Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human-Machine Interface
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Manuals
While using the iPad to look up answers during our Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) oral it became obvious that it has a serious shortcoming. The iPad has no compete table of contents that can be looked at once like a paper manual. If you were to look at a paper manual table of contents you would at a glance see the subject you are looking for. With an iPad you tap on the subject and then get a tab behind a tab etc. i.e. FOM - Policy>Flight>Standard Callouts. If you click on the wrong tab to find something you have to back out of 'the rabbit hole' and look elsewhere. It's very hard to find things. The Performance Manual has no index or tab to find specific airport performance and turn procedures. The only way to get to an airport is to scroll along to find it. Very hard to do in flight. The search function is almost useless. For example: type EAT in the Performance Manual to find Wenatchee and it will find many answers like great Falls etc.A simple complete table of contents and tabs for each airport in the Performance Manual will solve this problem.
A Captain; preparing for an Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) oral; reports on the many shortcomings of the IPad as a replacement for traditional aircraft flight manuals.