charts in lieu of a full nav bag. That, and the ability to check WX with it overlaid on the sectional. ForeFlight is showing much potential... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Your complaint is really with lawyers and air traffic controllers, not acquisitions types. I'm slowly learning that all the meetings that are held to determine the future of aviation are chock full of lawyers and ATC folks. They won't invite pilots. We tend to make their jobs too difficult.
