A Paperless Cockpit?

FLYING Staff

Saturday, January 04, 2003 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

For most Part 91 operations (small aircraft), FAA regulations do not explicitly mandate paper charts, allowing Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) to be adopted for their cost savings, reduced pilot workload, and comprehensive information access.
The FAA's Advisory Circular 120-76 provides guidelines for EFB use, classifying devices and allowing many Part 91 operators to use them without specific certification, though it recommends a reliable backup during the transition to a paperless cockpit.
Despite EFB benefits, aviation experts warn that electronic databases may not contain all critical navigation information, making them an incomplete substitute for traditional charts and underscoring the pilot-in-command's responsibility to ensure safe operation, often requiring backup solutions.

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__”You’ve got JeppView on an MX20 and you’re still carrying paper charts?” Jim Miller asked. “Why?”

Jim Miller is executive vice president of Flight Options, the company that offers fractional shares of new and pre-owned business jets. Flight Options went “paperless” by providing the pilots of its fleet of 200 airplanes with electronic flight bags (EFBs) that are essentially Fujitsu pen tablet computers modified by Advanced Data Research (ADR). The EFBs eliminate most paper, including paper approach charts and, perhaps more important, the need to insert the periodic revisions into the manuals.