U.S. Air Force Gives Thumbs Up To iPads

By

Top-Gun

Next time Maverick, Goose and Ice Man enter the Danger Zone, they’ll be flying about 40 pounds lighter, thanks to the U.S. Air Force’s recent decision to replace bulky flight bags with iPads… a move which could save the government $50 million in the next ten years.

With more and more commercial airlines ditching flight bags for iPads, the Air Force is following suit, purchasing up to 18,000 iPads for the Air Mobility Command, which provides Air Force cargo, passenger transport, refueling and aeromedical evacuation services.

“We’re saving about 90 pounds of paper per aircraft and limiting the need for each crew member to carry a 30 to 40 pound paper pile [of flight manuals],” said Major Brian Moritz, EFB program manager, in a phone interview with The Street. “It adds up to quite a lot of weight in paper.”

And digitizing all that paper ends up resulting in big fuel savings: AMC expects to save $750,000 on fuel every year just by leaving the heavy flight bags stuffed with tens of thousands of documents behind.

If you’re interested in what it’s like to fly with an iPad, we’ve taken an in-depth look at an iPad-equipped airplane before.

Source: The Street

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