If the cockpit of your aircraft is starting to resemble the inside of your car (and we don’t mean this in a positive way!), it might be time to consider getting better organized. Hence, Paul Tocknell’s recent post about clutter in the cockpit (or specifically, ways to un-clutter the cockpit) is well worth reading. Some of his simple and easy to implement suggestions include:
- Wear cargo pants that have pockets EVERYWHERE.
- Come up with your own checklist to reduce the amount of paperwork.
- Create your own flight plan form.
Paul then proceeds to recommend a number of simple products such as kneeboards, clipboards and cockpit organizers that will help you to keep organized in the cockpit.
However, Paul does not mention anything about electronic flight bags (EFBs) – an idea that John Ewing of Aviation Mentor has pursued for some time and we have covered in a couple of previous posts (The Kindle DX as an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), Revisiting the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB): The Modbook and Choosing a poor man’s electronic flight bag (EFB)). An electronic flight bag (EFB) is probably the ultimate way to un-clutter the cockpit but as John has found, finding or creating a suitable EFB is not easy. Hence, Paul’s post with simple and easy to follow suggestions is well worth reading – especially by pilots who are less technology savvy.
Electronic Flight Bags: now that's an intriguing idea. I had missed your previous posts on this but I'm certainly going to think about this.
And not just because I'm gadget mad 🙂
A friend of mine uses a fishing jacket (it's more of a sleeveless waistcoat) with a load of pockets for flying. He keeps all the stuff he needs in that and just puts it on for flying. I wonder whether anyone else has tried that kind of approach and whether it works? My current obsession is reducing the size and weight of my flying bag but that's a whole other topic! 🙂