Arthur Feinberg and James Tauss

Aviation Management Associates, Inc., Springfield, Virginia

NASA Aviation Safety Program Weather

Accident Prevention/Weather Information

Communications (WINCOMM)

NASA/CR—2002-211903

October 2002
The NASA STI Program Office . . . in Profile

Since its founding, NASA has been dedicated to

the advancement of aeronautics and space

science. The NASA Scientific and Technical

Information (STI) Program Office plays a key part

in helping NASA maintain this important role.

The NASA STI Program Office is operated by

Langley Research Center, the Lead Center for

NASA’s scientific and technical information. The

NASA STI Program Office provides access to the

NASA STI Database, the largest collection of

aeronautical and space science STI in the world.

The Program Office is also NASA’s institutional

mechanism for disseminating the results of its

research and development activities. These results

are published by NASA in the NASA STI Report

Series, which includes the following report types:

• TECHNICAL PUBLICATION. Reports of

completed research or a major significant

phase of research that present the results of

NASA programs and include extensive data

or theoretical analysis. Includes compilations

of significant scientific and technical data and

information deemed to be of continuing

reference value. NASA’s counterpart of peerreviewed formal professional papers but

has less stringent limitations on manuscript

length and extent of graphic presentations.

• TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM. Scientific

and technical findings that are preliminary or

of specialized interest, e.g., quick release

reports, working papers, and bibliographies

that contain minimal annotation. Does not

contain extensive analysis.

• CONTRACTOR REPORT. Scientific and

technical findings by NASA-sponsored

contractors and grantees.

• CONFERENCE PUBLICATION. Collected

papers from scientific and technical

conferences, symposia, seminars, or other

meetings sponsored or cosponsored by

NASA.

• SPECIAL PUBLICATION. Scientific,

technical, or historical information from

NASA programs, projects, and missions,

often concerned with subjects having

substantial public interest.

• TECHNICAL TRANSLATION. Englishlanguage translations of foreign scientific

and technical material pertinent to NASA’s

mission.

Specialized services that complement the STI

Program Office’s diverse offerings include

creating custom thesauri, building customized

databases, organizing and publishing research

results . . . even providing videos.

For more information about the NASA STI

Program Office, see the following:

• Access the NASA STI Program Home Page

at http://www.sti.nasa.gov

• E-mail your question via the Internet to

help@sti.nasa.gov

• Fax your question to the NASA Access

Help Desk at 301–621–0134

• Telephone the NASA Access Help Desk at

301–621–0390

• Write to:

 NASA Access Help Desk

 NASA Center for AeroSpace Information

 7121 Standard Drive

 Hanover, MD 21076
Arthur Feinberg and James Tauss

Aviation Management Associates, Inc., Springfield, Virginia

NASA Aviation Safety Program Weather

Accident Prevention/Weather Information

Communications (WINCOMM)

NASA/CR—2002-211903

October 2002

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Prepared under Contract C–77109–T
Available from

NASA Center for Aerospace Information

7121 Standard Drive

Hanover, MD 21076

National Technical Information Service

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22100

Trade names or manufacturers’ names are used in this report for

identification only. This usage does not constitute an official

endorsement, either expressed or implied, by the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Available electronically at http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov
 

iii 

Executive Summary 

Weather is a contributing factor in 

approximately 25-30% of general aviation 

accidents. The lack of timely, accurate and 

useable weather information to the general 

aviation pilot in the cockpit to enhance pilot 

situational awareness and improve pilot 

judgment remains a major impediment to 

improving aviation safety. 

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) 

commissioned this 120 day weather datalink 

market survey to assess the technologies, 

infrastructure, products and services of 

commercial avionics systems being 

marketed to the general aviation community 

to address these longstanding safety 

concerns. 

A market survey of companies providing 

or proposing to provide graphical weather 

information to the general aviation cockpit 

was conducted. Fifteen commercial 

companies were surveyed. These systems 

are characterized and evaluated in this 

report by availability, end-user pricing/cost, 

system constraints/limits and technical 

specifications. An analysis of market 

survey results and an evaluation of product 

offerings were made. In addition, 

recommendations to NASA for additional 

research and technology development 

investment have been made as a result of 

this survey to accelerate deployment of 

cockpit weather information systems for 

enhancing aviation safety. 

A methodology for this market survey was 

initially established. Survey forms 

were prepared to insure consistent questions 

were asked of each vendor and appropriate 

information obtained. 

Aviation Management Associates traveled 

to the annual Sun & Fun Air Show in 

Lakeland, Florida and the AOPA Fly-In at 

Frederick, Maryland to meet with vendors 

and General Aviation (GA) operators. 

Aviation Management also contacted 

aviation associations and others such as 

AOPA and NBAA, FAA, NASA Centers, 

MITRE and related industry groups. 

Additional meetings and phone 

conversations with commercial vendors 

were conducted to complete this market 

survey, assessment and recommendations. 

The market survey confirmed that the 

number of GA operators currently using 

graphical weather products in the cockpit 

is small. Further, the commercial products 

being marketed are new and as yet have 

unsubstantiated marketing claims. It was 

concluded that graphical weather data links 

will achieve greater GA market acceptance 

as costs continue to decline. GA graphical 

weather data requirements, however, need 

to be better defined and standardized to 

maximize value to the GA user. 

It is recommended that NASA conduct an 

R&D flight test and evaluation of 

representative commercial weather data link 

systems. Actual in-flight performance needs 

to be evaluated and measured against claims 

of usefulness and performance. It also 

appears there is a need for NASA to 

continue its research and development in 

optimizing weather data links based upon 

GA pilot weather requirements (both 

strategic and tactical) and validated through 

an in-flight evaluation program. 

Additional recommendations for future 

NASA R&D efforts include investigating 

the utilization of the VHF VDL-3 data link 

and satellite digital radio service providers 

for providing graphical weather information 

to the GA cockpit. NASA should also 

participate with RTCA committees and 

the FAA in the Safe Flight 21 program 

including UAT data link evaluation. Test 

and evaluation of a hybrid satellite and 

ground-based weather data link architecture 

is a candidate for future NASA research and 

development as well. 

NASA/CR—2002-211903
 

NASA/CR—2002-211903 v

Table of Contents 

Executive Summary: ................................................................................................................... iii 

Objective ........................................................................................................................................1

Background ................................................................................................................................1

Objectives in the Statement of Work..........................................................................................4

Products and Services.............................................................................................................4

System Constraints or Limitations .........................................................................................5

Technical Specifications.........................................................................................................5

Methodology ..................................................................................................................................7

Information Gathering Methodology .........................................................................................7

Information Analysis Methodology ...........................................................................................9

Vendor Descriptions – Marketing Highlights ..............................................................................11

Surveyed Commercial Vendors............................................................................................11

Analysis of General Aviation Graphical Weather Data Links .....................................................27

Background ..............................................................................................................................27

Data Link Implementations......................................................................................................27

Comparison and Analysis of Airspace Coverage for Graphical Weather Providers ........... 30

Analysis of Recurring and Nonrecurring Cost for Graphical Weather Providers ...............30

Analysis of Avionics Displays including Size, Mounting Considerations, 

Portability, and Power ......................................................................................................32

Analysis of Display Functionality in addition to Weather Graphics....................................33

Analysis of Graphical Weather Products..............................................................................34

Analysis of GA Weather Needs ...........................................................................................34

Weather Graphics Available to GA Pilots via Data Link.....................................................36

Conclusions..................................................................................................................................39

Weather Data Link Conclusions...............................................................................................39

Recommendations for Future NASA Research and Development (R&D) Efforts ......................43

Recommendation I ...................................................................................................................43

Recommendation II..................................................................................................................43

Recommendation III.................................................................................................................44

Recommendation IV.................................................................................................................44

Recommendation V..................................................................................................................45

Appendix One ..............................................................................................................................47

Vendor Survey ........................................................................................................................47

Appendix Two..............................................................................................................................49

User Survey..............................................................................................................................49

Appendix Three............................................................................................................................51

References....................................................................................................................................51

Glossary........................................................................................................................................52

Appendix Four........................................................................................................................ 55

Appendix Five.............................................................................................................................. 57
NASA/CR—2002-211903 1

Objective

Background

General Aviation (GA) airplanes and

operations encompass a wide range of

aircraft types and applications. GA airplanes

are operated in support of business and

recreation, as well as everything from

emergency medical evacuations to border

patrols and fire fighting.

