US Air Force Buys iPads To Replace Flight Bags 348
redletterdave writes "Following the precedent set by commercial airliners, the U.S. Air Force plans to buy up to 18,000 iPads for its Air Mobility Command (AMC), replacing heavy flight bags with light and efficient Apple iPad 2s for the crews that fly cargo aircraft. The devices will reportedly be used by the crews on the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster aircraft. There are several benefits to using electronic flight bags instead of physical versions. For one, the iPad can instantly update charts electronically, while the AMC would require flying charts get reprinted every 28 days to stay up-to-date. By cutting publication printing and distribution costs, and exchanging 70 pounds of paper for a 1.3-pound iPad, the Air Force can save some serious cash, including more than $1.2 million worth of fuel per year."
Battery (Score:5, Insightful)
Hrmm.. (Score:2, Insightful)
They should probably keep paper around, even if it isn't updated as often, as a backup.
It's going to suck to have nothing when your batteries die or the software fails.
$1.2M of fuel seems like a drop in the bucket for the amount of birds they keep in the air, and one falling out of it is worth far more.
Re:Battery (Score:4, Insightful)
It's OK man - they can spend $1.2 million recharging them!
Re:Battery (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't have electrical power in your plane you got much more serious problems than to worry about a dead iPad battery I believe.
Great (Score:0, Insightful)
Since you really want to replace hard copies with something that runs on a battery, you could at least go for something that gives you at least access to, say, its file system. Or something for which you won't pay extra just for the logo.
Re:E-paper (Score:3, Insightful)
You're missing the point, which is to plug Apple.
Re:They should wait a few more months (Score:5, Insightful)
Have you actually gone through the military procurement system? They probably ordered these when the iPad (1) was announced.
Re:$1.2 million/year with $18,000 iPads (Score:4, Insightful)
I remember reading an article a while back by a retired USAF pilot where he wrote about the time spent making sure that all the manuals and other paperwork were up to date and the trouble he could get into if it wasn't when someone inspected the aircraft. So I'm guessing that could save more than $1.2 million dollars of aircrew time.
Re:Battery (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, I'm not an aircraft engineer (either ground or flight), but I really don't remember 120v 60hz AC service routinely available on most military aircraft I've flown in. The stuff I've seen is 120 Vac at 400hz or 28 Vdc.
I suppose a multi-billion dollar program to retrofit all these AMC aircraft to include US household current on the flight decks of the current transport aircraft inventory wouldn't be all bad...
Re:Battery (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe they think having 2-3 of them on board at a time constitutes "backup". Who knows? All I know is that I'd want a paper chart to be there. Just in case.
Re:Hrmm.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I have to say, it reminds me of the comment an ex-Signals guy doing his amateur radio licence at the local club made, along the lines of "a map with a bullethole in it is a map that's still mostly accurate, but a laptop with a bullethole in it is really just too big to be a useful paperweight"
iPad can charge off of USB ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, I'm not an aircraft engineer (either ground or flight), but I really don't remember 120v 60hz AC service routinely available on most military aircraft I've flown in. The stuff I've seen is 120 Vac at 400hz or 28 Vdc. I suppose a multi-billion dollar program to retrofit all these AMC aircraft to include US household current on the flight decks of the current transport aircraft inventory wouldn't be all bad...
Like most other gadgets, the iPad can charge off of a USB port. That would be 5 Vdc.
Re:Battery (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously. Perhaps it is just a fantasy I've held since I was younger, but I would have thought the military would have developed their own systems, designed to survive Armageddon. The thought of a military officer touting an Apple iPad into battle is a little...strange; I mean, they are cargo aircraft, but still. All we need are some Hal-branded headphones, and Twitter-enabled position locators, and the image shall be complete.
require that these be secured (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Chinese military hardware (Score:4, Insightful)
Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:iPad can charge off of USB ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Yeah right, because in all these utility aircraft we operate every day, over thousands of flights, it has never occurred to anyone that someone might need DC power for something. Besides which, these things are largely for flight charts, rest calculators, etc. It's not like they're moving all their avionics to an ipad.
But it's good thing we've got the slashdot crowd around to point out these devastating flaws.
Re:Battery (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Battery (Score:2, Insightful)
3 words. "single point of failure"
Re:Battery (Score:3, Insightful)
Good thing they have a fleet to average over.