USAF: Goodbye paper maps, hello iPad minis

There are two things you notice right off about the C-21A passenger jet.
First, the cockpit small and cramped -- as in sardines-in-a-can small and cramped.
Second, the space directly behind the cockpit is jammed with a mountain of printed maps, navigational charts and flight manuals -- nearly 50 pounds of paper that must be tossed out and replaced every two months as the maps and manuals are continuously updated.
Not surprisingly, 375th Operations Group jumped at the chance to serve as guinea pigs for an experimental Air Force program to see if an iPad mini tablet could replace the manuals and charts that make up the traditional paper-based flight bag.
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