International Flt. Planning

[empenage]

Thank you all for the great feedback.

I do appreciate it.

 

[Jack Schitt]

Our captains have a choice between using Universal or Air Routing. Most guys use Universal unless going to the Pacific Basin/Far East. Air Routing seems to do a better job over there. We only go to India once in a blue moon so I can't really comment on that service.

 

[empenage]

That was another question I had for you guys. No harm in using 2 or 3 different companies? Right?

Also, we just switched over to EFB's. After using Jepp's for 24 years I have to say they (EFB's) scare me. I still print out my departure, destination and alternate on paper.

What do you guys use for back up? One department in our hanger uses NOS as a backup in the cockpit. I wanted to avoid that but I want these guys, and Gals, to feel comfortable.

 

[lawndart]

We have used EFBs for the past two years. I always print destination, departure and alternate charts prior to departure. We also carry a laptop on board with Jeppview on it plus a printer so that we can print them on the go. It's a good idea if you carry the laptop and printer to make sure that the FA/cabin attendant knows how to run Jeppview and print from it. The good news is that in 2 yrs, I've never had to resort to the laptop, although I have had one of the EFB's fail (We carry 2 on board). We also carry the Jeppview disk on board so that in an absolute pinch, I can put it into my personal laptop. Also, throw away the printed charts at the end of each trip... that's the best way to ensure that you don't wind up with out-of-date charts in the cockpit.

 

[empenage]

Lawndart:

It's good to hear your feedback on the EFB's. We did go as far as having a feed in the cockpit (co-pilots side) that goes to the printer back by the fax machine. It just prints real slow.

Also, we too carry the disc for Flightdeck on the aircraft just in case.

I'm an "old guy", how long did it take you to feel comfortable with the EFB's??

Thanks again.

 

[lawndart]

It took several months to get comfortable with the EFB's, although I still don't trust them completely.... they are, after all, powered by Windows....But I think that the key is to have backups for your backups.
Depending on the equipment that you're using, seeing the display in bright daylight can be a real challenge. We have the Fujitsu LT tablet PC's (which I recently learned are out of production now).
Our airplane laptop has Jeppview Flightdeck, Ultranav and the maintenance manual for the airplane on it. It is not used for anything but support of the airplane.

 

[empenage]

I'm glad to hear it took several months to get used to the EFB's. There is hope for me yet!

We have the UltraNav right on the EFB's and can take them to the hotel room and log onto the internet as well. Nobody has tried this yet because we are afraid to lose them or drop them.

Hey thanks for the posts, I really appreciate them.

 

[ukipilot]

We have 2 EFB's on board our BBJ and Have used them for the past 2 years without a problem, if one did not work we have the other one, we never print any charts, it is just a waste of paper and wood, that is why we have 2 in the cockpit, plus if we had to , we could get the same info on our laptop, there is plenty of backups without having to print paper ones. That is the whole idea of using the EFB, to get rid of the paper, not add more, if you have 2 and a laptop, why print.

As a side note, I love technology, it took no time at all to switch to them, I was glad not to have to do paper revisions any more or Q service plus all of them stupid binders

 

[banned username 2]

This isnt a poll so get those fingers off the keyboard.

Our department uses Universal Weather & Aviation, to the tune of over 20,000$ a month. The service is OK but I was wondering if anyone has used Air Routing International, etc. ?

Has anyone had problems with Universal lately?

About 2 years ago my company switched from Universal to Air Routing. Air Routing has been doing an excellent job for us, and I hear the fees are lower. It seemed to me that Universal used to drop the ball occasionally, Air Routing has been excellent so far...

We have no plans to return to Universal (that I am aware of)...

 

[empenage]

I think what we will do is give Air Routing a try and see the difference.

Probably on our next Pacific trip.