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Comment by CaptG | Hacker News Reader

If you're curious, check out https://www.foreflight.com/, it's available from the app store and is marketed towards GA pilots. I've used it with some success on a domestic US flight with the inflight WIFI.

EDIT: I just checked ForeFlight had a version update on 4/27. I doubt American is using the same software on their tablets, but then again you never know.

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American Airlines does not use ForeFlight, though we are used by a variety of other large operators.

From that link: "All backed by Fanatical Pilot Support™"

Strikes me as a poor choice of words for their market.

Can you elaborate? Our customers tell us it's one of the best things we offer.

I think (s)he means the word "fanatic" has negative connotations, post 9/11.

"The software and data that powers American’s iPad-based flight kits are provided by Jeppesen, a unit of Boeing Digital Aviation."

So not ForeFlight. Also see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9457945.

Certification for GA and large jet commercial passenger service are two different things. GA pilots can and often do use various portable navigational and other devices that are in some ways more sophisticated than what commercial airliners have, but they are not certified for commercial use.

Eh, yes and no. The FAA requires operators to get approval for iPad EFBs individually, and does not require GA pilots to do any such thing. "Certified," however, has a special meaning in aviation. iPads are not certified hardware, period. Pilots must still use their aircraft avionics (which are certified) as their primary means of navigation. iPads can be supplemental only, for both general aviation and commercial operations.

The article says the software was from Jeppesen/Boeing.

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