"Gentlemen passengers, please buckle your seat belts, put the seat upright and switch off their electronic devices." Less iPad pilot of the aircraft. American Airlines has started a pilot project that aims to introduce the Apple tablet in the cockpit of the plane. Just do not think that control of the aircraft will be done with the iPad, we are still far from that level of sophistication.
In fact, American Airlines wants to replace all the paper material used during the flight by iPad. Environment, ecology, sustainability ... The traditional suspects for this type of action. Legend has it that in total are more than 15 pounds of paper used for only one flight. Imagine swap it for a device that weighs only 600g.
This is not the first time a U.S. airline considers replacing paperwork with navigation information for the iPad. In larger, Alaska Airlines also began testing the riders along with the apple tablet. As this company is more humble, they adopted an app called GoodReader and scanned documentation - like PDF, so to speak.
"The iPads allow pilots to download updates, instead of waiting for paper reviews the documents they need printed and distributed," said Hank Putek, leader of the security committee of the group of employees of AA. According to him, the application developed specifically for the apple tablet brings all the information about the route of flight.
The tablet is in use since yesterday on AA flights departing from Los Angeles toward Tokyo, Japan, and Shanghai, China. To test it, American Airlines had a special permit from the federal aviation administration of the United States (FAA, its acronym in English). Originally, the iPad device is considered a "class 1", which should be turned off during takeoffs and landings. Only pilots can use it throughout the time they are in the aircraft.
And since the alleged reason for the adoption of the tablet is the reduction of paper, know that American Airlines is not a good Samaritan. When you replace 15 pounds per 600g, the company reduces the weight of the aircraft. At the end of the year, has an economy of 1 million dollars in fuel bill.
