Jeppesen’s Mobile FliteDeck went live on Apple’s AppStore on July 25 and had been downloaded more than 3,000 times before Jeppesen formally announced the iPad app’s release three days later. Mobile FliteDeck builds on Jeppesen’s Mobile TC, which displayed worldwide terminal charts on the iPad, with new functionality, including en route charts and geo-referenced (own-ship) position display on GPS-equipped iPads.

Mobile FliteDeck is a complete cockpit paper replacement, replacing all Jeppesen paper charts in an Airway Manual subscription, worldwide. Even better, the own-ship position feature works anywhere in the world, as long as GPS signals are available. The own-ship locating feature can be switched off to satisfy regulators who are unhappy with geo-referencing on iPads (considered a Class 1 EFB). Unlike most iPad moving-map apps, Mobile FliteDeck does not have the own-ship on-off in its settings; the own-ship setting must be changed in the iPad’s native settings, under the JeppFD sub-setting tab. Note that own-ship position display is on en route and airport charts, but not on approach charts. Own-ship position display on approach charts is planned for sometime in the future, according to Jeff Buhl, senior manager, enterprise solutions. “When Jeppesen displays the aircraft position on our charts and data-driven en route solution,” he explained, “we engage in a process with our human factors and internal standards team to ensure that what and how we display the own-ship is unambiguous and provides increased situational awareness for the pilot while maintaining a simple and clean user interface. As a company, we could have displayed the aircraft position on our terminal charts, aside from the airport diagram, but did not feel we had met the high standard we are setting for our mobile solutions.”