An interview with a professional pilot about how the products are used Apple in air transport

The idea of ​​interviewing Miš has been running through my head since Friday. When we went to Vienna together and talked about Apple and aviation more and more, it was decided that we simply had to have the conversation. Honestly showing you how they use the company's products Apple people doing the same to them as any normal person except that they are "famous" doesn't sound like the best and most interesting idea to me. So come and see how he uses it Apple products in his work a real professional pilot, for whom the iPad became iPhone, iMac and MacBook Air an integral part of not only personal, but especially professional life.

Hello, could you please introduce yourself to our readers. 
Hello, my name is Michal O., I graduated from the Technical University in Košice, Aviation faculty. Specifically, a bachelor's program Proa professional pilot, the aim of which is to provide training so that in addition to the theoretical study, the student can carry out practical flight training in a contracted flight school (FTO), up to the level of necessary professional competence that entitles him to perform the function of co-pilot. I continued the two-year engineering program Air Traffic Management. After the holidays, I will be studying at the third level, but already in the five-year, external form of Phd.. After completing the relevant flight training, I completed the theoretical (ATPL(A) frozen) and a practical test for obtaining a license CPL(A) and instrument qualification test IR(A) ME na SR Aviation Office, respectively in flight school.

This month will be my last vacation and then I will start looking for a job, specifically the position of F/O which means first officer. I started and finished my practical training at the flight school in Trenčín, which is called Seagle Air FTO. In addition to training, it also allows anyone who wants to and is not afraid to "become a pilot" for a few minutes or hours.

What is the largest, or the most famous plane for readers, can you pilot?
I can currently fly type aircraft DA-20, DA-40, DA-42 and C-172. After completing type training, I can fly almost any aircraft as an F/O. Prothe problem is that, depending on the type of aircraft, such training costs, let's say, from 6 to 40 thousand €. Mostly, such training is only done when the pilot has a certain job in a company where they need a pilot for a given type of aircraft. There are also those who take a type test or training even without job security. It is a risk that may or may not pay off. My dream, although probably unrealistic, is to fly on a plane AN-225. Airplanes are more realistic than B-737, A-320 or, for example, private jets, such as Cessna CitationJet or Embraer Legacy 600.

It is common in aviation that they use pilots and co-pilots iPhone, iPad or Mac?
I don't know if the current state can be described as normal use, because I don't know the exact percentage numbers, but it can certainly be said that the iPad is quickly establishing itself in this area as well. For example, in the USA, iPads are tested, after approval by the authority (FAA), by pilots of companies such as American Airlines and Delta Airlines. The response from the pilots is mostly positive, but the use of the iPad is also associated with risks. The distraction of pilots was specifically mentioned, as the iPad can also contain applications other than work. But if I remember correctly, iOS 6 introduced the ability to lock the iPad for use with only one application. Specifically, it was supposed to help autistic children. I believe that a similar function removes even the last obstacles in the mass use of iPads in airplanes. “The Alaska Company Airlines is the first airline to replace flight manuals with an iPad. According to the company's statement, the 600-gram iPad is supposed to replace 12 kg of manuals and other documents that pilots must carry with them. The manuals will be in plain PDF files and the GoodReader application will be used to read the manuals. PDF files will use hyperlinks and links, allowing pilots to quickly navigate through the documents. The airline often changed some pages in the documents, which was time and organizationally demanding to change for every existing copy of the manual. Now new versions of documents are copied with one click of a button. Alaska Airlines is supposed to save 2.4 million paper pages."

What applications do you use at work and what are they used for? ProI play Flight Control too, so try something else.
It is important to say that it flies according to two basic principles. In the first case, the pilot has a map of the terrain over which he is flying. This is called visual flying, and the second method is flying according to instruments, where the pilot is occupied by data from alarm clocks or from the screen.

