FAA to ban pilot use of electronic devices

On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register which “would prohibit flight crew members in operations under part 121 from using a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer for personal use while at their duty station on the flight deck while the aircraft is being operated.” The rule was prompted by a 2009 incident in which a Northwest Airlines crew flew for 78 minutes and 150 miles past their destination without talking to air traffic controllers. It was later revealed that the crew became distracted with their laptop computers while in cruise flight. Additionally, the first officer of the Cogan Airlines flight that crashed in Buffalo in 2009 had sent text messages while the plane taxied out for takeoff.

There has long been a “sterile cockpit” rule in which flight crew members are prohibited from engaging in nonessential activities that could cause distractions in critical phases of flight such as taxi, takeoff, landing and operations below 10,000 feet except for cruise flight. The NPRM notes that the new rule would expand the ban for “personal wireless communications devices and laptop computers to all phases of flight.”

There would be several exemptions to the new rule. Pilots could use their personal communications devices or laptops if the use is “directly related to operation of the aircraft, or for emergency, safety-related, or employment-related communications and the use is in accordance with air carrier procedures approved by the Administrator.” In other words, pilots can make calls related to flying the airplane, aviation emergencies (personal emergencies are specifically excluded), or if they need to call their company for an operational reason. The rule would also exempt companies that have FAA approved programs that use electronic devices such as laptops or tablets for flight operations. In recent years, several airlines have been approved to use iPads in place of paper charts and manuals.

According to the NPRM, the rule “includes, but is not limited to, devices such as cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, tablets, e-readers, gaming systems, netbook computers, and notebook computers.” Under the new rule, pilots could not legally listen to music or podcasts on their iPods or read an email on their phone during any phase of flight. Ironically, although pilots would be able to legally read a newspaper after the airplane is established in cruise flight above 10,000 feet, they would not be able to read a newspaper downloaded to a tablet application or browse a newspaper site on the internet.

While well intended, the new rule may have the unintended consequence of making pilots more fatigued and less alert. In jet aircraft, some flights can be very long. A typical flight from New York to Los Angeles can last from five to six hours and transoceanic flights are normally even longer. After the airplane takes off and reaches its cruising altitude, there can be little to do for long hours. Sitting still and staring out the window with nothing to do for extended periods can be very fatigue inducing. This is especially true when the flight is a “red-eye” that is conducted on the “back side of the clock,” when the airplane is being operated during nighttime hours when the crew is normally sleeping. During such flights, having a diversion such as a newspaper, crossword puzzle, or an electronic device with music, a podcast, or an ebook can keep the crew member mentally stimulated while conducting intermittent crosschecks of the autopilot and aircraft systems.

If electronic devices are banned from the flight deck, pilots will resort to old fashioned methods of passing the time. USA Today, delivered to nearly every hotel room in the country and stocked with crossword and Sudoku puzzles, is a traditional means of passing time on long flights behind a closed cockpit door. Many flight bags contain a deck of cards, a magazine, or a paperback novel. Pulling pranks on flight attendants is also a time-honored tradition of airline pilots. If all else fails, even in the age of GPS, most airplanes are still equipped with an automatic direction finder (ADF) that is more useful for listening to Rush Limbaugh on AM radio than for navigation.

The proposed rule is not yet in effect. The FAA has established a comment period that is open until March 17. Comments can be delivered electronically via a link on the Federal Register page where the proposed rule is published. A direct link to the comment form can be found here.

Originally published on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/faa-proposes-ban-on-pilot-use-of-electronic-devices?cid=db_articles

New Year’s resolution: Unplug and connect

My New Year’s resolution for the coming year is to unplug and connect.

I plan to unplug in the sense that I won’t be so constantly wired in to the multiple electronic devices that I own and now consider indispensable. I plan to strike a balance between what is necessary and what is gratuitous. I have to have a cell phone and iPad for work. I don’t have to check them constantly for email or Facebook updates.