They are also used by individuals,

companies, state governments, universities

and other interests to quickly and efficiently

reach the more than 5,000 small and rural

communities in the United States that are

not served by commercial airlines.

GA is the backbone of the nation’s air

transportation system and can be a primary

training ground for the commercial airline

industry. It is also an industry that

contributes positively to the nation’s

economy. GA aircraft range from small,

single-engine planes to mid-sized turboprops

to the larger turbofans capable of flying nonstop from New York to Tokyo.

Improved safety of flight is critical for

continued growth in this arena. In 1997,

President Clinton called for an 80%

reduction in the rate of fatal accidents

by 2007 and a 90% reduction by 2017.

In response to this goal, the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) Aeronautics Safety Investment

Strategy Team (ASIST) defined technical

objectives for an Aviation Safety Program

(AvSP).

The AvSP, in partnership with industry and

other Government agencies such as the

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),

recognized that weather was a major

contributor or factor in aviation incidents

and accidents. This has been corroborated

in several studies, such as FAA Safer Skies:

Focused Safety Agenda [1], and others

conducted by the National Transportation

Safety Board (NTSB) [2], Aircraft Operators

and Pilots Association (AOPA)[3], that

concluded a significant percentage of delays,

accidents, and fatalities incurred by GA

aircraft are due to weather. For the period

1993 through 2000 weather was a direct

cause or factor in approximately 24% of

total GA accidents and approximately 30%

of total GA fatalities (Table 1).

GA Accident Statistics 1993-2000

Total Accidents

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Total

24% 21% 25% 28% 25% 24% 25% 21% 24%

Fatal Accidents

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Total

32% 28% 33% 36% 32% 33% 24% 24% 30%

Table 1: NTSB GA Weather Accident Statistics, 1993-2000

By building on the FAA’s National Airspace

System (NAS) modernization plan, GA

manufacturers have been busy developing

new products that are anticipated to

dramatically increase safety and efficiency

of the current aviation system. Of

all the future technologies that await the GA

community, it is envisioned that the

availability of improved weather

information, such as textual and graphical

products and forecasts, could provide the

greatest safety benefit.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 2

To achieve these benefits it is important to

understand when, where, and for what

purpose weather information is needed.

According to the FAA Office of System

Safety, an analysis of the Aviation Safety

Reporting System 2001 database revealed

that the majority of incidents occurred in the

en route or descent phase of flight. During

these phases of flight there are numerous

operational decisions made by the GA pilot

as a result of weather. These include inflight altitude, route or destination changes,

as well as decisions affecting approach and

landing. Changes in aircraft configuration

and performance can also be driven by

weather conditions.

According to the FAA’s Mission Need

Statement for Aviation Weather, 2002 [4]

and the FAA’s Concept of Use for Weather,

Draft 2002 [5], that link weather phenomena

to specific operational decisions, weather

plays a preeminent role in pilots' operational

decisions in both a pre-flight and in-flight

environment.

For example, icing, volcanic ash, nonconvective turbulence, and cloud top

information affects decisions for pre-flight

route, or altitude. Unanticipated convective

activity or convective activity that develops

or moves faster or slower than forecasted

can affect GA in-flight operational decisions

(Figure 1). Approach and runway selection

and are based on acceptable approach

procedures that can be affected by cloud

base conditions, visibility, crosswind

component, and minimums both prior to

flight as well as immediately prior to

transitioning from the en route to arrival

phase of flight.

Figure 1 : Convective activity affects all GA decisions

Thus, the need for pre-flight and in-flight

weather information to assist in making

good operational decisions appears obvious.

To make this a reality weather information

collection, processing and dissemination

systems must be in place and consistently

perform with the highest levels of accuracy,

availability, timeliness, reliability, and

integrity.

The recent development and deployment of

in-flight airborne weather systems demand

that weather information providers, methods

for up-linking data, and cockpit displays

must meet these same high levels of system

performance as required for traditional preflight systems.

NASA’s Weather Accident Prevention

(WxAP) project under AvSP was formed to

achieve several objectives to assist in the

development of in-flight weather

capabilities:

• Develop technologies to provide

information to aviation decision-makers

such as pilots, dispatch, and ATC. The

Aviation Weather Information (AWIN)

program was formed to address this

objective.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 3

• Develop standardized communication

technologies to meet the first objective.

The Weather Information

Communications (WINCOMM)

program was formed to address this

objective.

• Provide on-board turbulence sensors for

advanced warning.

• Define flight management systems to

reduce effects of turbulence. The

Turbulence Detection and Mitigation

research programs were formed to

address these two objectives.

The AWIN program element, centered at

NASA Langley, performs research and

development geared to decreasing accidents

by improving weather information available

to aviation users. The program is focused on

human factors issues including the

development of technologies that will lead

to improved design and use of improved

cockpit weather information via graphical

displays of data linked weather products.

However, as good as the weather graphics

may be, they are of no use to the GA pilot

unless the information can make the trip to

the cockpit. In this regard, the WINCOMM

program element, centered at the Glen

Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, is

geared towards the development of

emerging communication technologies and

supporting standards definitions, needed to

satisfy weather informational needs in the

cockpit.

How information reaches the cockpit is

called data link and refers to the

communication transmission between a

service provider and the aviation cockpit

while in-flight. Current techniques include

ground-based and satellite-based

architectures.

Ground-based architectures range from a

nationwide cellular network using existing

telecommunications tower infrastructures, to

very high frequency (VHF) broadcast

network using FAA provided spectrum, and

a VHF network using the Aircraft

Communications and Reporting System

(ACARS) existing infrastructure.

Satellite-based architectures currently

leverage Low Earth Orbiting (LEO)

constellation networks. Planned

architectures will use the Geosynchronous

Earth Orbiting (GEO) satellite for broadcast

dissemination of weather information.

Figure 2: Example of LEO data link architecture as

implemented by Echo Flight

How well these architectures perform in

bringing timely weather graphics to the

cockpit and what future data link

technologies will be marketable to GA users

is a topic of some debate.

For data link in particular, the constraints of

bandwidth, sometimes expressed as a

function of how fast data transmissions take

place, capacity (the ability to add products),

and coverage (the ability to receive

information when and where it is needed),

are major factors. Weather graphics can

contain large amounts of data which make

for huge file sizes and slow data

transmission rates. The information is often

quite perishable meaning that its value to the

pilot for decision making diminishes with

time.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 4

With these constraints in mind, strategies for

getting graphical weather products to the

cockpit are still evolving. Of particular

importance to the WINCOMM program is:

• Information Throughput: This refers to

emerging communication technologies

that will be able to improve delivery rate

of weather information to the cockpit.

• Communications System Capacity: This

refers to the development of

technologies to enable anticipated

communication system capacity.

• User Connectivity: This refers to an

improvement in coverage and access to

weather information in the cockpit.

Objectives in the Statement of Work

Commercial avionic systems are being

marketed to the GA community to address

aviation safety and efficiency of flight

concerns.