In the first case, the application is most useful Air hubs Pro. It contains maps of the whole world (some paid, some free) and mainly also radio navigation devices, airports, their frequencies (APP, ATIS, DELIVERY, TWR, NDB, VOR/DME), runway courses, runway surface, entry-exit points and their coordinates, even CTR and TMA boundaries, as well as prohibited areas (cannot determine if they are active, only lists their height range and name). As another big plus, I consider that the application can also display METAR and TAF (which is the current weather and forecast for the given airport) very intuitively, by clicking on the "V" in the green circle at any time even during the flight. Among the many functions, I would also choose the option to download the terrain profile of the entire landscape (again, any) and display it on the display even during flight, while the pilot can choose a range between 10 and 51 NM. Altitudes that are in front of the aircraft or along the track are always displayed. This brings us to the possibility of creating the track we want to fly. For example, I am now sitting at home and I entered the route from my current position to the nearest airport (direct), which is LZIB or Bratislava, from there Senec, Leopoldov, LZPP – Piešťany, Beckov and LZTN – Trenčín. The route menu displays all points along the route, the distance from the current position in NM, the total distance to the destination and many other options for editing individual points and displaying them on the map. Likewise, their frequencies, if it is an airport, the already mentioned information about runways and frequencies. The editing mode is really at a high level and there is no need to be afraid of it, the route can be planned even outside airports, radio navigation points or entry-exit points. The application can also measure take-off, landing, block-off, block-on, number of landings, total flight time, as well as add information about the crew, aircraft identification and other notes to flights. There is also an option to display the yield from the VOR, altimeter, ADF, compass, ground speed instead of the map on the display, but only the IAS is missing, which cannot be measured (or calculated) without a pitot tube (you can read more about it on wikipedia). The application also works with MSFS X and the X-plane simulator. The biggest attraction for trying the application will certainly be the possibility to activate the EFIS mode, which simulates a glass cockpit and displays GS (ground speed), height, course, rate of climb/descent, pitch of the aircraft and the like. For full functionality (displaying the map in EFIS mode), you need to purchase additional maps, which for SR cost €24,99 and have 218 Mb. The Czech Republic costs €29,99 and consists of two packages of 198 and 137 Mb, but the whole world is not available. Some European ICAO maps, approach maps (e.g. Greece Hellenic Heliport Plates), maps from Airways New Zeland and then there are maps for free, like free maps 1:250 and free elevation data. In the "weather report" item, METAR from preset airports will be displayed at once. In the menu, it is also possible to set active landscapes in order to speed up the start of the application, which is more time-consuming, e.g. with an iP 000GS, but on a 3s it's lightning fast (literally) even if you have all the landscapes of the world active.

To sum it up, this app is really multi-functional and handy for small planes and lower altitudes. I write about lower altitudes because I tried it in the A319 during the flight, without airplane mode (active GPS) and it did not detect my position, speed or course, simply nothing. I don't know what exactly was wrong. On the other hand, it worked for me at heights of up to two kilometers above the ground. However, I would like to point out that it in no way replaces the devices on board the plane and is not a substitute for navigating using your eyes, map and mainly your mind! Which awareness needs to be confirmed even when starting the application. Not that you will use it to implement CAT III B approaches to a VFR airport!

*Landing without one engine Piešťany

Another very useful application for VFR flying is "sun n moon". This application has several functions such as a compass, displaying the phase of the moon, but the most important for a pilot is displaying the sunrise and sunset in his current position, or in the position of the city that we enter. While we can also move forward and backward by individual days.

If the weather is in the app for the pilot Air hubs Pro unsatisfactory or unclear for any reason, there are many applications for displaying weather for pilots. I personally use AeroWeather, where I set the airports from which I want a return, METAR (current weather) and TAF (forecast) are displayed, and in addition to the weather in the form of "RAW" (raw) is also available in the decoded form. It is even possible to view the current situation as an image from a webcam in the webcam item. It is a bit funny that there are also images from the city, such as from "Vajnory - Handball court". Well, the biggest advantage of this application is the ability to display NOTAM, airport details, all nearby stations of your choice. All this information can even be shared via FB, Tweeter, mail, METAR SMS, TAF SMS, or printed.