Beyond that, there is television. Television has become a ubiquitous presence in our society. Most of us have several in our homes. Restaurants from the smallest fast food chains to the ritziest bistros now usually have televisions blaring. In many cases, we probably don’t know or care what is on. It’s just there as background noise. If we did, we might realize that much of what is on is an affront to our values and is teaching our children things we might just as soon that they not learn. At best we are living vicariously the life that some screenwriter thinks we should. 

Do we really have to be entertained constantly? Are we so afraid of a little silence that we must be wired to gadgets 24/7? Perhaps we’re not just bored. Perhaps we’re afraid to realize how shallow and disconnected our lives have become as we replace real flesh-and-blood relationships with digital ones.

The second part of my resolution is to connect with my family and other people. It doesn’t do my wife and kids much good if I’m with them, but staring at a screen. Likewise, my kids can stare for hours at Youtube videos… if I let them.

The latest Facebook status update is not important. In the grand scheme of things, neither is the latest update on the fiscal cliff, Lindsay Lohan’s (or insert celebrity du jour here) escapades, sports scores or news of pretty much any sort. We have shockingly little control about what goes on in the world around us. If I could control events, Mitt Romney would have won in a landslide.

The biggest measure of control that we have in our lives in within our own families. We control how our kids grow up, largely by the example that we set. If we want to make a difference in the world, this is where we should start.

We can also connect with our families by working less. If we cut the consumption of the trendy digital devices that only serve to disconnect us from reality in the first place, then we need less money. We can cut out the overtime or take a more rewarding job, even if there isn’t a pay increase.

I also want to connect with friends. In the six years that we have lived in our current home, we haven’t made any deep friendships with our neighbors. I want to change that. Part of it is that we live in a small town with all of its family connections and cliques. Part of it is that we haven’t tried all that hard. We’ve had friends who lasted for a season, but we always ended up going separate ways for one reason or another.

In the coming year I want to find good people to befriend. People who share my values and who like to have fun. People with kids. People that we can relax and be ourselves with. People who also want to unplug and enjoy the real world.

In 2013, I’ll be looking at a screen a little less and looking at the real world a little more. That will lead to a bigger impact on the part of the world that is most important to me: my family.

Join me if you dare.

Originally published on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/new-year-s-resolution-unplug-and-connect?cid=db_articles

FCC wants to allow electronic devices in flight

For frequent travelers, one of the biggest drawbacks to ereaders is that they can’t be used during taxi, takeoff and landing on commercial airline flights. As other passengers relax with newspapers or old fashioned books, tech savvy travelers have to twiddle their thumbs while the airplane moves to the runway and climbs through 10,000 feet. That may be about to change soon.

This week The Hill learned that Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, had sent a letter to the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Michael Huerta, recommending that the FAA “enable greater use of tablets, e-readers, and other portable devices” in flight.

Earlier this year, The Hill reported that the FAA was studying the possibility of allowing expanded use of electronic devices. While the FAA study specifically excluded the use of “voice communications” in flight, the FCC recommendation may pave the way for passengers to use tablets, ereaders, MP3 players and DVD players during all phases of flight.

Last year, American Airlines became the first airline to allow its pilots to use iPads to access charts and manuals in flight. Many passengers have undoubtedly wondered why pilots can use electronic devices when passengers cannot.

If the FAA does approve expanded use of electronic devices, passengers will likely still be limited to using “airplane mode.” The FAA will probably not allow the use of devices that transmit or receive while the aircraft is in flight. According to the FCC website, both agencies prohibit the use of wireless devices in flight “because of potential interference to the aircraft’s navigation and communication systems.”

The FCC had considered allowing in-flight use of wireless devices in 2007, but decided that there was insufficient information to determine whether airborne devices could harm networks on the ground. Passengers would still be able to purchase internet access from a provider such as Gogo if their plane is equipped.