The NASA WINCOMM group has a critical

interest in the availability and potential

effectiveness of these commercial offerings

in bringing graphical weather information to

the cockpit to address GA pilot weather

needs.

An assessment of data link technologies,

infrastructure, and proposed weather

products and services will facilitate the

determination of technological maturity of

the industry in order for the WINCOMM

program to strategically plan for future

research investment decisions.

Products and Services

A market survey of companies currently

providing or proposing to provide graphical

weather information to the GA cockpit has

been performed. The surveyed systems have

been evaluated by the following factors:

Availability in the Market:

Several commercial offerings are currently

available. This means that avionics can be

ordered in the form of a turnkey system and

various weather products can be received in

the cockpit, usually on a subscription basis.

FAA certification has been approved for

installed equipment. FAA certification of

avionics equipment is important since this

ensures that minimum safety and

performance standards for aircraft installed

systems have been met.

Several commercial offerings are still in the

planned or proposed stages. This generally

means that strategic partnerships between

avionics manufacturers and weather data

providers are being formed. Avionics

software to receive weather products and/or

to transmit requests for products may be in

development.

End-user pricing and cost:

Costs to receive weather graphics in the

cockpit fall into two categories:

Nonrecurring and recurring.

Nonrecurring costs apply to the one-time

purchase of avionics equipment and refer to

all hardware and software components

required to create a turnkey “system” for

weather graphics in the cockpit.

Nonrecurring costs would also include

installation. It is important to realize the

costs of all required components of such a

system in order to clearly understand what,

if any, legacy equipage can be leveraged to

display weather products. It is also

important to understand what additional

functionality can be performed or

information displayed along with weather

graphics to determine relative value to GA

operational decision making over weather

graphics alone.

Recurring costs generally refer to those

occurring on a regular basis such as a

monthly or yearly service or subscription for
NASA/CR—2002-211903 5

graphical weather products. Over the course

of a year or two, some service costs may not

be trivial. This can occur if the GA pilot

does not fly year round and monthly charges

continue without product use. Additionally,

costs can accumulate quickly if a cost-perproduct arrangement has been made and the

pilot either flies more often than planned or

desires more frequent product updates than

anticipated.

Others as Appropriate:

Maintenance and warranty are important for

in-service upgrades for both avionics and

weather service providers and overall

manufacturer product or service liability and

repair practices. Compatible functionality

and interfacing between avionics

manufacturers, suggesting open architecture

capability, is important for equipage with

legacy avionics and to realize broader

acceptance between manufacturers.

System Constraints or Limitations

Aircraft Type:

It is important to realize the specific GA

market commercial manufacturers are

targeting and the types of GA aircraft that

will be compatible with offered avionics

hardware and software. This will address

whether specific segments of the GA market

are not being adequately served.

Electrical Requirements:

It is important to verify that GA aircraft

electrical requirements can support offered

weather avionics systems.

Mounting and Surface Area:

Physical aircraft mounting limitations for

currently available or proposed avionics

systems are important for compatibility in

the GA cockpit and again, to determine

market limitations. This includes panel

display, antenna fuselage installations,

cockpit controls, and processors.

Others as Appropriate:

It is important to survey all other GA aircraft

system physical and electrical constraints to

determine other limitations that may restrict

market penetration.

Technical Specifications

Weather Data Sources:

A survey of commercial companies

providing textual and graphical weather

information to the GA cockpit is important

to realize the kinds of products currently

available and to compare offerings with

regard to known or postulated GA weather

requirements. This will identify all the major

players providing weather data and will

serve to determine if product content is

congruent with pilot weather needs.

Standardization of product and product

content is important for collaborative

decision making (CDM) or information

parity, when applicable, between pilot and

controller.

Resolution:

Resolution of weather graphics is important

to determine overall weather graphic quality

and to determine if all weather features

important to the GA pilot can be adequately

depicted.

Timeliness:

Timeliness of weather graphics to the

cockpit is important. Weather information is

perishable – its relative value towards

enhancing GA safety diminishes greatly

with time. Confidence in the product

integrity can also diminish with time since

some weather phenomena will have moved

from valid time positions towards

increasingly unknown positions. Further,

with each passing minute the aircraft

will have moved relative to the weather

phenomena. This may lead to more

reactive decision making and a compromise

of safety.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 6

Display:

Display characteristics such as brightness,

heads up/heads down, clarity, size, colors,

etc., generally fall into human factor

considerations. However, human factors

issues are not within the purview of this

study. The displays of avionics vendors will

be surveyed and compared but human

factors considerations are addressed in other

NASA initiatives.

Delivery:

The focus of this study is to survey and

evaluate the methods used to data link

weather graphics to the GA cockpit. As

mentioned in the background section,

various delivery architectures have emerged

based on perceived GA weather product

needs, technological abilities, strategic

partnerships, market profiles and related

business models for anticipated market

penetration. It is important to understand

advantages and disadvantages that each

delivery architecture brings with regard to

product, service, and technical metrics

previously outlined as well as any

technological constraints that may be

preventing or hindering further market

penetration.

Others as appropriate:

A survey of other technical specifications as

appropriate will be performed to provide

further technical understanding of

commercial weather data link systems and

services to make research investment

recommendations to enhance GA safety. For

example, product offerings will be evaluated

in terms of expected or planned future

technology trends and developments that

could potentially benefit from additional

research and development investments to

accelerate deployment of cockpit weather

information systems.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 7

Methodology

There are three goals to this study. The first

is to identify and survey commercial

vendors and weather graphics service

providers who currently provide or are

planning to provide graphical weather to the

GA cockpit. The second is to assess the

maturity of the market with respect to

various criteria such as data link technology,

available avionics, cost, weather products,

etc., towards the ability to satisfy GA

weather needs and improve safety of flight.

The third is to identify areas that could

benefit from additional research and

development technology investment.

Information Gathering Methodology

Identification of commercial vendors and

users of graphical weather avionics was

conducted by several methods including inhouse knowledge, Internet searches, and

interfacing with Government organizations

(FAA, NASA). Also, reviews of

professional publications (Aviation Week

and Space Technology, Avionics, AOPA

Pilot Magazine, Avionics News (AEA), etc.)

were accomplished. In addition, professional

organizations including Aircraft Electronics

Association (AEA), Experimental Aircraft

Association (EAA), National Business

Aircraft Association (NBAA), General

Aviation Manufacturers Association

(GAMA), Aircraft Owners and Pilots

Association, etc) were contacted. Meeting

were also held with GA user groups (AOPA,

NBAA, GAMA, AEA, etc.), and at GA user

shows and conferences (Sun N Fun, AOPA

Fly-in, etc).

The focus here was to identify the major

players who had current capability to bring

graphical weather to the cockpit or who had

seemingly realistic plans to do so in the near

future.

Identification of users was made through

direct pilot contacts, vendor contacts, and

avionics dealer lists.

The results of the identification task

revealed that 15 commercial vendors had

current or planned capabilities. These are:

• Aircell, Inc.

• ARNAV

• Avidyne

• ControlVision

• Echo Flight

• Flytimer

• Garmin

• Goodrich

• Honeywell Bendix/King.

• Jeppesen

• Rockwell Collins

• Satellite Technologies, Inc.

• Universal Avionics

• UPS Aviation

• WSI Corp.

With 15 major vendors comprising the

marketplace, an interview-style approach as

opposed to a mass mailing was used to

conduct the survey. Further, due the

available time to perform the survey, one

major decision-maker from each company

was identified to participate in the survey

such as President/CEO, Lead Business

Developer, GA Avionics Program Manager,

etc.

