B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Confusion; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy
During Preflight the relief pilot reported that his ship set was missing 3 binders - all the primary destination airport information. It was a weekend day; I called the [Systems Controller]; left a message.  Called Ops.  They reported that 3 other aircraft had the same problem that day; and that they were out of spare ship sets.  Captain called the [Duty Manager];  who informed him that 'there is a bulletin out on that; and that all the destination charts are being pulled from the relief pilot ship sets'  Yikes!  I could not recall reading a bulletin; looked around in the iPad and could not locate.  Three days later; the bulletin appeared; saying that the relief pilot ship sets had been modified.  Here is my problem with that:  we can't use the IPADs below 10;000 feet.  By removing the relief pilot's primary destination charts; we are essentially saying that his input with regard to ops below 10;000 feet (the busiest environment) is not important.  This essentially tells us that third pilot input with regard to navigation (especially during the ground taxi portion of the program) is not necessary.  It marginalizes the relief pilot role in safety; especially during ground ops when IMHO; it is critical.   We often go to foreign destinations where understanding the directions of the controllers and navigating the airport is very challenging.  Often it takes all three/four of the pilots to get a clear understanding of what/where we are going.  We need to keep all the tools available to help accomplish that mission safely.
The reporter states that the Company has clarified the use of iPads below 10;000 feet; which applies only to the pilot flying since the iPads do not currently have mounts; but soon will have.
B777 First Officer is informed during preflight by the relief pilot that charts for primary destinations are missing from the shipset. A call to the Duty Manager reveals that the paper charts have been removed and iPads will be the primary method of storing and displaying charts.