Poor man's EFB
 

Has anyone had any luck on finding off the shelf laptops that do well performing as an EFB?
I know that they have to meet certain criteria, and have approval from the FSDO to go paperless. But I don't think my company's ready to pay the over inflated cost for the current EFB's

Ask some of the JetBlue boys and girls. Didn't they used to have to carry lap tops for this exact reason??

This is what we use and they seem to work pretty well...other than the normal Windows OS quirks. We have been able to achieve a paperless status with them so you should too.

http://www.motioncomputing.com/produ...et_pc_le17.asp

Lots of work and creative thinking to meet the FAA requirements for and to obtain approval for paperless operation, but it can be done with these.

If you're Part 91, you don't need FSDO approval per ACs 91-78 and 120-76A.

Our CJ2+ has ProLine21 with electronic Jepps via a FSU, which is a Class 3 installation; we use an off-the-shelf Dell XT tablet with JeppView & FliteDeck as a backup Class 1 installation and operate without paper approach plates (we do carry paper enroutes).

If you don't want to spend the coin on a tablet (our XT works well but I'd recommend the Fujitsu 1620) , you could probably get by on the real cheap with a $400 netbook.

Thanks for the responses. I work for a 135 company, so I'm trying to find a reasonable alternative to paper for our older aircraft. We do have a couple of Fujitsu's, but they're kind of cumbersome and hard to operate. Whatever the deal I'm looking for a Class 1 set-up, but because we are 135 we'll have to stock 2 in each aircraft if we want to go paperless in.

VT: Any headaches a potential buyer show know about for the motion computing. Are you able to update the Jepps via USB or do you use an external CD-ROM? Any special requirements the FAA wanted?

Again thank you all for your reponses.

We update the jepps on-line through jeppview. No real issues with Motion Computing. The units are probably a little more expensive than a tablet from Best Buy, but they seem to hold up well and have a few good options. The "bump case" is a leather padded cover that does a good job of protecting the unit. Battery life is ok with the optional extended battery pack. We installed AC outlets in the flightdeck of all of our aircraft so that they stay plugged in while in flight to charge. You will need to come up with some kind of mounting system as they must be stowed for takeoff and landing in the class 1 configuration.

The hardest part about the process is writing the procedure for its use in your manual. Normal and contignecy procedures must be developed and documented. How are you going to keep them current? What is the preflight procedure? What does each button / light do? Will you print charts on the ground or not? How will they be used on the ground? How will they be used in flight? What if one EFB goes out? What if both EFB's go out? What if you loose AC capability in the aircraft? How about a program to identify, document and repair discrepancies? You get the picture. It basically needs to be a how to manual for the flight crews which also shows you meet all of the FAA requirements.

Lots of cool options though once you get them up and running. Broadband cards will allow for internet connections at most places on the ground. Wireless is built in if you are within wi-fi range. Bluetooth enabled. We even do weight and balance electronically which synchronizes directly to the company server automatically as soon as an internet connection is established, which is available at almost any location with the wireless or broadband as mentioned before. You are basically only limited by the creativity of your comapany and the person setting up the program.

VT: Thanks for the info, My company wants to eventually go paperless from a dispatching aspect. So that part about syncing up with office network would be great for the flight info.
I guess there's no getting around the mounting issue. Always figured I would have one out for the approach.

The FAA specifies that it must be stowed for takeoff and landing, which means when the wheels leave the ground or touch the ground respectively. If you can figure out a quick way to securely holster the EFB after going visual on the approach, then you can have it out until that time. That is what we do and the FAA was happy with that.