Before the survey could be developed, it was

essential to determine the intended use of

the data towards addressing goals two and

three, and to build into the design survey

features such as focus and question type

necessary to allow use in that way (Sonquist

and Dunkelberg, 1977 [6]. Further, the most

informative comparisons between different

organizations working towards similar

market goals can be revealed when the

questions are standardized and highly

focused. Finally, length of the survey was

considered. Higher participant interest was

envisioned if the questions were kept fairly

short and to the point with overall question

numbers kept reasonably low. This was

especially valid for the user survey.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 8

The information gathering methodology,

shown in Figure 3, began with the

development of questions derived from

various sources to elicit answers that would

satisfy study goals. These sources included

knowledge of GA graphical weather needs,

knowledge of data link communication

architectures and protocols, study SOW

requirements or goals, and perceptions from

NASA.

GA graphical weather needs have been

described in various sources such as the

General Aviation Users’ Forum, 1993 [7],

National Aviation Weather Users’ Forum,

1999[8],

Mission Need Statement for Aviation

Weather, #339, 2002, “Concept of Use for

Weather”, 2002, as well as various other

professional papers as referenced in

Appendix 3. These references were used as

guidance for weather product question

development and overall background

weather knowledge.

In-house knowledge of the SOW issues of

interest were used to develop question type

sections. These included background in the

operational use of GA avionics, operational

GA use of weather information,

communication data link history and

technical issues, and product installation,

integration, and certification issues.

Figure 3: Information Gathering Methodology
NASA/CR—2002-211903 9

An additional source of input was

perceptions provided from NASA including

perceived level of product or service

maturity and real in-service experiences

with weather graphics vs. advertised

capability. Survey questions were developed

to validate or dispel these perceptions.

Questions were arranged by type including

the broad categories:

• Current or proposed product type (name,

description, H/W or S/W, transceiver,

etc)

• Display devices such as MultiFunctional Display, lap-top, etc., and

weather products offered such as radar

and other graphics, text messages, etc.

• Data link architectures such as Cellular,

VHF, satellite, etc., and considerations

such as line of site issues, availability,

etc.

• Recurring and nonrecurring costs.

• Market penetration and customer

feedback from vendor provided sales

and user survey comments.

This led to the development of two sets of

highly focused questions; one applicable for

the commercial vendor, and one for the user.

The questions were designed to be openended or qualitative and not requiring yes

or no answers. Questions that would tend

to lead to proprietary-type answers were

avoided. Each of these final survey forms

is shown in the appendices.

Individual interviews were conducted with

identified decision-makers. In many cases

the person surveyed was able to review the

questions beforehand. Most interviews were

conducted in person while others were

conducted on the phone. The questions were

asked in an unbiased manner. Commercial

vendors provided brochures and marketing

materials describing avionics and graphical

weather services. In some instances a review

of the answers and accompanying brochures

required follow-up questions to clarify the

provided information. The vast majority of

the commercial vendors were quite

cooperative in participating in the survey.

Survey responses resulted in company facts,

avionics product listing, graphical weather

products and capability, cost and sales

information. In addition, data link

architecture and understood constraints,

strategic partnerships, current focus

including types of GA customers or aircraft

and/or planned direction(s), opinions and

attitudes regarding perceived market desires,

expected (vendor provided) and actual (user

provided) operational performance or

experiences, and recommended Government

initiatives for improved market penetration

were also provided.

Information Analysis Methodology

An information analysis methodology was

developed to summarize and distill the

raw comments received from vendors

and users (Figure 4). In order to determine

technological constraints experienced by the

vendors, a methodology was developed to

compare system, service, and product

offerings based on the data link

architectures.

For example, it was envisioned that

technological issues would be data link

specific. Therefore, commercial vendors

using like data link technologies were

compared and contrasted against each

other. Comparison of data link architectures

in this way translates the information into

quantified assessments of the data link

maturity with regard to graphical

weather products. From this assessment,

recommendations for improved data link

technologies can be made.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 10

Figure 4:Information Analysis Methodology
NASA/CR—2002-211903 11

Vendor Descriptions–Marketing Highlights

The following section highlights each of the

15 surveyed commercial vendors from a

marketing perspective and is not intended to

serve as a detailed comparison. Such

comparisons can be found in the Analysis

section and the matrix table in the Appendix.

A "high-level" comparison matrix has also

been included as an appendix to introduce

the reader to the more salient considerations.

These vendor descriptions are, intended to

introduce the reader to the companies who

are currently providing or planning to

provide graphical weather products to the

cockpit.

The following company provided

information is included:

• Company name, address, phone, and

point of contact for business

development or technical

management.

• Products that bring graphical

weather to the cockpit, their

availability and data link

architecture.

• A selection of features, including

costs, emphasized in various

marketing brochures and/or sales

and technical literature. NOTE:

Costs do not generally include

installation unless otherwise noted.

• Photographs or diagrams of the

product or data link architecture.

• A selection of considerations, both

positive and negative, described

either in the marketing literature or

during the interview process with

identified points of contact.

There are four major commercial vendors

providing graphical weather data to the

high-end GA market. These are Honeywell,

Rockwell Collins, Teledyne, and Universal

Avionics. Because the main focus of this

market analysis was towards the pleasure

and occasional, or low-end, GA user,

commercial vendors targeting this market

are only partially illustrated here and in the

analysis.

Surveyed Commercial Vendors

• Aircell Inc

• ARNAV

• Avidyne

• ControlVision

• Echo Flight

• Flytimer

• Garmin

• Goodrich

• Honeywell Bendix/King

• Jeppesen

• Rockwell Collins

• Satellite Technologies, Inc

• Universal Avionics

• UPS Aviation

• Weather Services International
NASA/CR—2002-211903 12

AirCell, Inc.

1172 Century Drive, Suite 280

Building B

Louisville, Colorado 80027

(303) 379-0200

www.aircell.com

POC: Brian Cox, Director of New Technology

(303) 379-0239, Fax (303) 379-0201

bcox@aircell.com

Product:

• Guardian 1000 transceiver@$3,500

• DataComm 500 Transceiver @$2,000

• AT.02 Transceiver @$4,000

• AGT.02 Transceiver @$8,000

Availability:

• All current except for DataComm 500

Weather Data Link:

• Ground-based Cellular Network

• Weather provider is Meteorologix

Features:

• Voice and Data/Graphics in air

• FAA-approved in-flight cellular telephone

• Dual certification: Up to 250kts for Guardian;

Up to 600kts for AT.02

• Flight Guardian S/W displays NEXRAD

images on MFD’s, EFB’s, and PDA’s

• Several rate plans from $9.95/month to

$499.95/month depending on service (voice or

data alone) and included minutes

• 1 and 2 year limited warranty

Considerations:

• Line of site constraints; Typically starts above 5K AGL

• Only pay for link when data transmitting (R/R by the minute)

• Flexibility to add more channels

• 20-25kbyte files download in about a minute

• 16 levels of reflectivity for NEXRAD products; 2km resolution
NASA/CR—2002-211903 13

ARNAV

Pierce County Airport

16923 Meridian East

Puyallup, WA 98373

(253) 848-6060

www.arnav.com

POC: Susan M. Hamner, Vice President,

Radio Navigation Flight Electronics

Wireless Communications

(253) 848-6060 x28, FAX (253) 848-3555

shamner@arnav.com

Product:

• Wx Link is a multi-mode, multi-frequency

weather broadcast data link portion of the

ARNAV Aeronautical Network (AAN)

• DR-100 receiver/antenna@$1,495

• SatPhone transceiver@$19,995

• MFD 5200 display@$6,000

• MFD ICDS display@$8,000

Availability:

• Satellite data link current; ARNAV network

limited availability, FISDL not available

Weather Data Link:

• LEO Satellite

• VHF GMSK ground-based digital broadcast

• Weather provider is Meteorologix

Features:

• Voice and data via satellite; R/R

• FAA certified products

• Free weather text via FAA provided spectrum

• Premium weather graphics @ $495/year

• VHF ground-based network uses a periodic

broadcast technique; Plan to convert to VDLMode2 in 2004

• DR-100 receiver is compatible with several other

manufacturer MFD’s

Considerations:

• Currently implementing VHF GMSK

• FAA and ARNAV not making any public statements on FISDL deployment; Web site

indicates limited availability of weather products over ARNAV proprietary network only

• 4 levels of reflectivity on NEXRAD products; 64km resolution nationally, 8km resolution

regionally
NASA/CR—2002-211903 14

Avidyne Corp.

