By: Todd Wheatley
(c) IQ-2k   Jun.2010

During the personal computer (PC) boom media analysts foretold the coming of the "paperless office". PCs, they said, will free office workers from the endless paper shuffle. In the un-automated past entire documents had to be typed and retyped to filter out errors and make changes. It was the bane of office workers everywhere. Then with the birth of the PC document files would float in the ether and the "paperless office" would emerge. Ironically PCs reduced the cost and skill of document production so dramatically that offices literally drowned in paper.

By the same token paper in the cockpit can be a cause for concern. Yet unlike the office, paper shuffling in the cockpit remains more of a safety concern than a basis for drudgery. Not only is information availability a concern, but also distraction and loss of situational awareness. In the yesteryears you would hear of "seat- of-the-pants" flying or "dead reckoning". That was the essence of the "paperless cockpit". But like everything else aviation has grown in complexity.

The informed pilot now has nav charts, airport facility directories, approach plates, NOTAMs, flight plans and more. Flight bags ripping at the seams with paper-based information. Even worse, the decreased useful load actually gives pause for a weight and balance check. Over the years, however, pilots of all skill levels have devised cockpit information systems to suit their needs, but still not likely to handle the growing information volume.

Today the "electronic flight bag" and the "GPS moving map" lead the trend back towards a paperless cockpit, but with some of these systems more than a decade old the transition from a paper-based cockpit environment has been slow. Likely as a result of lagging technology within trainer aircraft. It seems that much of the fortune of General Aviation hinges on the demand for flight training. So despite the availability of advanced technology there is also a trend towards simplicity as can be seen by the recent development of the sport pilot license.

But aside from the growing production of light sport aircraft, trainers, in general, tend to be older with equally old avionics. Compounding this problem very few trainer aircraft were produced in the 80s and 90s. Finally when trainer fleets were updated with aircraft from the late 90s and early 2000s the avionics remained dated. At that time GPS moving maps were still expensive and the more powerful G1000 not yet in production.

Today the information power of the Garmin G1000 and the various "electronic flight bag" products are truly awe inspiring. Aside from NOTAMs and other very time specific flight information the G1000 has everything you need: maps, frequencies, runway lengths, and more. Ready, waiting, and available at the touch of a button. A paper-based flight bag may be just helpful, but neither option substitutes for proper flight planning. Plainly stated: having a bag full of information or some electronic equivalent does not constitute flight planning. So as the complexity of the flight increases so must the preparation.

FAR 91.103 states that: Each pilot in command shall, BEFORE beginning a flight, become familiar with ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION concerning that flight (emphasis added).

The regulation does not require the information to be physically transported. Just that the pilot be familiar with, and in command of, ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION concerning his or her specific flight. So the real issues transforms into information management. Do you look to advanced avionics? Or do you carry the paper-based equivalents? Will a post-it note suffice or will you need something more elaborate?

High-technology whether part of an electronic flight bag or integrated into the aircraft, like the G1000, can provide the information. And it is indeed a safe option ... under the following provisions: 1. a constant power source 2. reliable electrical components 3. pilot training and ability in using the technology 4. properly dated material in the database. If any one thing is missing the information is either useless or unobtainable.

So does this mean you need a paper-based backup? Not necessarily. There is no need to go old school. Hand- held backups exist for communications and navigation so why not electronic backups for information. It doesn't really matter ... the idea is to be prepared.

SAFETY FIRST ... second, and third.

Without electronic aides paper shuffling in the cockpit should be conducted in a proficient manner to both maintain safety and to obtain the required information. Then again proper flight planning would include information management prior to takeoff and during the flight. Once in flight, however, information management falls under the heading of cockpit resource management (CRM).

"All available information", as noted in FAR 91.103, transforms into "all available resources" be it paper, technology, or human. Ultimately the decision to go paperless is one of personal choice. Just remember that information is THE resource. If you don't have it (paper or otherwise), know how to get it. That is the basis for CRM and the path to safety.


(c) 2010    DR-KNOW
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