Let me come at it at a different approach.....

I'm in and out of the airplane a lot. In fact I can think of 4 apps right off the top of my head that I use frequently. A TAF/METAR app, a weather app, a radar app, and a logbook app in case I leave mine at home.

However, I'm not talking about pilots flying other pilots all day. As I said, as a pilot I could really not care that much based on how much (too much) I use my own phone for truly legit flying stuff.

My concern comes in the professionalism side of the argument. Take person X. Person X gets on your airplane. They are emotionally distressed because they're flying somewhere to bury a family member. Person X has never flown before and is paranoid; they're the kind of person that picks up the phone every freaking time they see a "how's my driving?" bumper sticker. They are quick to tattle tale and slow to think.

Person X boards your aircraft and sees the pilot "texting" (who knows what he was ACTUALLY doing, it was probably legit). She freaks out and ends up calling the company causing a ruckus.

All I'm trying to say is that the public sees you. The same public that couldn't tell you the difference in a 747 and a DC-3 if there wasn't a picture. These people are super paranoid and with file lawsuits at the drop of a hat. They're utterly annoying and at times offensive. Just watch your back around passengers. I don't want the cell phone privelages taken away from you guys just because some irate moron called your boss.

And just to clarify I'm not ratting this guy out. As you can see I didn't name him or even his airline.

 

I'm shocked that there was a magazine for you to read? Or did you bring your own?

 

I've worked for two different airlines, and at both the procedures were the same. The captain calls for the checklist, the F.O. then reads it while the captain looks at the item being called and responds. If that particular airline has those same procedures, it could be that the captain was just talking about the checklist or making comments to the F.O. about when he or she reads the checklist. Who knows what was really happening.

 

Maybe the guy was reading the Why I Hate Southwest Airlines thread on the iPhone app...

 

Personally I think we should all be less "professional". Face it, we are not respected as professionals by passengers or management so why keep up the facade? If we all wore khaki pants and polo shirts, ditched the hats and ties, and everyone had a warm leather jacket instead of a double breasted jacket, life as an airline pilot would be much better. Using your cell phone on the ground and reading magazines is just one more convenience that should be considered acceptable. The reality is that passengers get herded into a metal tube, sit in tiny uncomfortable seats, aren't fed a meal, and barely pay anything for the experience. Why continue to dress pilots like they are shuttling VIP's to exotic destinations around the world, when 90% of our passengers are lower-middle class nobody's going to places like middle-of-nowhere Nebraska?

 

I use my iPhone for W&B and to check the weather, which might look like I'm screwing around when I'm actually working. Just something to consider...

 

Not unprofessional. Many airlines use W&B programs on smart phones to calculate CG... many others, (myself included), use the calculator function on our phones to double check math.

 

Aero weather, my radar, calculator for w/b, logten... That's my flow for my iPhone every leg. 20 min turns not much time for anything else.

 

Yeah, then those same people won't drive a constant speed. Fast, then slow. Won't pass and block traffic for miles. Cruise control folks, use it!

 

Maybe it was a digital checklist the FO was viewing. Maybe he was checking the weather. Maybe he was checking his duty time. Maybe he was turning his phone off (does require some button pushing). Just maybe it wasn't what the average passer by would assume.