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PilotMobile

01. Overview

PilotMobile is an essential tool for airline pilots, ensuring they meet strict regulations and operational requirements efficiently. Traditionally, preparing for a flight required significant manual effort, but with PilotMobile, pilots reduced their pre-flight preparation time by at least 40%.

Team

  • 1 - Designers
  • 1 - Developers
  • 1 - Manager

My Objectives

  • Enhance MyFlight app to support flight attendants' daily tasks.
  • Implement UI updates aligning with United Airlines' goals.
  • Develop an in-flight WiFi tester for performance diagnostics.
  • Collaborate with leadership to introduce exclusive executive features.
  • Continuously gather feedback to improve MyFlight’s functionality.

Every pilot is equipped with an iPad provided by their airline. This device serves as a central hub for critical flight operations, allowing pilots to:

  • Communicate with various aircraft systems
  • Access real-time cargo, passenger, and fuel load data
  • Make modifications on the fly (no pun intended)

    • Beyond flight preparation, PilotMobile plays a crucial role in ensuring pilots are fit for duty. The FAA mandates that pilots complete at least three takeoffs and landings within a 90-day period to maintain their active status. PilotMobile provides automated reminders for:

  • Recency requirements (takeoffs and landings tracking)
  • Break and layover times
  • Additional compliance checks

    • When iOS 13 introduced Dark Mode, pilots echoed their requests for a night-friendly interface. I was responsible for redesigning the PilotMobile interface to incorporate Dark Mode, ensuring it aligned with aviation regulations, accessibility standards, and Apple’s latest UI updates.

    02. Lessons Learned

    While developing for accessibility, I ensured PilotMobile adhered to standards for color blindness, contrast ratios, and readability. However, I later learned that pilots are required to have 20/20 vision (with or without correction) and cannot be color blind. While these accessibility efforts may have added extra layers of work, they provided me with invaluable insights into aviation regulations and human factors design—knowledge that continues to inform my approach to usability and compliance-driven product development.