55 Old Bedford Road

Lincoln, MA 01773

(800) 284 3963

www.avidyne.com

POC: Jason Och, Product Manager New Business

Development

(781) 402 7476

joch@avidyne.com

Product:

• FlightMax DX50 transceiver @ $2,950

• Weather graphics can be shown on all

FlightMax MFD’s which range in price

from the 850 series @ $17,950 to the 450

series @ $9,950

Availability:

• DX50 availability planned mid-late 2002

Weather Data Link:

• LEO satellite

• Weather provider TBD

Features:

• Bi-directional R/R via satellite

• All-altitude, CONUS data link coverage

• MFD can be stand-alone, mounted remotely,

and VHF compatible

• Combination transceiver can interface with

several technologies (i.e., GPS flight plan

functionality, traffic, terrain, etc)

• $599/year (30 updates/month) or $349/year (10

updates/month) planned pricing

• 2-7 minutes typical response time

Considerations:

• Data only

• Weather provider not announced yet

• DX50 designed to interface only with FlightMax systems

• FAA certification planned

• Geared towards higher-end GA users
NASA/CR—2002-211903 15

ControlVision

Box 596

Pittsburgh, KS 66762

(800) 292 1160

www.anywheremap.com

POC: Richard Herbst, Marketing Manager

(620) 231 6647

richard@anywheremap.com

Product:

• Anywhere Wx integrated GPS flight

manager S/W @ $2,899 introductory

package (inc. S/W, GlobalStar Phone,

GPS receiver, PDA display, power pack,

and Yoke Mount)

• Anywhere Wx with Aircell interface @

$1,295 ($1,995 with PDA but no other

Aircell equipment included)

Availability:

• Current

Weather Data Link:

• LEO satellite

• Ground-based cellular network (Aircell)

• Weather provider is Meteorologix

Features:

• Satellite R/R data link service; Ground-based

network data and voice

• Aircraft phone serves as a dialer and modem

• $30-110/month plus $1.49-1.69/minute for

weather products; Rates dictated by number

of free plan minutes

• 6 months of free upgrades then $115/year for

12 upgrades

• 6 month limited warranty for H/W

• Proprietary compression allows for NEXRAD

display and METARS to be available in less

than 1 minute from request

Considerations:

• Need Aircell Guardian transceiver @ $3,500 for Aircell service

• Communications line is dropped after 1 minute, Not IFR certified

• Need to purchase the moving map S/W

• 6 levels of reflectivity on NEXRAD products
NASA/CR—2002-211903 16

Echo Flight

1919 14th St., Suite 601

Boulder, CO 80302

(888) 739-7161

www.echoflight.com

POC: Rob Kalberer, President

(303) 818-7597

Product:

• Echo Flight S/W and satellite transceiver

communicator @ $1,795 (additional $180 for

antenna)

• Flight Cheetah 270 MFD @ $5,995 turnkey

package (inc. GPS and VHF antenna, S/W

and transceiver)

Availability:

• Current

Weather Data Link:

• Orbcomm LEO

• Weather provider is Meteorologix

Features:

• RS-232 serial port allows for use on laptop

loaded with Echo Flight S/W; S/W can be used

on Garmin 400 and 500 series MFD’s

• MFD has modified display screen to reduce

glare and improve brightness

• Subscription packages range from $9.95/month

to $55/month plus $1 each access. Package

deals available

• Composite NEXRAD, ceiling and visibility

charts (graphical METARS), wind

speed/direction, temp/dp spreads, METAR text

(no TAFs)

• Compression and burst transmission mode

technique (2.4Kbps uplink; 4.8Kbps

downlink); 98% of requests within 20 minutes

of receipt)

• R/R only, however, download intervals can be

set up to emulate periodic “broadcast”

Considerations:

• No FAA certification for Flight Cheetah since it is portable

• Flight Cheetah 180 (smaller, cheaper MFD) not available yet

• Potential signal availability/response time issues (not statistically proven)

• 4 levels of reflectivity on NEXRAD products
NASA/CR—2002-211903 17

Flytimer

Concord, MA

(978) 318 0600

www.flytimer.com

POC: Stan Durlacher, CEO

(978) 318 0600 x224

shd@flytimer.com

Product:

• Transceiver-type with generic RS-232

connection; Interface to a MFD, Ipaq,

or laptop

• 3 offerings planned: Low-end @$2,500,

mid @$4,500, high-end @$6,500

Availability:

• Anticipated 4th quarter ‘02

Weather Data Link:

• ARINC/ACARS network

• Weather provider TBD

Features:

• Developing an encoder to compress weather

images over the slow network; 2.4Kbps up to

plane

• Recurring subscription costs TBD but

“competitive”

• STC certification for jets and twin-337;

Anticipated for EFB

• Anticipating TAMDAR probe to be integrated

• Anticipated upgrade to VDL Mode2 with

ACARS certification by late ‘02

• “Auto-tunable” to fit into excess bandwidth

Considerations:

• None determined
NASA/CR—2002-211903 18

Garmin

1200 E. 151st. Street

Olathe, KS 66062

(913) 397 8200

www.garmin.com

POC: Scott Smith, Manager of Sales

(913) 397 8200

Product:

• GDL 49 data link transceiver @ 3,495

Availability:

• Current

Weather Data Link:

• LEO satellite

• Weather provider is Meteorlogix

Features:

• Graphical weather provided R/R via strategic

partnership with Echo Flight with same

features

• $9.95-55/month plus $1.00 each access;

package deals available

• Level D certification

• 1 year limited warranty

Considerations:

• Requires Garmin 400 or 500 series MFD’s along with Echo Flight S/W and Orbcomm

communicator

• 4 levels of reflectivity on NEXRAD products
NASA/CR—2002-211903 19

Goodrich

5353 52nd. Street SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49512-9704

(616) 949 6600

www.goodrichavionics.com

POC: Ray Wabler, Business Development

(937) 426 1700 x3012

Product:

• SmarkDeck integrated flight display

Availability:

• 2003

Weather Data Link:

• TBD; Looking at GEO satellite

Features:

• Working on eliminating subscription costs

• Nonrecurring cost of avionics TBD

Considerations:

• None determined
NASA/CR—2002-211903 20

Honeywell Bendix/King

One Technology Center

23500 W. 105th Street, MD #45

Olathe, KS 66061-1950

(877) 712 2386

www.bendixking.com

POC: Gary Stuteville, Technical Program Manager

(913) 712 5545

gary.stuteville@honeywell.com

Product:

• KDR 510 VDL Mode 2 Data Link

receiver @ $5,495

Availability:

• Current in areas where tower network

completed

Weather Data Link:

• VHF VDL Mode 2 ground-based

broadcast

Features:

