![]() Neal says that airlines are embracing the portable EFB versus an installed EFB because of the ease and speed of installation. That has closed a gap that existed between those two choices.” ![]() “Now you have a portable EFB with the same connectivity options as the installed EFB. “Our device acts as a small server – featuring an AID and a wireless access point/client combination device all in one,” Neal says. ![]() The first STC for the product was awarded last February for Boeing 737 Classic and NG configurations. That’s changing.Īstronics Ballard Technology introduced its new webFB device, which now connects avionics data to a tablet EFB. “Historically, one of the advantages of an installed EFB compared to a portable EFB was the connection to the avionics systems,” he says. Neal notes that until AIDs came along, airlines didn’t have a way to connect their tablet EFBs to the aircraft avionics data. “As the industry introduces more and more AID options, along with more and more EFB apps, it’s important that the applications and the AIDs adopt this standard interface protocol so that we do not have to customize all of our software for all the different hardware devices,” says Jon Neal, VP and GM of Astronics Ballard Technology.Īn AID allows the cockpit EFB to obtain avionics data instantly and securely. “Companies are going with a multi-layered approach, building with what we have on the ground but making it much more secure than you would in a typical scenario on the ground,” says Turner.īroader use of equipment that allows EFBs to safely tap into a plane’s avionics while ensuring that the core data is tamper-proof – called aircraft interface devices (AIDs) – depends on industry embracing a common standard, ARINC 834. “The primary benefit is it will give pilots much better situational awareness – knowing where they are in relation to what’s on the ground and in the surrounding airspace.”Ĭurrently, the approach for enabling WiFi is to keep cabin and cockpit connectivity completely separate. It’s similar to having GPS in your car showing your driving progress but on a much more sophisticated level,” says Grau. This flight-positioning ruling is to be included in the next revision of Advisory Circular 120-76 (Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Use of Electronic Flight Bags), due for publication in May. Recently, the FAA has determined it will permit depiction of the aircraft’s location during all phases of flight on the EFB. I like bringing these two worlds together,” she says. “What’s fascinating to me is that EFBs sit between the two worlds of avionics and IT and computing advances that surround us today on the consumer level. Sonja Schellenberg, project manager for Flight Operations IT at Lufthansa Airlines and co-chair of the EFB Subcommittee, has worked on EFBs for close to 15 years. The rate of new tablet applications has exploded, with airlines looking to bring third-party solutions and, in some instances, building in-house applications. “When the Apple iPad came out in 2010, it revolutionized everything,” he says, comparing its impact on aviation to the office environment switching from typewriters to computers. A licensed airline transport pilot, Grau previously worked as an engineer at Rockwell Collins. Program’s EFB Subcommittee and the EFB Users Forum. Peter Grau, principal engineer with ARINC Industry Activities, knows the forces shaping the EFB market well through his role overseeing that That becomes even more critical with the explosion in new apps that allow pilots to see the best altitude and descent points to fly to minimize their fuel burn, among other features. Key to the EFB movement is a common framework of standards, which depends on strong cooperation between industry and regulators. The availability of WiFi and new integration hardware is enabling airlines to choose mobile Windows and iOS tablets to run real-time applications that enhance plane performance by providing analytics that previously were the domain of more expensive installed EFBs hardwired into an aircraft’s data bus. The ability to eliminate paper initially drove EFB adoption. Today, 80 to 90% of the world’s commercial airlines are EFB-equipped. Apple’s introduction of the iPad in 2010 created a compelling business case for mobile EFBs in the cockpit. ![]() The days of pilots lugging heavy flight bags are gone, replaced with electronic flight bags (EFBs) that have dramatically improved operational efficiency.
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