Electronic Flight Bag: Handier to Use in the Cockpit

As part of its P2E (paper to electronic) initiative, Jeppesen's Neu-Isenburg, Germany-based Business & General Aviation Sales & Service team organized various customer seminars for business aviation operators in 2008. Led by Cay Roth, the team focused their presentations on Jeppesen's electronic products and services. The customer feedback indicated a high demand for information about practical experiences using electronic charts in operation, as well as questions around the certification processes for flying in a paperless cockpit environment. These requests for information have become a common theme at various customer visits in recent months. Based on these inquiries, the team revised their documentation and modified presentations to better answer operators' questions and concerns. At the Middle East customer seminar held in Dubai this past October, they presented their new concept of an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) workshop for business aviation customers called "Handier to use in the cockpit."

The new concept

The workshop provided BA customers who were intending to switch to electronic charting services with a comprehensive overview about the EFB complex. It included the legal information based on FAA and JAA regulations regarding the use of PED's (portable electronic devices) in cockpits; software, and hardware knowledge; and concluded with a short approach through the certification process. The customer learned the basics of EFB terminology, classes and types of software to be used in a PED. The major part of the presentation showed the Jeppesen software, JeppView/FliteDeck, and explained the functionalities and capabilities of the system.

Jeppesen was supported by its cooperation partner, The Tabletstore, who demonstrated the EFB hardware. The Tabletstore is a German company providing consulting services for tablet PC and mobile devices and is an OEM independent reseller of hardware units in Europe. Holger Stenzel, Product Manager from Jeppesen, and Jörg Mörke, Senior Aviation Consultant from The Tabletstore, have had a successful collaboration for over two years.

Saving costs!

Another major part of the EFB workshop was to show the customer the benefits of using electronic charts in their operation. The customer needs motivation to overcome the hurdle of the certification process. The company needs to invest money and resources to get certified. So, what would be the best argument for them to do it – saving money!

The international aviation magazine "Aerospace International" published an EFB article in their April 2008 edition. The magazine reported on the cost implications of adopting EFB technology. They referred to a U.S. airline report that a midsize aircraft that replaces manuals and paper charts with electronic solutions could save up to $30,000 a year in shipping and fuel costs for each tail.

Day-to-Day Business

What is a typical situation of a business aviation operator today? Most of the business operations are non-scheduled flights. Ten day rosters away from home base are normal. Business aircraft are also limited by space and capacity. Getting aeronautical charts fast and reliably could be very cost-intensive for the customer. If an overnight delivery must be arranged for a needed trip kit or a backup for lost charts, depending on the location, express shipping to the customer can cost approximately 50€ (USD$67) for each delivery. Operators may also need extra human resources to update their paper charting binders. Pilots have to do it by themselves in smaller companies, where resources are limited. The full worldwide set takes 5-6 hours a week to exchange the charts, according to Annegret Thodt, who works at the Jeppesen shop in Neu-Isenburg. The chart set for a typical European business operator contains 18 binders for IFR and VFR terminal charts with a total weight of 61.5 kg (135 lbs) including the flight cases. The worldwide chart set has a total weight of approximately 143 kg (315 lbs).

EFB solution vs. the Paper binders – the big difference!

To be flexible and competitive in the future, a business operator must optimize their operations and processes. EFB can help them. In the past few years, the BGA team has gathered a lot of experience, feedback and, most importantly, an expertise in EFB technology. The next step of our P2E initiative is to directly contact the civil aviation offices to get their specific requirements for the certification processes and ask certified customers about their experiences and lessons learned. All of this information will be analyzed and utilized as a knowledge base to the customer. The speed of switching to paperless cockpits and operations is accelerating and can now be better pushed from Jeppesen. This service to the customer will further strengthen the relationship between operators and Jeppesen now and in the future.