zyttocs

We're purchasing a Citation V Ultra and concidering using an EFB to go paperless in the cockpit, or virtually paperless. I've talked to a couple crews that have done this in King Air 300's but they haven't been impressed with their systems. Specifically they aren't happy with the windows system failing from time to time and needing to be rebooted in flight...and then there is the user friendlyness of the tablet itself.

I'm curious what you guys think about the different systems and if one type of hardware (tablet) works better than another. The last thing I want to do is invest a bunch of money into something that isn't user friendly.

Thanks guys.

edznaz

Here's the question: will you maintain just the US domestic on paper, or are you facing trying to keep up a world set? If US Dom only, stick with paper.

Toshiba tablet works fairly well. All of the user interfaces are clunky compared to other modern software. Do the bluetooth to GPS interface. Well worth it to avoid the wires. Part 91 is ok, but if you do any 135 you have some certification/ops spec issues to deal with as well.

Good luck,

Z

zyttocs

We will be operating all part 91 and 98% domestic, and my first thought was to stay with paper like you said. However, because the Ultra’s Primus 1000 PDF/MFD isn’t compatible with any XM weather uplink capability, we are going to have to use either a tablet or Garmin unit to display the weather. My thoughts were that if we were going to have to add a tablet for XM we might as well include the EFB Nav capability in the same unit. Your thoughts…..

Ziggy

I started a similar thread a couple of months ago. So there's some great info there.

Garmin has a new EFB available with an XM capable option, but only uses NOS charts.

One of the 91 captains I fly with is just going to buy a standard laptop and small printer and use Jepview to print charts as needed. Just an idea.

BoilerUP

I'd suggest a Fujitsu 1620 with WXWORX bluetooth XM receiver...and no matter what you do, DO NOT get a tablet with Vista. Spend the extra $$$ and get XP!

Plane5150

We use a CMC Electronics EFB in our Part 91 PC12. We run Windows XP with Jeppview. The EFB is about 4 years old and I've been using it for the last 2.5 years. I have see nothing but problems with it. Mainly windows and memory issues. The EFB is being upgraded to max memory and having req'd mods done as I type this and I should have it back in a couple weeks to the tune of $3600.

Updating the Jeppview can be done wirelessly or using CDs. Wireless is sllloooowww. CD updating is quick once you connect the auxillary CD ROM drive which requires three cords/cables to hook up (annoying).

We also have an EVS lens on the vertical stab that we can view on the EFB using a simple touch of the VIDEO button on the EFB. Neat but hardly ever used.

Finally, be careful in choosing positioning of your EFB in the cockpit! The PC12 cockpit isn't tiny but it's not huge either. The EFB is mounted just below the left window and it is constantly in the way while maneuvering during takeoff/landing.

I have used an EFB a couple times in a Global Express as well but don't recall the manufacturer. The interface was more intuitive and ran very smooth. Not enough experience with that one to give any useful info.

Good luck!

5150

emb145captain

I purchased the Motion Computing LE1700 tablets about 9 months ago and they have worked out well. It is nice hardware and has all the interfaces you could imagine. They are 12" screens (so a bit larger than most EFBs) but I prefer not squinting at tiny little 8 or 9" screens. We have a $40 bluetooth GPS receiver that sends the GPS data to the tablets so we see our position on either Google Earth or FlightDeck which is really convenient.

I believe most of the aviation-specific tablets marketed as EFBs are overpriced to say the least. The Fujitsus and Motions do the same thing for less money because they don't say "aviation" on them; they are typical consumer PCs. We bought two of these things with SSD drives for the total of $7000. And they DO comply with Part 135 requirements and can be added to Ops Specs if need be.

Personally I wish Jepp would make a version of JeppView/FlightDeck for the Mac so I could ditch any versions of Windows, but until then...

These units came with Vista Business and can be downgraded to XP. It is funny because XP under virtualization on my Mac runs better than Vista natively on these tablets. I had never experienced problems with Jepp under XP but have had several crashes of the software under Vista.

So I would recommend using XP if you can.

emb145captain

Also, I advise if go with an XP or Vista machine, just use good judgement when you decide to set them up in terms of software.

Keep the additional programs to a minimum, run your Windows-updates, and use a good safe browser like FireFox or Safari. Do not use Internet Explorer, and avoid installing junk.

If the units come with any manufacturer-specific crap, format the drives with a legit copy of Windows and then run all updates and then install Jepp. This will make your system more reliable.

Good luck.

grimmdj

We lease from ADR. Have XM weather via Bluetooth. Going on 6 years and
love them. (2nd update on computers) Sovereign.
Dave