• Broadcast weather instantly available

• Display shows age of products

• Text weather free; Value-added graphics

@49.95/month to $89.95/month based on

yearly subscription

• Requires MFD; Receiver, interface, antenna,

and display “system” priced @ $7,460 for nonradar-equipped aircraft, and $12,406 for

radar-equipped aircraft

• Improved reliability in product availability

due to storage and buffering

• 2 year limited warranty

Considerations:

• Line of site constraints but available above 5,000 feet AGL as per FAA requirement

• Encryption for value-added products begins in 2003, otherwise currently free

• 4 levels of reflectivity for NEXRAD products; 4km resolution

• Only 50 out of 200+ towers currently implemented (June 2002)
NASA/CR—2002-211903 21

Jeppesen

55 Inverness Drive East

Engelwood, CO 80112-5496

(303) 328 4779

www.jeppesen.com

POC: Matthew Ruwe,

Marketing Manager for Navigation S/W, GA Division

(303) 328 4779

matt.ruwe@jeppesen.com

Product:

• FlightMap interface S/W @ $499

• AirCell Phone cost TBD

• Tablet computer display device@ $4-6K

Availability:

• Current

Weather Data Link:

• Ground-Based Cellular Network via

Aircell (Current)

• GEO Satellite via Satellite Technologies

(Planned)

Features:

• FlightMap includes FlightStar Planning

functionality

• Worldwide weather availability

• Unlimited downloads for about $20/month

plus per minute call charges as applicable

• No certification issues as components are

portable

• Priced for all aircraft and users

• 30-day money back guarantee for FlightMap

Considerations:

• Update subscription plans to Navigational and FlightMap data are available from 1x a

year to every 28 days

• “In-Flight” S/W under development to be released with Satellite link; Cockpit optimized

interface

• Looking to develop interface S/W for display onto other commercial MFD’s

• 16 level reflectivity on NEXRAD products, 2km resolution
NASA/CR—2002-211903 22

Rockwell Collins

400 Collins Road NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52498

(319) 295 1590

www.rockwellcollins.com

POC: Matt Smith, Manager of Advanced Products

(319) 295 7290

mtsmith@rockwellcollins.com

Product:

• VHF Radio 4000 @ $18K

• Communication Management Unit @ $25K

• Control Display Unit upgrade@ $10K or File

Server Unit and Adaptive Flight Display

(3010E) @ $40K

Availability:

• Current

Weather Data Link:

• ACARS ground-based commercial network;

VDL Mode2

• Inmarsat satellite

• Weather provider is Universal Weather

Features:

• Worldwide graphical weather products available

over land or ocean; R/R

• Weather products from $500 – 1500/month

• High-end users; Compare functionality and costs

with Universal Avionics, Honeywell (AFIS), and

Teledyne systems

• 25Khtz channels

• 31.5 Kbps

• Type certified for Challenger 601 by summer ‘03

Considerations:

• VHF has line of site issues

• Pricing given is for business/region/jet configuration – not the more rugged ARINC 600

connection (Air Transport)

• Plan to be compatible with FIS-B

• Cost to equip is geared to high end General Aviation users only
NASA/CR—2002-211903 23

Satellink Technologies, Inc.

21700 Atlantic Blvd.

Dulles, VA 20166

(703) 788 7010

www.satellinktech.com

POC: Harlan Hamlin, VP and GM of Aviation Services

(571) 238 5058

www.merlin.com

Product:

• Merlin MA SK-1 receiver @ $3,500

Availability:

• Late summer 2002 planned launch

Weather Data Link:

• GEO Satellite

• Weather provider to be Jeppesen

Features:

• MA SK-1 FAA certification planned after

production

• Continual broadcast of weather graphics to be

displayed on various MFD’s, EFB’s, PC-based

moving map displays, or portable units

• Receiver cost includes 1 year of weather

graphics; Otherwise$45/month unlimited

access

• TFR’s and Flight Explorer ASD

Considerations:

• 16 reflectivity level NEXRAD planned; 2km resolution
NASA/CR—2002-211903 24

Universal Avionics

3260 E. Universal Way

Tucson, AZ 85706

(520) 295 2300

www.universalavionics.com

POC: Paul Tews, PM for Multifunctional Displays

(520) 295 2300

Product:

• Unilink CMU modem @ $20K

• Unilink CMU transceiver @ $28K

• Flight Management System @ $35K

Availability:

• Current

Weather Data Link:

• ACARS ground-based commercial VHF

network

• Inmarsat Satellite Communication

• Weather provider is Universal Weather

Features:

• Worldwide graphical weather products

available over land or ocean; R/R

• High-end users; Compare functionality and

costs with Rockwell Collins, Teledyne, and

Honeywell systems

• Unilink can support up to 3 FMS units

Considerations:

• Cost to equip is geared to high end general Aviation users only
NASA/CR—2002-211903 25

UPS Aviation Technologies

2345 Turner Road SE

Salem, OR 97302

(800) 525 6726

www.upsat.com

POC: Jim Guitteau, Manager of Sales

(800) 525 6726

Product:

• Apollo MX-20 MFD @ $7,295

• Interface S/W TBD

Availability:

• Planned late summer 2002

Weather Data Link:

• Ground-based Cellular Network via

Aircell

• GEO Satellite via Satellite Technologies

• Weather providers are Meteorologix

(for Aircell) and Jeppesen (for Merlin)

Features:

• Various functionality supported on the MFD

• Large 6” diagonal, high resolution screen;

Direct sunlight readability

• Monthly graphical weather costs TBD

Considerations:

• Cost for Merlin service/equipage likely to be higher

• Working with Bendix/King to develop FIS-B interface
NASA/CR—2002-211903 26

Weather Services International

4 Federal Street

Billerica, MA 01821-3569

(978) 670 5000

www.wsicorp.com

POC: Keith Hoffler, Business Development Manager

Mobile Weather Division

(757) 865 1400 x221

khoffler@wsi.com

Product:

• Pilot Weather Advisor Receiver $4,000-

$5000

Availability:

• Late 2002

Weather Data Link:

• GEO Satellite

• Weather provider is WSI

Features:

• Continual broadcast of weather graphics to be

displayed on various MFD’s, EFB’s, PC-based

moving map displays, or portable units

• Less than $50/month for premium WSI

graphics

• Meets RTCA DO-267 standards for usability

and interoperability

• TFR’s, NOTAM’s, icing and turbulence

graphics available

Considerations:

• Sandia Aerospace to build and certify receiver; Planned to be appropriate for all

aircraft

• 5 reflectivity levels on NEXRAD products, 2km resolution

• Uncertified receivers currently available
NASA/CR—2002-211903 27

Analysis of General Aviation Graphical Weather Data Links

Background

There are many commercial offerings that

provide various types of graphical weather

information to the cockpit. One key aspect

that differentiates these system

implementations is the communication data

link employed.

The choice of the communication link is a

major factor determining the accuracy,

availability, timeliness, reliability, and

integrity of airborne delivered weather

products. The communication link also

affects recurring cost to the GA operator

as well as drives the nature of the service

provided from broadcast to request-reply

for strategic weather planning to tactical

weather response.

Communication systems being utilized or

considered to provide graphical weather data

to the cockpit include both ground-based

and satellite data links.

Commercial ground-based systems include:

cellular networks as implemented by

AirCell, the ARINC VHF ACARS existing

infrastructure as proposed by Flytimer, and

the VHF broadcast networks as developed

by Honeywell Bendix/King and ARNAV.

Although not commercially available, the

ground-based Universal Access Transceiver

(UAT) developed by MITRE and

implemented in the Alaska FAA Capstone

program can also provide broadcast weather

data from the ground to the cockpit.

Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites systems

such as Orbcomm are utilized by GA

weather system vendors including Echo

Flight and Avidyne with a request/reply data

link implementation.

