When pilots encounter an in-flight emergency – such as
engine or hydraulic failure – they consult with manuals, emergency procedures
and other reference materials contained in their flight bags for information on
how to respond. In the future, these cumbersome flight bags could be replaced
by “electronic flight bags” consisting of a lightweight tablet computer loaded
with electronic versions of documents that today are printed on paper. A tablet
computer could easily store an entire library of aeronautical publications and
charts and also include the most up-to-date versions.