It’s often standing room only at the educational forums offered during SUN ‘n FUN and AirVenture, but there’s one that stood out at both shows: Gary Reeves’ forum on “10 Ways Using Your iPad Can Cause FAA Violations and Accidents.”
“With so many pilots now using Apple iPads for navigation and weather information, FAA violations related to them have increased tenfold,” says Reeves, a Master Flight Instructor with an ATP rating and 5,500 hours total time.
Recently honored as the FAA’s 2014 Instructor of the Year for the Long Beach, California district, Reeves loves to teach. He founded Pilot Safety Institute and he offers free membership in the non-profit organization dedicated to reducing general aviation accidents.
“My goal is to keep little airplanes off the evening news,” he says.
In his new role, Reeves has transitioned from one-on-one flight instruction to webinars and public speaking on aviation-related subjects. His six most popular programs have been recorded and are now available for purchase on DVD.
Although Reeves is a huge fan of ForeFlight, as are many pilots using iPads in the cockpit, his forum was an eye-opener.
Just a week after SUN ’n FUN, the lessons he taught were reinforced when American Airlines, an early adopter of iPads on the flight deck, had to delay dozens of flights due to a Jeppeson software glitch that caused pilots’ iPads to malfunction.
According to news reports, a quick fix was to “uninstall” and reinstall the app. At least one flight had to taxi back to the terminal so the pilots could get Internet access.
So what are the 10 ways you can get into trouble using an iPad?
WINGING IT
Many pilots figure they can learn a new program “on the fly” and therefore don’t put enough time and effort into learning all the features of their software. This can lead to critical mistakes, such as wandering into a TFR because ForeFlight’s airspace warning feature was not turned on.
THE DREADED BLACK SCREEN
Another common problem occurs when an iPad turns off due to overheating, often at a critical time. The obvious solution is to keep the device out of direct sunlight, but that can be a challenge in some cockpits.
It would also seem obvious to fully charge all electronic devices prior to a flight, but pilots get in a hurry and forget. Therefore, Reeves recommends having an external power supply available.
HEAD DOWN ISSUES
Although pilots should be looking outside the cockpit while taxiing or flying, multitasking and “head down” issues related to iPad use are common, he noted. For emphasis, Reeves showed a picture of a Cessna imbedded in a hangar wall because the pilot was trying to enter a flight plan while taxiing.
ZOOMING ISSUES
The ability to zoom in and out on an iPad screen is one of its best features — but failing to zoom out far enough ahead to see the next waypoint or perhaps a TFR — can lead to trouble.
OLD NEWS
ADS-B and XM weather depictions are not “live” and should only be used for long-range planning, but many pilots are relying on this dated weather data for in-flight decisions. With the FAA’s Flight Watch service being terminated soon, getting a good weather briefing on the ground is more important than ever, as is looking outside.
CUMULOGRANITE
ForeFlight and other navigation programs make terrain awareness much easier than before, but depending completely on the software to stay safe is asking for trouble. Everyone should know by now that red indicates terrain within 100 feet of your altitude, but a yellow terrain depiction does not mean you’re high enough over the ground. Flying over a yellow section of the map means there could be only 101 feet of clearance and mountain waves can easily cause you to lose that much altitude.
GEO, I MESSED UP
After you’re airborne, it’s too late to download and save current geo-referenced data from ForeFlight. That’s why Reeves recommends always having paper charts available.
BRIEFLY NOTED
With numerous good sources of weather information available these days, it’s easy to forget that you are required to get a complete and “legal” FAA weather briefing, meaning that it’s recorded somehow in the FAA’s system, whether on the phone or online.
GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
Programming errors (garbage in — garbage out) can lead to violations, such selecting and flying the wrong Standard Instrument Departure (SID).
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Because the FAA’s obsolete radar systems are not as accurate as our modern GPS in-cockpit navigators, it may appear to the FAA that you’ve crossed the line when you’re actually just skirting the edge of restricted airspace. Although software such as CloudAhoy can help prove that you did not violate airspace, Reeves recommends staying at least two miles away to avoid the chance of getting busted.
Did my cross country from ADS to PRX , my KLN 89 died , one of my instructors put me in the broken R type Cessna 172 . He and I were not on the best of terms . It was cold as a witches left arm that day … I flew on VOR and paper sectional . I like foreflight but I always call the flight briefer ! And yea I call FSS in do in-air flight plans too . You can file a flight plan by foreflight but I like the briefer . Failures happen , I once rapid fired the ARCAL over by F00 , well two things happened , I had to fly partial panel and I lost coms, transponder , flaps and the ARCAL . I do not know what went wrong that night , lol but there was a meteor shower. it may be a quote from sci fi but “a good pilot doesn’t need all that electronic felgarcarg “
One of the things I liked about the I Pad / Foreflight / Stratus combination, which nobody mentioned in the article or comments, is that my I Phone, always in my pocket, is a seamless backup to the I Pad. A bit smaller, but it is all there. I also carry a Bad Elf GPS to back up the Stratus (at least for navigation). Finally, I still use a Garmin GPS 196 (imagine- Black and White) which is still a perfectly serviceable navigator.
I flew for 20+ years without all this magic, so I am pretty well able to get along with VOR and an old paper chart. I do worry about pilots who never really learned how to use the navigation magic of the 1950’s (which seems awful clunky today but was certainly a miracle in its day) that made instrument navigation a slam dunk compared to what went before.
Another advantage of all this portable equipment is that if the aircraft electrical system goes Tango Uniform (probably more likely than the I Pad going that way) each element has a long-lasting internal battery that we can exercise and monitor. Much better than hoping the aircraft battery will power a panel of electronic boxes while we find runway.
While I agree that it is folly to assume that the IPad will never let you down, this new technology is wonderful stuff. Just don’t forget that the pilot still flies and taxis the airplane, first things first, and have multiple sources of data for critical things like terrain clearance. Trust but verify.
All these reasons are problems with panel mount gee-wiz color toys too, like the 430, or real fancy 750. As an instructor I’ve seen it first hand NUMEROUS times.
Get a Stratus 2 and you will always have updated and avail Nav info and Radar and Synthetic Vision
(if you pay a bit extra for that Foreflight Program)! Worth the $900 for the Stratus 2!
Bottom line: always fly as if the EFB is about to fail. Know where you are, know where you’d go if it failed. Even if VFR, always know who controls the IFR traffic where you are and what freq is
best in your area. Worst case scenario happens and the EFB shoots craps, call ATC for help w unicom freqs, vectors to an airport, etc..remember, they are busy, yes. They are, however, a great resource.
Have all the info you need before you depart, always expecting the EFB to fail at some point. The real safety net is…flight following. Becomes just another day at the office (cockpit).
“Bottom line: always fly as if the EFB is about to fail.”
Wow! That’s a pretty pessimistic view from someone that probably flies an aircraft that uses the beating of pistons to produce thrust. I’d worry about that engine long before I worried about an EFB failing. Many of the major airlines of the world have been using iPad’s for all the terminal, en-route, charting, and equipment manual storage. Used PROPERLY, this electronic device works marvelously. If you treat it like some pilots I’ve seen treat their thousand dollar Bose headsets, than yes, one should expect failure, or at least, reduced performance.
In two years of international flight use; zero problems and consistent battery consumption.
And airlines have TWO pilots, and two iPads. And they can call on the company frequency if needed.
I think the author of that comment was trying to say, have a backup, know where you are, plan ahead, and that it’s probably not best to have to use 121.5 because your iPad failed.