Old School or New School for IFR?

Can you legally—and safely—rely upon a tablet to deliver the goods during instrument flight?

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 01:04 PM ET

Verified

Unfolding an IFR enroute chart can enable your flight-planning imagination. [FLYING Archives]

Key Takeaways:

iPads and tablets are widely adopted and FAA-approved for displaying IFR charts in Part 91 operations, significantly changing modern flight practices.
Despite their convenience, electronic devices can be a single point of failure due to issues like overheating or battery drain, necessitating robust backup solutions.
Pilots should always have multiple backups, which can include integrated flight deck charts, fully charged portable devices with external battery packs, printed paper charts for critical procedures, or inexpensive regional chart booklets.

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No doubt about it: the ability to use an iPad or other tablet for both planning and in-flight reference has changed the way many of us fly.

Approved for limited use by the FAA on airline flight decks since 2011, the iPad specifically feels ubiquitous. And as iPhones and other portables gain in size and acuity, they take on a similar role in an even more compact and powerful manner. For most Part 91 operations, an iPad is a completely legal way to display charts during flight under IFR.