After three months of testing, the Federal Aviation Administration has approved the use of iPads as an alternative to paper maps and charts for pilots.
Currently the ruling only applies to private airline Executive Jet Management, but could potentially spread to others in the the future as well. The approval process saw iPads tested on 10 different plans across 250 different flights. To help with navigation, pilots can utilize Mobile TC, a map app developed for the iPad by map maker Jeppesen.
The news means that Executive Management pilots won’t have to lug around large files of paper, and it could also be a potential boon for Jeppesen, provided other airlines get aboard the iPad train as well.
“We’ll be able to reuse a lot of the documentation and the lessons learned working with Executive Jet Management to help our commercial customers as they now begin to pursue FAA authorization,” Jeppesen’s Tim Huegel told Wired.
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