Geosynchronous satellites (GEO) will

provide continuously updated broadcast

weather information to GA operators with

proposed systems from Satellite

Technologies (Merlin) and WSI (PWA).

Data Link Implementations

Ground-based VHF Communications/FAA

FISDL Program

The FAA has agreements with two

companies, ARNAV Systems, Inc. and

Honeywell Bendix/King, to provide

operational FIS Data Link (FISDL) services.

The FAA has provided each company with

two VHF frequencies located between 136

and 137 Mhz and provides management

oversight including standards guidance. In

return at no cost to the FAA, ARNAV and

Honeywell are separately implementing

their FISDL ground-based infrastructure to

provide weather text and graphic products

within the continental U.S. Aviation weather

text products are provided free with weather

graphics available from Honeywell and

ARNAV with a monthly recurring cost.

ARNAV currently utilizes a VHF Gaussian

Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) digital data

link and has FCC license approval for more

than 50 future site locations. Honeywell

adopted the VHF VDL-2 digital data link

using which is the same RTCA standard that

ARINC is transitioning to.

Honeywell is operational today in the

Eastern half of the U.S. with approximately

50 VHF transmitter sites (as of mid June,

2002) with 120 planned by the end of this

year. Since VHF transmissions are generally

line of site dependent, GA operators using

FISDL generally need to be operating at

5,000 feet AGL in order to receive FISDL

broadcasts reliably. FISDL products

conform to FAA and NWS standards

outlined in the FAA Aeronautical

Information Manual.

Since FISDL is a broadcast service, GA

operators can receive continuous weather
NASA/CR—2002-211903 28

systems updates in the cockpit as long as

they are operating in areas where service is

currently available and flying at or above

5,000 feet AGL.

Graphical weather system updates are

frequent limited by NEXRAD updates every

five minutes especially in the Western U.S.

where there is much less overlapping

coverage. Service may not be available to

the GA operator when on the ground, flying

at low altitudes especially in departure or

arrival areas, and or in mountainous terrain

where VHF transmissions may be blocked

especially at lower altitudes. Ground-based

VHF transmitters can also be impacted by

adverse weather when GA operators flying

in the same area may need critical weather

information.

Ground-based VHF/ARINC ACARS

Service

Many of the same concerns for line of sight

coverage for VHF transmissions also apply

to using ARINC ACARS service by

General Aviation. ARINC VHF coverage is

generally very good at altitudes of 5,000 feet

AGL and above. Since ACARS is a twoway data link, companies offering weather

service such as proposed by Flytimer can

implement a request/reply service. Charges

then can be set on a per usage basis.

Frequent weather system updates in the

event of rapidly changing weather could

generate significant cost and that could limit

GA service utilization.

ARINC is in the process of transitioning to

VDL-2 service with a higher 31.5 Kb/sec

data rate that would be more efficient and

have greater capacity than the current

ACARS of 2.4 Kb/sec.

Ground-based UAT Broadcast Service

The MITRE developed Universal Access

Transceiver (UAT) for the FAA Safe Flight

21 and Capstone programs is a two-way

broadcast data link system. Uplinked FIS

broadcasts from ground-based stations

include continuously updated weather

(METARs, TAF and NEXRAD)

information. TFRs and SUAs may be

available in the future. Approximately

30% of the uplink bandwidth is allocated to

weather data broadcasts. The UAT operates

at 978 Mhz and has been produced by UPS

AT for the Alaska Capstone program (175

equipped aircraft and ten ground stations).

Avidyne will build UATs for the SE Alaska

Capstone program. There is no GA cost

estimate for Capstone UAT service.

UAT has been successfully demonstrated

in both Alaska and in the Ohio valley with

air cargo carriers (UPS, FedEX, Airborne).

RTCA SC-186 has recently approved UAT

Minimum Operational Performance

Standards (MOPS). National

Telecommunications & Information

Administration Stage 3 spectrum allocation

approval is complete and the FAA has

initiated a final Stage 4 action request. FAA

has announced a link decision that is the

UAT for low flying aircraft including most

GA and 1090 Mhz primary for high flying

aircraft which already are so equipped.

Preliminary results of limited aviation safety

fatality data related to weather in Alaska

indicate that the Capstone program and UAT

equipped aircraft have seen a reduced

accident rate to date. A large number of

ground stations, however, would be required

in the continental U.S. to provide these

services especially to altitudes below

3,000 feet AGL and in terminal areas.

That could require between 300 and 500

ground stations to achieve that coverage.

FAA communication sites could be

candidates for UAT sites. This approach

would integrate several aviation services

as desired by GA operators and AOPA.

Cellular Communications

AirCell provides voice and data

communications to General Aviation

through a nationwide cellular network.

AirCell has installed transceivers and

upward looking antennas on U.S. ground-
NASA/CR—2002-211903 29

based cell phone towers. Service availability

as with any cellular network may be

dependent on specific geographical location

as well as altitude. AirCell can provide

antennas for aircraft installation to provide

cellular phone service both on the ramp as

well as airborne. A data/fax modem is

required to receive weather data.

AirCell uses a request/reply system with

airtime charges of about $2.00 per minute.

Service plans available begin at $9.95 per

month for data only services.

Nonrecurring equipment costs and aircraft

installation are comparable to other service

providers for operators who do not have

AirCell service installed in their aircraft. GA

operators may choose to limit their weather

data updates knowing that there is a cost

with each update. Frequent updates on a

continuous basis should contribute more to

aviation safety assuming the GA operator

takes advantage of the weather information

available. AirCell, however, can also

provide cellular phone service.

Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) Satellites

Several weather data link service providers

including Echo Flight and Avidyne are

marketing systems that use LEO satellites

such as Orbcomm. They use a request/reply

implementation. Orbcomm has separate

VHF uplink and downlink frequencies.

Service charges are applied on an access

basis. Weather data is received in

approximately 2.5 minutes after a request

is sent. Automatic weather updates can be

programmed for regular intervals of every

15, 20 or 30 minutes as desired. Service

packages are available with monthly charges

priced according to usage rate.

Request/reply systems require aircraft

onboard transceivers. VHF antennas

required for aircraft installation for

Orbcomm satellite data link are larger

compared to L or X band antennas used by

other service providers. Satellite coverage

generally is good and reception is available

down to the ground. GA operators may

obtain weather service products over

both land and water compared to physical

limitations placed on ground-based

transmitters.

The cost of having this capability in the

GA cockpit, however, is directly related to

frequency of usage. While that might be fine

for the GA operator with limited needs, it

may also be a disincentive to the higher

usage operator who may restrict weather

information requests with associated

safety tradeoffs because of cost avoidance.

Weather data must be current to be of value

to GA.

Geosynchronous (GEO) Satellites

New offerings to be available this year to

GA operators include continuous GEO

satellite weather broadcast services. The

Merlin system from Satellink Technologies

and the Pilot Weather Advisor formerly a

division of Vigyan Inc. and now part of

WSI Inc. are currently marketing graphical

weather services. A small low drag antenna

installation is required along with a satellite

receiver. Along with graphical weather

displays, a variety of other data is

anticipated over time including METARs,

TAFs, NOTAMs, and PIREPs. Merlin

advertises availability of TFR graphics and

ATC delays with Flight Explorer’s FE

InFlight service.

Since these services use satellite broadcasts,

they are geographically available

everywhere including on the ground or in

the air. Weather data is updated frequently at

approximately five minute intervals for a flat

rate monthly fee. Availability and system

reliability should be high since this is a

receive only system and there is no large

ground-based infrastructure to support.

