AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 92

P&E

DOGFIGHT
Veteran airline captain and GA legend Barry Schiff enters the paper versus electronic chart debate
with Senior Editor Dave Hirschman.

Paper is passé

Getting perspective

Take a memo (electronically)

You can’t see that on a screen

B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N

BY BARRY SCHIFF

IN CASE you haven’t seen the memo, the era of navigating with
paper charts is over. Sure, aeronautical charts are astonishingly
accurate and beautifully drawn wonders of cartography. The handpainted silk maps they replaced are even more sublime, and a few
treasured examples adorn my office wall. But in actual airplanes,
electronic charts are far more useful, and they’re getting better
and cheaper at a rapid rate. A single tablet computer today can
easily store every VFR chart and IFR procedure for the entire country, and digital subscriptions are painless to keep current. Add an
ADS-B receiver and tablet computers get even more miraculous
with free weather, traffic, pireps, and synthetic vision.
Like other aviators of my generation, I learned to fly crosscountry with a thumb held to my position on a VFR sectional. That
was an interesting and perhaps character-building exercise, but cockpit
chart-reading and folding skills are
as useless today as typewriter ribbon.
Open any aviation app and the blue
dot shows your position (as well as
heading, altitude, and groundspeed)
with updates coming 10 times a second. I’m a pretty decent map reader,
but not that good. Also, digital charts
DAVE HIRSCHMAN
are one of those rare anomalies in
aviation in which prices are actually falling, and dramatically so.
A paper subscription for VFR and IFR charts used to cost in excess
of $1,200 a year. Flight bags full of heavy approach plates meant job
security for chiropractors, and countless trees paid the price. The
same information is available in electronic form for $100 or less per
year, weighs nothing, and never gets lost in the mail.
No technology is perfect, and tablet computers can stop working when they get too hot, or too cold, or run out of power. But
paper charts are no panacea. They get ripped or smudged, lost,
attract spilled coffee, and float away from open-cockpit airplanes.
(I lost a New York sectional from a Waco somewhere over Saratoga
Springs, and an Atlanta terminal chart near Stone Mountain.)
Today, tablet computers are our EFBs; handheld and panelmount avionics contain their own moving maps and navigation
databases; and we can print approach plates at just about any FBO
for our destination airports, alternate airports, and any number of
others. We can even get them in large print if desired. Paper charts
had a good run, and they will live on as colorful keepsakes, conversation pieces, and gift wrapping. If Captain James Cook, the
greatest cartographer and explorer of them all, were with us today,
he’d carry an iPad.
AOPA

WHEN I ACCEPTED Dave Hirschman’s challenge to defend paper
charts in a debate against digital charts, I knew that I would be
pitching him a softball. The economics and convenience of digital
charts make it difficult—but not impossible—to argue against them.
Paper VFR charts obviously are best for spreading on the floor
to gain a perspective of a planned cross-country flight. Yes, you
can squish and expand a chart on your iPad, but detail and perspective are lost. The beauty of paper charts is that they don’t
break when dropped or fail when you spill something on them.
They don’t fade to black or get hung up for inexplicable reasons. I
shiver just thinking about a tablet failure when in the clouds and
about to begin an unfamiliar instrument approach. This is why
airline pilots using them are required to have backups.
A paper chart doesn’t create glare
in sunlight, doesn’t need batteries, is
easier to use in turbulence, and often
has a larger “screen.” It also cannot
change function or switch programs
by inadvertently touching something
on its face. A paper chart is infinitely
more reliable than anything electronic. (Notice that Hirschman prints
approach plates before departing on
BARRY SCHIFF
an IFR flight. If I’m not mistaken, he
prints them on paper.)
Another problem with electronic charts is that downloading
revisions makes it difficult to detect changes made on commonly
used approach charts. Nor can you easily compare charts that seem
identical but are not (such as the Yankee and Zulu approaches to
San Carlos, California). Also, you can’t use an iPad to swat flies.
Well, I suppose you could, but it might be an expensive swat. Nor
can it be used as a sun shield or an improvised instrument hood,
as can a paper chart. The good thing about a failed iPad is that you
can glue mileage scales along its edges and use it to measure distances and draw lines on a paper chart.
Tablets can be heavy to hold for long or even short periods,
and mounting them in small cockpits is challenging. A chart can
be conveniently tucked anywhere. I like writing and making notes
on paper charts. You should have seen Hirschman’s face when I
wrote on the face of his iPad with a black Sharpie. It wasn’t pretty.
Every pilot should have a Plan B, and “B” means “back to
basics,” which to me means having paper charts in the cockpit.
Someday, though, none of this will matter. Paper charts eventually will be unavailable, another step off the cliff of excessive
technological reliance—and I will miss them.
AOPA

EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

VISIT the author’s website (www.barryschiff.com)

92 | AOPA PILOT November 2013


http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - November 2013
Contents
President’s Position
Visual Approach
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Safety Pilot
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Flying with History
AOPA Sweepstakes
Fly-Outs
Milestones
Test Pilot
Pilot Pets
Pilot Products
Gift Guide
News
Classic in the Making
Preserving a Lost Art
Room Enough For All
Legends of Aviation: Steve Hinton2
Technique
Proficiency
Wx Watch
Airframe
Ownership
Dogfight
Never Again
State and Local Action
Government Affairs
Member Services
Air Safety Institute
AOPA Insurance
Fly by Wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - November 2013
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - President’s Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Visual Approach
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Safety Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Flying with History
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - AOPA Sweepstakes
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Fly-Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Milestones
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Test Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Pilot Pets
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Pilot Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Gift Guide
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - News
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - D1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - D2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Classic in the Making
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Preserving a Lost Art
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Room Enough For All
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Legends of Aviation: Steve Hinton2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Technique
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Proficiency
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Wx Watch
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Airframe
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Ownership
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Dogfight
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - State and Local Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Government Affairs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Member Services
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Air Safety Institute
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - AOPA Insurance
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Fly by Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - Cover4
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