Do you use an iPad in the cockpit? Would you?

[Reconjoe]

Paper is easy, you can write on it, highlight it, they have a hundred copies of the things in Pubs, it fits in your bag.

Yea, but can your charts create a four square check in at the hold short so all your facebook friends know how cool you are?

This thread couldn't have come at a better time...I just spent 2 hours today moving what feel's like a metric ton worth of charts and pubs updating the chart room. We all said the same thing after throwing away countless unclaimed pubs and unused charts....what a waste of money/tree's.

I also got away with using the iPad a few times in the cockpit before that gray area became a "Student's shall not", and it was hand's down a thousand times easier/better in my opinion than the paper charts.

 

[Recovering LSO]

this issue may get decided for us... i recently found out that our squadron will only be sent enough pubs for X number of pub bags - checked out and used for flights before being returned to pub locker...

 

[Purdue]

Gatordev: Skids have been using iPads in country for awhile, and I haven't heard of any durability issues (not that that doesn't mean there aren't any).

HueyCobra, have you used them in country? If so, please PM me if you feel like discussing your experiences!

To others discussing cockpit use, ss a fellow helo guy I'm excited about the possibility of decreasing clutter in the cockpit. Even in a "large" cockpit like the 60, spreading out charts and reading them on a cross country is just not very feasible. The idea of not having to deal with folds, and having a tracking GPS sectional... or hell, even a non GPS but "pinch-to-zoom" map would be awesome. Think about how many times you've had to switch from one scale of chart to another and deal with refinding yourself between them... or flying from one map onto another.

 

[Purdue]

this issue may get decided for us... i recently found out that our squadron will only be sent enough pubs for X number of pub bags - checked out and used for flights before being returned to pub locker...

On this note, several people have commented to me that an auto-updating electronic pub (be it via a plug-in-&-charge interface overnight between flights, or a 3G connection just kept in the aircraft) would be a huge benefit. I know I'm not the only one to suddenly find the one pub I need in the bag is the one that's out of date while I'm flying, even though we of course always check that on pre-flight...

 

[helolumpy]

Gatordev: Skids have been using iPads in country for awhile, and I haven't heard of any durability issues (not that that doesn't mean there aren't any).

Since I dropped my IPad 2 about 3 feet and it now has a crack in the screen, I wold say there may be some durability issues with IPads.

I would equate it to the Toughbooks the Navy bought for the maintainers. There were rated for a 6 foot drop, so all we have to do is make sure we don't buy any aircraft over 6 feet tall and we'll be all set!

 

[Jim123]

You forgot the most important thing an iPad provides in the cockpit.....entertainment! I love using mine to ply games or watch movies during those long flights.....

(ea6bflyr beat me to it)

As long as you don't fly past your destination--although that leads to entertainment for other people--I'd hate to see you do that to yourself.

 

[Jim123]

I would equate it to the Toughbooks the Navy bought for the maintainers. There were rated for a 6 foot drop, so all we have to do is make sure we don't buy any aircraft over 6 feet tall and we'll be all set!

I'm glad I read through the replies before I said something about Toughbooks- great little laptops and they live up to their name in harsh environments, but I've seen a few break in my time.

 

[LFDtoUSMC]

Since I dropped my IPad 2 about 3 feet and it now has a crack in the screen, I wold say there may be some durability issues with IPads.

I would equate it to the Toughbooks the Navy bought for the maintainers. There were rated for a 6 foot drop, so all we have to do is make sure we don't buy any aircraft over 6 feet tall and we'll be all set!

We use toughbooks at work for in the field/at hospital Fire/EMS reporting and are soon going to be fielding iPads for a trial. We were worried about durability as well. Firemen are notoriously hard on equipment. We do get paid to break stuff , so yeah.

We were told that we could replace 4 or 5 iPads to 1 Toughbook. That is one of the main reasons for our interest in switching. Just food for thought.

 

[BigIron]

There's a multi-platform interim flight clearance out now for iPad and some droid platform (can't remember the exact device). It's a very limited clearance. I don't see this as a funding priority right now especially with the cuts coming in 13. Also a lot for Navy information Assurance to deal with in addition to squadron management of he devices. I don't see each squadron or wing getting an iTunes account.

Although who knows. There's probably already a business case analysis out there.

 

[SynixMan]

I mean it's not like we're plugging them into the Link or something. Not to mention iOS is a few security generations ahead of the god damn Windows XP we insist on running.

Just having good charts with moving map and geo-referenced plates would be awesome. All you old farts who insist on paper, sheesh.

 

[Brett327]

As a frame of reference, the NWC issues iPads to all students and the individual gets their own iTunes account if they don't have one already. They also all connect to the NWC's WIFI network, but it's not NMCI-based (thanks be to God). Agree with BI though, any purchasing of iPads by NAVAIR is going to likely remain in the realm of operational/tactical requirements, not as a replacement for paper FLIP products.

IMO, we're not going to get away from printed smart-pack KBCs anytime soon, so an iPad would never really replace your pen and paper-based kneeboard. I love my iPad, but I can't see myself scribbling down a bunch of mission related stuff on it in the heat of an Airwing Fallon event. So, if it's not going to totally replace my kneeboard, I have to have something strapped to each leg. I'm not seeing the advantage.

 

[hscs]

And then there is the update issue - have fun hooking in to NMCI or receiving updates under those lovely limited bandwidth days on the boat.....

 

[BigIron]

Now set river city one. Make containment reports to CIC. Cease iPad updating and Facebook tomfoolery.

 

[Recovering LSO]

we're not going to get away from printed smart-pack KBCs anytime soon, so an iPad would never really replace your pen and paper-based kneeboard. I love my iPad, but I can't see myself scribbling down a bunch of mission related stuff on it in the heat of an Airwing Fallon event. So, if it's not going to totally replace my kneeboard, I have to have something strapped to each leg. I'm not seeing the advantage.

Anybody around here deploy with the airwing that was flying with them over the 'Stan? I could never see myself shooting approaches from an iPad - however, if you load it up with Google Earth data and work in some grid coordinate software... that could be useful.

CVW NFL smart pack and KBCs are THE way. They're simple, easily reproduced, inexpensive, easily shredded (or burned/eaten if evading

 

[Brett327]

Anybody around here deploy with the airwing that was flying with them over the 'Stan? I could never see myself shooting approaches from an iPad - however, if you load it up with Google Earth data and work in some grid coordinate software... that could be useful.

CVW NFL smart pack and KBCs are THE way. They're simple, easily reproduced, inexpensive, easily shredded (or burned/eaten if evading

My old Airwing (2) was doing all the groundwork last cruise and they're supposed to be using them on cruise right now. AFAIK, they were just being used to store all the GRG and other mission products for the AOR. It was nice to have PFPS/Falcon View maps & overlays in the back of the Prowler on the eBoard, so I can't imagine something like that would be too hard (GE, etc).