My favorite app for all three devices (iPhone, iPad and Mac) is LogTen Pro. It is a flight log that allows you to create a backup of a paper logbook, a book where flights are recorded (date, time, from where, to, who, in what plane, under what conditions and much more). Although it does not replace a paper logbook, because it also contains the signatures of examiners, instructors, stamps, etc., it is a great thing if you always want to have the data about your flights easily stored in your pocket. You can create smart lists here, where only flights according to your criteria are displayed, for example only flights in a given type of aircraft (DA-20, DA-42, DA-40), or in a specific aircraft according to registration (OM-GST, OM-HLN, OM-KLM). In the left bar, standard flights for the last 7 days, 28 days, 6 months and 12 months are displayed. Underneath the team there are editable counters that, as I already mentioned, can display any combination of requests you can think of and display exactly what you need to find out. It's a really cool thing that can come in handy. Synchronization between devices is a matter of course, perhaps a bit limiting is that it only works via WiFi, personally I would like it more if it also worked via 3G/EDGE, so I would have everything on my Mac when I got home. I don't know if this is possible from a security point of view.

There are really countless options to choose from in the settings and variacie. Probably the most important setting is the choice of logbook. We have the options Student, General Aviation, Instructor, Commercial Pilot, Military Pilot, First officer, Captain and flight attendant. You can add other columns as needed, even with your own "custom". Furthermore, the application offers to create a list of certificates such as medical examination, MEPL, SEPL and the like, and it always shows you in the bottom left, the certificate that expires first and also shows in how many days, which can be useful. Among others, I will mention the possibility to view the individual airports visited, where the amount of fees can also be set, so you know how much money you have spent at the given airport for the entire time of flying. The same option is also available for more detailed editing of the aircraft you use.

The application is not free, it costs €79,99, from time to time a 20% discount is available, it is also possible to upgrade from the older version 5.xx to version 6.xx for a reduced price. Application for iPhone iPad also costs €62,99, only for iPhone €19,99. Which I think is overpriced. Mainly for iPhone and iPad, either as a universal application or individually.

*Landing without one engine Poprad

The last and at the same time probably the most professional pair of applications that I will mention are Jeppesen Mobile TC and FD (Terminal Charts, Flight Deck). These apps are only compatible with iPad and are completely free. But the pilot needs a subscription code for aerial maps, which can be either for a specific location or for the whole world. For example, Europe and the Mediterranean stand $2377 which is not exactly the cheapest thing to do, unless you are an airline that has a good background or a very wealthy individual. Another thing is that one code can only be used for one computer/iPad/pilot, so long as we want to comply with the terms of the contract.

The JeppTC app is very cool. The pilot chooses an airport and chooses the one he needs in the set of maps (which are numbered and thus stored exactly as in paper form). The advantage is that you can zoom in on individual maps. As a disadvantage, I think that the iPad definitely weighs more than a few pages of paper. I mention this because some pilots tend to choose only the necessary maps and attach them to the rams in front of them, as you can see on this picture. To start from the top right, I will mention the airplane icon first, below it we will find a list of airports for which we have downloaded maps. We can choose either a list of all airports or only the favorite ones. In both cases, there is a search option at the top of the window. After clicking on an airport in the list, the maps that are available for that airport will be displayed. Eagle County Regional Airport is available in the demo version Airport (KEGE) and SID, Taxi and maps to it Appyear After selecting a specific map, we can scroll between the maps as in a book, with our finger, or we can use the list of maps at the bottom of the screen. If you hold your finger on it, you will see not only the map number, but also its description, specifically for map 10-3 it is "GYPSUM 4 DEP".

Another icon, namely the letter "i" contains a list of changes on the map that are not available in the demo version. Next is the icon of the book, which contains the manuals, the solid star with a shadow is the list of popular maps for the given airport, they are always displayed only for the given one airport that we have open. A sun icon indicates app brightness increase/decrease, followed by an empty star to add the map to favorites and finally there is an icon for app settings which includes the categories "updates", "help" and "print". JeppFD works on a similarly intuitive principle, but is used for flight planning. Contains track maps, as well as terminal charts and manuals.

