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Aircraft Stepups Safety Software

Checklist Apps: Limited Utility

Aircraft manufacturers provide checklists in their POH/AFMs and weve dutifully copied those into separate-usually laminated-checklists for use in the airplane. Various third parties, including sureCheck and CheckMate, have attempted to improve on that physical format by taking much of the same information and condensing it to a few dense pages. Now weve got various tablet and EFB checklist apps, plus utilities in our panel-mount devices. Instead of laminated paper, the same static information is available on a high-quality screen, but the operating paradigm is unchanged: Read the challenge; read the response; repeat. (Although, some apps allow a checklist item to be actually checked off, making it easier to keep your place.)

Larry Anglisano
Verified

Aircraft manufacturers provide checklists in their POH/AFMs and we’ve dutifully copied those into separate—usually laminated—checklists for use in the airplane. Various third parties, including sureCheck and CheckMate, have attempted to improve on that physical format by taking much of the same information and condensing it to a few dense pages.

Now we’ve got various tablet and EFB checklist apps, plus utilities in our panel-mount devices. Instead of laminated paper, the same static information is available on a high-quality screen, but the operating paradigm is unchanged: Read the challenge; read the response; repeat. (Although, some apps allow a checklist item to be actually checked off, making it easier to keep your place.)

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.