Sarah Brown of the AOPA pushed a piece about iPad aviation on Friday titled “How will the iPad change the GA cockpit?” featuring ForeFlight Mobile HD. Some interesting nuggets and links from the article about iPad aviation and the FAA advisory circulars that apply:
- “The iPad has not—or at least not yet—gone through the process of being certified as a Class 1 EFB, but Part 91 operators of smaller aircraft do not require any specific authorization for EFB operations provided the EFB does not replace any system or equipment required by the regulations.”
- A link to the 2003 advisory circular (AC 120-76A) that provides information about the certification, airworthiness, and operational approval of EFBs.
- A link to the 2007 advisory circular (AC 91-78) that discusses that pilots are allowed to replace some paper information with electronic sources.
Part 91 drivers have a lot of latitude to replace paper with digital sources, so long as you stay within the bumper rails outlined in the two circulars. Our favorite sentence from AC 120-76a is in section ‘1. Purpose’: “Other part 91 operations do not require any specific authorization for EFB operations provided the EFB does not replace any system or equipment required by the regulations.”
One ForeFlighter in Virginia Beach, VA succeeded in getting Part 91 approval for use of ForeFlight Mobile HD and the iPad from his local FSDO head. Visit our Facebook page to follow the thread.
Other operators will need to run the “Operational Approval Process” gauntlet outlined in section 12 of AC 120-76a and ultimately seek an OpSpec from an FAA POI. If you’re operation is interested in learning more about the use of ForeFlight within your operation or flight department, contact Eric Hake (eric at foreflight dot com) for more information.