Many pilots solve the situation with a subscription by copying the current maps from a colleague who has them available at the company. You can also, at your own risk, download them from the Internet in PDF form and save them in the GoodReader application. It might not be comfortable either, but it will serve the purpose if you want to forcefully read maps from your iPad. I think it makes no sense unless you really have several kilograms of maps and manuals in your bag.

What is the main advantage of when the pilot uses iPhone?
I don't think so. iPhone as such it has some special advantage over other smartphones of today when it comes to flying. Maybe if someone uses the aforementioned LogTen application Pro yes, because I don't know if it exists for another OS, I think not.

Do pilots of European airlines receive iOS equipment from the employer?
Yes, I've heard of a few companies, but I can't find any records of it online. As far as I know, they are mostly companies operating business jets.

Do you think the time has come for pilots to use these products as an essential part of their equipment?
I think it's only a matter of time before devices like the iPad become the standard, as they save not only paper but also weight. I've even heard of a proposal to replace passenger brochures with tablets. This move is supposed to save hundreds of kilograms for larger planes, which means a considerable annual saving on fuel and therefore costs for the airline.

What is the biggest obstacle to the adoption of these products in aviation?
As I say, a tablet in the cockpit is not such a rarity these days. In time, when their price is reduced and the confidence of the company, which I hesitate, based on the experience of other companies, increases, nothing will cost a tablet on the way to cockpits. The advantage is that even a first-generation iPad is sufficient for displaying maps. So, over time, the cost of acquiring such equipment will only decrease. I would say that a device like would be more suitable for this purpose Amazon A Kindle, which would serve only this purpose and is at the same time a bit lighter and with an anti-glare surface (which is common in the cockpit). At the same time, I think that the pilot should have the choice between a tablet and a paper version of the documents in the company.

What is your favorite app and why?
My favorite app is definitely the camera, because I love taking pictures and capturing unique moments, whether in the air or on the ground. Camera in iPhone The 4S has very good optics. I also enjoy looking at the pin map in iPhoto. So I know exactly where I was, what I took a picture of, and I don't have to purchase any external GPS device, as is necessary with an SLR camera. Further clearly comments and Mail. I have several favorites from those downloaded, for example SportTracker, Abs workout, SkyView, Navigon, SmartSync, 360 Panorama, Bejeweled, Carcassonne, Minigore and of course Facebook. These help me in various areas of life, mostly in the fight against boredom. Applications such as Hospodárske noviny and LsA they are the ones that keep me in the picture most of the time. Already mentioned from aviation Airhubs Pro, LogTen Pro, Aero Weather and Sun n Moon. So I listed at least the most basic and most popular ones.

That's what comes to mind when I, as a passenger, always have to turn off iPhone, as a pilot, can you keep it on?
There is no mobile network at that height, it is only up to a height of about three kilometers above the ground. Mobile phones and other electronic devices energy are prohibited miniat least during take-off and landing, but so far no accident known to me has been caused exclusively by the use of mobile phones. Some airlines use AeroMobile or On technologyAir, which allow the use of mobile phones even in airplanes. This technology is used by companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, V. Australia, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair a SAS. As for private bizjets, the Falcon 2000 started using the SafeCell system in April 2009, which is similar to the ones mentioned above. To sum it up, unless other negative factors are involved, your phone being on will definitely not cause the plane to crash. What can happen, and probably will happen, is that your phone will die due to constant network searches. So the regime Airyou won't spoil anything, the flight attendant will be happy and you'll also protect your phone's battery.

Thank you for the interview and especially for your time. If there is something you would like to say to our readers, now is your space.
You're welcome, sorry for the delay. I would like to tell the readers that flying is a wonderful hobby that is available to the general public. It is enough to deny yourself one overdone Friday and you can get an unforgettable experience, either for yourself or for your loved one. I guarantee you that you will not regret a cent when you brag at home or in front of your friends that you have become test pilot.

PS: are you reading letemsvetemapplem.eu?
Definitely yes! Compared to other websites about apple I like the high frequency of adding new interesting articles, full of news from the world apple and its competition.