Flight Dept 1.qxp_Finance 19/04/2022 13:12 Page 1
FLIGHT DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT
AVBUYER.com
Electronic Logbooks: Overcoming the Challenges Electronic technical logbooks (ETLs) have gradually made their way into Business Aviation, streamlining operations and improving safety. But what’s stopping wider adoption? Mario Pierobon asks the experts...
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ccording to John Stone, Vice President of Product Management at Ultramain Systems, only a few years ago the operation of an Electronic Technical Logbook required the use of built-in flightdeck hardware – hardware that was nowhere near as reliable as it needed to be. “Considering the disadvantages, the hardware was expensive to install and maintain, and, frankly, it was not all that reliable”, Stone recalls. Further adding to the challenges, “before Part 121 and 135 operators can replace traditional paper logs with paperless operations, aviation regulatory authorities must allow it, through the issuance of 78 Vol 26 Issue 5 2022 AVBUYER MAGAZINE
an operational approval.” Generally, system changes – and especially those directly impacting aircraft operations in the cockpit – are difficult to implement, meaning they can take a long time to be adopted, get approval, and be rolled out with adequate training. According to Hayley Russell, Marketing Manager at Conduce Mobile Aviation Solutions, “A few brave airlines took on the challenge as early adopters. But very few others followed suit, because the hardware was inadequate, mobile comms were too slow, and touch software was initially limited to iOS devices, which were still in their early stages of development.”
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