Foreflight vs Paper Charts

[Amelia]

I had the fun experience of flying with a mostly paper pilot across the country last year. She had a heavy satchel full of charts, notepads, highlighters, paper flight plan forms, airport diagrams, weather printouts, flight log, etc, and I had my iPad (and XM gear stuffed under my seat.) At the end of our three thousand plus miles together, we were each convinced that we were right all along. She continues to fly mostly locally with her lap full of papers, and I really like my gadgetry and its instantaneous answers all over the country. Yes, during some of those hot,hot desert days, if I weren't careful to keep the iPad uncovered and aimed at an air vent, it did overheat several times. I kept a tissue handy for the fingerprints. But having never lived close to a full-service pilot shop with a rack of current charts for the nation, I found it a PITA , and more often impossible, to get current charts, quickly, for a spur-of-the-moment trip, or last-minute Angel Flight mission. My iPads, both of them, always have current charts, plates, TFRs, restricted and special use airspaces, fuel prices, airport info, my WAAS position depicted on both charts and approach plates, graphic elevation depiction, and <10-minute-old weather, TYVM. Yes, indeedy, I am very happy with several excellent EFBs. In the Good Old Days, I loved spreading charts out on the big dining room table, matching edges, and finding my way from coast to coast, and now admit, EFBs do that better for me. Pinch and zoom. Rubberbanding. Vi-ola, the entire route, winds aloft, fuel consumption, even weight and balance pop up as if by magic. Wheee!

[fantom]

.....and zoom. Rubberbanding. Vi-ola, the entire route, winds aloft, fuel consumption, even weight and balance pop up as if by magic. Wheee!

 

Wonder Woman