Date of Award

5-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Aviation - Applied Aviation Safety

Department

Aeronautics

First Advisor

John Deaton

Second Advisor

Debbie Carstens

Third Advisor

Kristi Van Sickle

Abstract

Over the past two decades, Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) and Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) have developed from flight publication storage devices hosted on modified laptop computers into fully interactive near-avionics-quality navigation equipment based on consumer-grade tablet computers. Broadly speaking, the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 14 regulates the use of this type of equipment for commercial airlines, commuter operations, and fractional ownership operators, but have neglected the General Aviation (GA) sector. Due, in part, to this lack of governance, little has been known about EFB use in GA. After using an internet-based survey, this study was conducted to examine whether there is a strong impact of tablet EFB use among GA pilots’ performance. Further on, survey data helped in revealing which EFB capabilities are desired by GA pilots and their opinions of EFB usability compared to paper flight publications. Analysis of these results further lead on to recommendations for GA stakeholders, including the National Transportation Safety Board and tablet computer manufacturers.

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