The FAA points out that cell phones are different from other electronic devices because they transmit signals over long distances. To allow phones to be used for voice communications in flight, the air carrier would have to demonstrate that each particular model of phone would not interfere with each particular type of aircraft. The extensive testing required would make certification costs prohibitively expensive. The FAA does allow phones to be used for voice communications after landing as the plane taxies to the gate.

The FAA website also notes that most domestic airlines block the use of Skype and other voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) applications through their in-flight internet service providers. This is not because of an FAA restriction, but because most passengers don’t want to hear other passengers talking on the phone. This makes it questionable whether airlines would permit in-flight voice communications even if the FAA and FCC allowed them.

Any FAA rule change regarding electronic devices is unlikely to come before this year’s Christmas travel season. If you want to use your electronic device during your holiday air travel, keep it handy, but don’t turn it on until after takeoff.

Originally published on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/fcc-pushes-for-flight-use-of-electronic-devices?cid=db_articles

New AOPA pilot app for Apple

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association recently announced the release of a new Apple application for pilots.  The application, called FlyQ, is free to download and use for AOPA members.  The app uses DUAT, the FAA’s online weather source for pilots, to provide pilots with legal weather briefings and the ability to file flight plans.

The app consists of three main areas, which are tabbed across the bottom of the screen.  The first of these is the airports tab.  This uses the location feature of the iPhone or iPad to automatically bring up a list of nearby airports.  Along with airport data such as runway, fuel available, and frequencies is a small tab that tells whether each airport is VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, or low IFR at a glance.

When an airport is selected from the list, more detailed information is available.  This includes most of the pertinent information that you would find in the Airport Facility Directory such as all frequencies, the airport elevation, and a runway diagram are listed as well as other items such as satellite photos of the airport.  Recent weather reports and forecasts are also displayed.  This page also lists nearby navaids and airports.  Airport services from FBOs to ground transportation to restaurants and local attractions are also listed.

The weather tab automatically pulls up nearby weather reports and radar along with nice-to-know things like the expected high and low temperatures and general forecasts for the next week.  The radar can depict local, regional or national information.

Weather charts for the U.S. and Canada are available under the Gallery section.  This allows pilots to view useful graphic charts such as Freezing Levels, Icing Potential, and Turbulence charts quickly and easily.  The search function allows the pilot to type in another airport, such as the destination or alternate, to view the weather there.  Aviation weather reports and forecasts can be viewed in the standard coded format or in a plain English translation.

The plans section allows the user to log into their DUAT account to create flight plans and receive official weather briefings.  This requires creating both a pilot profile and an aircraft profile.  Many aircraft have default values that populate their profile, but the user should confirm the entries before relying on the flight plan data.  The ability to build a profile for almost any airplane, along with a variety of routing options such as jet airways, GPS direct, and optimizing for best winds means that even professional pilots of long range jets can use the app for most of their flight-planning needs.

There are some weaknesses with the FlyQ app.  The most obvious is that it is currently only available on Apple products.  AOPA does say that there is an Android version in the works, but there is no word on when it will be released.

Another is that the app is limited to the United States.  Canadian weather and airport data is accessible from the app, but the flight plan feature does not work for flights to Canadian airports.  Likewise, the user can look at Caribbean and Mexican airports and weather, but cannot file a flight plan to or from these destinations.

Finally, it was hard to figure out how to delete an old flight plan.  The FAQs suggested selecting the flight plan and then tapping on the action button, the box with an arrow coming out of it, in the upper left corner.  This brings up several options including emailing, printing or deleting the flight plan.  Unfortunately, this does not always work.

The AOPA FlyQ app is a good tool for any pilot with an iPad or iPhone.  For the most part it is very quick, easy to use, and works well.  As a free service of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, FlyQ could easily replace more expensive apps or programs.  With avgas and jet fuel prices so high, most pilots would probably be happy to save the money.  FlyQ is available in the Apple app store.

Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/review/aopa-releases-new-pilot-app-for-apple-products