Avionics News March 2012 - 56

All That Glitters Is Not E-Gold
While a growing number of pilots and operators are rushing to embrace the virtues of electronic charts, there are still some proverbial bugs to be worked out. One, in particular, is the difficulty many pilots have in understanding exactly how to properly update the databases in their panel-mounted units. “What the OEMs have attempted to do is make upgrading those (panel-mounted) databases a vendor/customer relationship without involving the dealer,” said Greg Vail, avionics sales manager for Flightstar Corp. “There is no margin in it whatsoever for the dealer’s time, so we end up being caught in the middle. We spend our time and resources trying to help the customer with the download or training them on how to use the new data. “None of us mind supporting and giving information to the customer, but we can’t charge them for the help. The manufacturers need to do a better job creating educational pieces for the end user.” Vail’s case in point was a recent situation where a customer tried to update his older Garmin GPS with a new Jeppesen database. “He pretty much fried the unit,” Vail said. “Turns out the database needed a lot more memory than his older unit had available. Now, we had to try and find an old version of the database to fix the problem. “The problem was he didn’t go to Garmin or Jeppesen to fix his unit. He came to me expecting help, because I’m a Garmin dealer. I can’t really charge him for the time it took to get his unit up and running again. “If the OEMs are going to try and sell these things directly to the customer, then they have to do a much better job communicating and instructing the end-user on what they need to do. The bottom line is the dealers just want the manufacturers to put as much effort into supporting their customers as they do creating and selling the products.” q
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JEPPESEN E-CHARTS FOR THE IPAD

“What’s next is integration of information on many dimensions,” Ellerbrock said. “Integration of flight plans, charts, real-time weather feeds and overlays, integration of temporary flight restrictions on the charts – there are a host of non-charting applications we are developing for future introduction. “I see things like flight-plan routing and weather overlays being nearterm products. We have a bit of routing capability already with our Jeppesen Mobile Flight, but it’s not integrated with flight planning yet. That’s going to be a big jump in capabilities.” While all that is nice, as the saying goes, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Ellerbrock shared something really exciting that’s in the works – data driven charts. “Many of our charts today are pre-composed, but in the future we will be able to use computing resources to render a chart that is more tailored to your particular operation than what is available today,” he said. “It’s really pretty neat.” Ellerbrock said the data driven chart will actually know how you are approaching a given airport and show you the exact transition you will be using. “It will know the category of aircraft you are flying and only show you the minimums that apply to it,” he explained. “It draws each approach as a unique rendering of the requirements for that situation. “Of course there are a lot of hurdles to get there. There are training, certification and database update issues. Everything is under scrutiny from the authorities as to what will ultimately get approved. There’s a lot to do to get there, but we will have to in order to support things like the NextGen initiatives.” THE PAPER CHART IS DEAD. LONG LIVE PAPER CHARTS. While the iPad’s benefits have been a motivator for a “huge jump over to electronic charting,” Ellerbrock admitted there will always be people who, for one reason or another, prefer paper to electronics. With that in mind, the company has put considerable effort into updating its paper printing efficiencies. “We’ve made some big advancements in the production of our printed products,” he said. “We now use digital printing so we can efficiently and cost-effectively print smaller quantities of paper charts. With our on-demand digital printing, we can efficiently keep pace with diminishing demands. But, as long as pilots still want paper, we will continue to provide it.” And, it looks like plenty still do. Ellerbrock said while the company has seen massive transition of its customers from paper to electronic, it is still running out nearly a billion sheets a year. I think E.B. would be very proud. q

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Avionics News March 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News March 2012