Kenny Keller says iPads work for flight planning if you have a paper backup and can do manual weight-and-balance math. He warns about frozen screens during approaches and using sample numbers from the manual instead of your actual aircraft specs.
Our next rotor tip is can I use my iPad in place of paper? And my answer is, you bet. However, don't let an electronic device become your worst enemy. An airplane DPE colleague told me that his applicant iPads froze during a simulated ILS approach and the applicant did not have a backup. And when the examiner asked him to execute the missed approach procedure, well, guess what? The applicant also froze and that checkride ended soon thereafter. I also had an applicant that was using his electronic device for a weight and balance calculation only discover that it was using the incorrect starting numbers for the empty weight and moment. Sadly, he was using the sample numbers that were printed in the RFM and not the actual weight and balance that was printed on the separate weight and balance page. So again, electronic devices are permissible for the practical test. I encourage them, in fact, because I do feel that they're more accurate when properly utilized. Just make sure that you have a backup plan and most certainly have a clear understanding of how to do a weight balance by longhand in the event that you're asked to do it. So can I bring the iPad? Absolutely.
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