Flight Crew Rotorcraft; Flight Crew Flight Engineer; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Sea; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 225; Flight Crew Total 25000; Flight Crew Type 2000
Human-Machine Interface
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Manuals; Company Policy
During my 48 years of flying; 36 as an airline pilot; we have all witnessed major improvements in equipment and technology. Most were fully tested and vetted prior to the introduction into the flight decks of our passenger aircraft. The latest such technology is the iPad. My comments need to be prefaced by stating that computers are a revolutionary technology with which I am very comfortable and in the use of which I am extremely well versed. That being said; the rush to put the iPad into full use aboard our fleets; WITHOUT BACKUP PAPER MANUALS ON BOARD; is an extremely poor decision and could lead to unintended; very bad conclusions. There needs to be several more years of testing; training and evaluation prior to their full stand alone implementation. There needs to be several training and checking cycles during which the electronic pad is used as the primary information and reference source. Data should be collected; evaluated and codified to determine the practicality and desirability of full implementation. The collected data needs to be compared against a base line established from training and checking session using the existing paper manuals. This is the only means to determine the feasibility and safety of full implementation. The data collected must be the evaluations of LINE PILOTS ONLY; and must not be allowed to be skewed by the inclusion of data related to line check airmen; pilot instructors or standards Captains. These individuals are highly trained in the use of the iPad and their jobs require daily usage. This is not the case with the average line airman.You are strongly urged to prevent our airline from 'RUSHING TO JUDGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION' of the iPad without far more training and evaluation.The potential for an aircraft accident or incident related to premature implementation is not acceptable.
An A320 Captain expressed concern about the proposed implementation of iPads as the sole flight deck source of information and data currently provided through paper documents and publications. The reporter believes an extended period of vetting; with the paper documents retained as backups; should be required to insure reliability and provide flight crew with adequate opportunity to gain facility and confidence in their use.