A350 Takes to the Skies
Airbus this morning confirmed that the first planned flight for the A350 will take place this Friday. The A350 XWB “MSN1” will take off from Toulouse-Blagnac airport at around 10:00 am local time pending successful final checks today and tomorrow. The A350 is scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2014 and will directly compete with the B787 as well as the B777. Airbus currently has over 600 confirmed orders for the A350 including orders from United and Hawaiian airlines in the US.
American’s iPad Electronic Flight Bags
AA has completed rolling out their new iPad flight bags across the fleet. AA first announced plans for the roll-out back in September – American’s pilots will be using iPad, the only FAA-approved tablet as an Electronic Flight Bag in approved aircraft. An Electronic Flight Bag reduces or replaces paper-based reference material and manuals often found in a pilot’s carry-on kitbag. Removing the 35-pound kitbag from each American Airlines plane will save an estimated $1.2 million of fuel annually based on current fuel prices. “This is a very exciting and important milestone for all of us at American Airlines as we work to modernize our processes and best meet the needs of our people,” said Captain John Hale, American’s Vice President – Flight. “With this approval from the FAA, we will be able to use iPad to fully realize the benefits of our Electronic Flight Bag program, including improving the work environment for our pilots, reducing our dependency on paper products and increasing fuel efficiency on our planes. We are equipping our people with the best resources and this will allow our pilots to fly more efficiently.”
Check out this video from Cockpit Chronicles as an AA pilot shows off the iPad…
Related – AA’s New Boarding Pass
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3 comments
looks kool
I wonder what the back-up is if the iPad crashes or freezes? I suppose if both pilots have one that should be sufficient
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