# Presentation: 502366

## Weather Accident Prevention 

- Weather Accident Prevention
- Project Review
- May 23, 2000
- Weather Hazard Information System
- Reducing General Aviation Fatal Weather Related Accidents
- Frank Williams
- ARNAV Systems, Inc

##   Weather is a factor in 30% of aviation accidents, and is the single largest contributor to aviation delays

**  ****The goal of the AWIN program is to provide improved weather information to users in the National Airspace System**
**  ****Weather accidents and Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) is the result of loss of situational awareness**
** ****In July, 1999, ARNAV and Honeywell were selected as FAA Flight Information Service (FIS) weather service providers**

**Weather Background**

## ARNAV Systems, Inc - Provide certified Avionics, FAA Certification review, Wx dissemination Network, Wx Product Development

**ARNAV Systems, Inc - **Provide certified Avionics, FAA Certification review, Wx dissemination Network, Wx Product Development
**Cessna Aircraft - **Flight test crew and aircraft, human factors response, evaluate market acceptance
**Fed****Ex**** Cargo Operations -** Wiggins Air in the Northeast - Empire Air in the Northwest, evaluate human factors, provide daily use and feedback from professional pilots flying in all weather conditions
**National Center for Atmospheric Research - **Provide experimental weather products for transmission to aircraft, human factors evaluation of newly created pilot weather products
**Experimental Aircraft Association - **Evaluate market acceptance, pilot-machine interface, human factors evaluation of graphical wx products
**SAMA - **liaison to RTCA and FAA FIS programs, pilot-machine interface

## AWIN Flight Test Ranges

-   1.  WA - OR	  2. Kansas
-   3.  MN - WS	  4. PA - VA

**Fed****Ex**
- ARNAV
- CAP AK / ID

**Fed****Ex**
- SAMA
- EAA

- EAA
- CIRRUS

- CESSNA

##  Broadcast of Graphical Weather Products

**WxStation**
**Puyallup, WA**

**All Flight Test Ranges **

**NCAR Wx Processor **

**Frame Relay**

-  Broadcast of Graphical Weather Products
-  Electronic Pilot reports (E-PiREPs) geo-referenced to flight following report
-  Two-way Text Messages

**Internet Access for**
**Advanced weather**
**products**

**AWIN DataLink Functions**

## Internet Tools were developed for Team member access

-  WxDispatch, an Internet client (TCP/IP) that will show weather products in the same format as pilot will see.
-  WxServer, TCP/IP server of weather products over multiple wireless networks.

## As of April 2000 - Flight Testing in 44 aircraft

_**As of April 2000 - Flight Testing in 44 aircraft**_
-  3 Cessna owned Aircraft
-  4 **Fed****Ex** C-208B Caravans
-    in Cargo Operations (e-PiREPs)
-  4 Virginia DOT aircraft
-  1 EAA GlaStar at FAA Tech Center
-  1 SAMA Aircraft in MD (e-PiREPs)
-  10 ARNAV Aircraft (4 e-PiREPs)
-  21 Civil Air Patrol aircraft (AK & ID)

## Avionics Equipment

**Multi-Function Display**

**Datalink / GPS / E-Pireps**

**E-Pirep Sensors Approved on Cessna Caravan**
-   Humidity Sensor 3% accuracy, 1% stability per year
-   Temperature Sensor +/- .6 degree C, range -40C to +60C
-   Icing level switch selected by pilot -  Rime - Clear -  Mixed

## Weather Products

**Winds aloft**

**Categorical METARS**

**NEXRAD**

**Significant Wx**

## Significant Weather

**Turbulence**

**ICING**

**Significant Weather**
**includes worldwide jet stream, surface fronts, volcanic ash, pressure centers, hurricane, tornadoes, and other significant weather phenomena.**** **

## Hurricane Floyd with animation

**Hurricane Floyd with animation**

## Winds Aloft Animated

**Winds Aloft Animated**

## 8 kilometer NEXRAD Base Reflectivity

**8 kilometer NEXRAD Base Reflectivity**

## Regional Weather Products

## Graphical METARS

**Graphical METARS**

**Text METARS**

## Graphical Icing Product

##   Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) is the result of loss of spatial awareness, many times a result of deviation from flightplan due to weather.  

-   Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) is the result of loss of spatial awareness, many times a result of deviation from flightplan due to weather.
-   CFIT is often the result of VMC into IMC conditions, dark hole night approaches, or other obscuration to visibility.
-   For general aviation, weather and CFIT accidents should be considered the same mode of failure.
-   Once you have equipped with GPS and MFD, the terrain database and algorithms are easy add-on’s

##   Terrain data based on digital elevation model (DEM)

-   Elevations spaced at 30-arc seconds (1 kilometer).
-    Airports, navigation aids (VOR’s, NDB’s), Maximum Elevation Figures (MEF’s - 30 minute quadrangle data supplied by FAA), summits database supplied by the USGS, and man-made obstacles supplied by the FAA are used to enhance obstruction awareness.
-   Compression of data allows worldwide coverage for less than 50 megabytes of storage.

**TOPS (Terrain / Obstruction Proximity System)**

##  The ground proximity function uses own-ship position, ground speed, ground track, and an extensive database to determine if the aircraft is projected to be below man-made or terrain obstructions.  There are two modes of operation -  “look-ahead” and “look-around”  

-  The ground proximity function uses own-ship position, ground speed, ground track, and an extensive database to determine if the aircraft is projected to be below man-made or terrain obstructions.  There are two modes of operation -  “look-ahead” and “look-around”
-   The **look-ahead** mode projects a line 60 nautical miles along the instantaneous track of the aircraft, and compares any obstacle with the aircraft altitude.
-   The **look-around** mode calculates the distance the aircraft may travel in 5 minutes to provide a “protection zone” around the aircraft.

**look-around window**

**look-ahead window**

**Summits**

##   Developed new weather products geared specifically for transmission to General Aviation aircraft.

**  ****Developed new weather products geared specifically for transmission to General Aviation aircraft.**
**  ****Developed TCP/IP software tools for distribution of the same weather products for pre-flight use.**
**  ****Obtained FAA certification of initial set of weather products.**
**  ****Obtained FAA certification for low-cost E-PIREPS  Sensor (<$200).**
**  ****Performed Human Factors evaluation for Pilot use of weather products and terrain obstruction proximity system, with thousands of simulator and flight hours logged.**
**  ****Established requirements for certification of weather products through FAA FIS Team and RTCA SC195.**

**AWIN Phase I Accomplishments**

## 6.  Certify enhanced hazard awareness (weather & terrain) with expanded terrain database. 

**2.  Devise compression techniques for aviation gridded database (AGD) elements.  The work from Phase I icing layers will serve as starting point to develop appropriate layer thickness.**
**3.  Develop new datalink message formats to broadcast aviation gridded data to cockpit, which allow for various latency & transmission modes.  The data will be transmitted via ARNAV Aeronautical Network, FAA FIS Network, ACARS and SITA VHF Network, and LEO satellite providers.**
**5.  Create pilot interface to allow mix of ride control & AGD.**
**6.  Certify enhanced hazard awareness (weather & terrain) with expanded terrain database.**

**AWIN Phase II Effort**

## Each two dimensional weather variable layer is summed vertically with the Pilot ride control to create weather hazard zones.

**AWIN Phase II AGD development**

**Turbulence**
**Icing**
**Winds aloft**
**Lightning**

## Side view Weather and Terrain

##  is available at 

**weather sites, as well as a**
** ****downloadable version of WxDispatch.exe**
** ****is available at**** **
**www.arnav.com**