Current service providers do not have a

significant user base at this time. This

system approach, however, appears cost

effective and is very promising for GA

weather data link acceptance.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 30

Comparison and Analysis of Airspace

Coverage for Graphical Weather

Providers

Ground and airspace coverage of graphical

weather products for GA are constrained by

the choice of the communication data link

selected by the service provider and the

network implementation status. A summary

of geographical coverage for service

providers is as follows:

Ground-based Cellular

AirCell is the communication service

provider and offers aircraft antenna

options for both airborne and ground

communications. An Aircell data/fax

modem is required to receive their

graphical weather products. UPS Aviation

Technologies, Control Vision and Jeppesen

also offer weather to the cockpit via AirCell

cellular communications. AirCell advertises

nationwide coverage. As with any cellular

system, some coverage gaps will exist

depending on tower locations and terrain.

With advertised connectivity to both

ground-based and airborne cellular

networks, aircraft altitude should not be as

limiting a factor as it is with ground-based

VHF systems.

Ground-based VHF and UAT

Ground-based VHF broadcast service

providers include Honeywell Bendix/King

and ARNAV under the FAA FISDL

agreements. As previously discussed,

there may not be availability of weather

information except when airborne and

generally at an altitude of 5,000’ feet AGL

or above.

Honeywell currently has airspace coverage

over most of the Eastern U.S with expansion

plans in 2002 and subsequent. ARNAV is

currently expanding coverage in the U.S.

Rockwell Collins and Flytimer have

request/reply systems which are currently

using the ARINC VHF ACARS service

which has good nationwide coverage with

similar minimum altitude requirements.

UAT service, if implemented, has similar

line of sight limitations and is higher in

frequency than VHF. The coverage that

could be made available is directly related

to the number of ground stations.

It is anticipated that ground station UAT

coverage would be comparable to VHF.

Between 300 and 500 ground stations might

be required to achieve coverage down to

1,000’ feet AGL in the U.S.

Satellite Based

Graphical weather service providers

utilizing communication links over either

LEOs or GEOs generally have airspace

coverage over the entire U.S. down to

ground level.

Service providers using LEO satellites

utilize a request/reply system. These include

Echo Flight, Garmin, Avidyne, ARNAV and

Control Vision. Echo Flight, Garmin and

Avidyne use the Orbcomm satellites while

ARNAV and Control Vision have

agreements with the Global Star satellite

network.

Merlin and PWA satellite broadcast services

use GEO satellites. The Merlin service is

also utilized by UPS Aviation Technologies.

Independent of the satellite weather service

provider, system coverage will generally be

better than with a ground-based network

service provider. These performance

parameters indicate hybrid systems using

satellite broadcast for nationwide data and

ground stations for local near real time

weather data may provide the best overall

weather system approach to meet general

aviation weather needs.

Analysis of Recurring and Nonrecurring

cost for Graphical Weather Providers

There is both a nonrecurring cost and a

recurring cost to GA operators who want
NASA/CR—2002-211903 31

graphical weather data in the cockpit. Some

service providers will provide text products

free of recurring charges such as Honeywell

and ARNAV under the FISDL program.

Recurring charges apply for graphical

weather displays.

Nonrecurring costs

Graphical weather service provider system

costs not including displays typically vary

between $2,000.00 and $5,000.00 as

detailed in the vendor matrix summary. This

generally includes an FAA certified data

link transceiver or receiver only, aircraft

antenna and related interface controls.

Aircraft installation can vary between 10 to

20 percent of the system equipment cost.

Portable electronic displays or certified

installed aircraft avionics displays will

generally cost between $5,000.00 and

$15,000.00 depending on aircraft

configuration, display size and functionality.

Specific displays and associated costs are

included in the vendor matrix in the

Appendix. Low cost display options include

laptop computers that may be awkward in

the cockpit and PDAs, such as the Compaq

IPAQ, that have small display size and may

not be compatible with some service

providers.

Recurring Costs

GA graphical weather service providers are

generally competitive on subscription costs.

Recurring costs can be differentiated

between request/reply systems and

continuous broadcast services. Specific

monthly and/or annual plan costs are

included in the vendor matrix summary.

Service providers utilizing request/reply

systems generally have a range of plans that

vary as a function of the number of minutes

or requests allocated per month. Plans start

at $9.95/month and a $1.00 for each request.

Broadcast services that provide continual

updates have service plans that typically run

from $40.00 to $50.00 per month.

Nonrecurring Cost Analysis

According to the NASA Langley and

Embry-Riddle survey, “General Aviation

Pilots’ Perceived Usage and Valuation of

Aviation Weather Information Sources”,

February 2002 [9], over 88% of the GA

respondents were willing to pay under

$5,000 for the in-flight weather system.

A study previously performed by

Kauffmann and Pothanun from Old

Dominion University, “Estimating the Rate

of Technology Adaptation for Cockpit

Weather Systems”, 2000 [10], revealed that

the average acceptable cost for in-flight

information systems on a moving map was

just under $6,000.

In the Kauffmann study, the cost categories

were more sensitive and were noted as a

possible cause of the higher acceptance

cost results. If a combined survey result of

approximately $5,000 was used as a cut-off

point for nonrecurring charges for in-flight

weather information, then several of the

surveyed commercial vendors have their

current price-points too high for perceived

successful market penetration.

For example, only the offerings from

Aircell, ControlVision, and Jeppesen

currently fall below this cost threshold

assuming that the pilot does not have a

MFD already in the cockpit. If such a

display device already exists, and the

pilot selects a vendor whose receiver and

software are compatible, then several other

offerings are under the cost threshold. The

cost of the display device is, in most cases,

the cost driver.

Survey results derived from the referenced

NASA study showed that over 75% of

respondents were unwilling to pay over

$1,000/year for a weather graphics

subscription service. The Old Dominion

study deduced an average of just under

$500/year or about $40/month. However,

the respondents included avionics and
NASA/CR—2002-211903 32

airframe manufacturers, and trade groups

rather than individual end users.

In a subsequent study by Kauffmann, Sireli,

and Ozan, 2001, “A Market Research Study

for Future Weather Information Systems in

General Aviation” [11], 70% of private and

instrument-rated pilots expected recurring

costs to be less than $2,000/year while 81%

of recreational pilots expected recurring

costs to be less than $500/year.

According to the results of these surveys,

the recurring costs for commercial weather

product offerings reviewed in this study are

within cost thresholds.

The exception to this are those vendors

currently providing weather graphics and

avionics to the highest GA users. These

vendors include the Teledyne Telelink,

Universal Avionics Unilink, Honeywell

AFIS, and Rockwell Collins IDC systems.

However, these vendors are all competitive

among themselves in the high-end markets

they serve.

Analysis of Request-Reply Versus

Broadcast

For some GA operators who want graphical

weather and who may share an aircraft

and/or fly infrequently, a request/reply

system may be more cost effective. This

statement is consistent with previous survey

results where the desire to ‘pay by access’

was documented in the 2002 NASA and

Embry-Riddle study. This study showed that

over 40% of GA pilots surveyed preferred

this method over a ‘pay by month’ (27%) or

‘pay by flight’ (17%).

The knowledge, however, that each update

will either have an incremental cost or use

up an allocated number of requests could

inhibit some operators from obtaining

weather updates or at least limiting their

frequency. The time delay to receive an

update could be significant especially if

previously obtained weather data had aged

considerably. This generally is not an issue

with broadcast services where data is usually

updated about every five minutes. It should

be noted, however, that since request/reply

systems have a two-way data link, non

weather related air ground data

communications can be requested and/or

transmitted by the GA operator.

In reviewing in-flight aviation weather for

general aviation it must be noted that there is

an extensive two-way radio communication

infrastructure in place to serve ground

and airborne flight planning and weather

information requirements. This

infrastructure is the FAA's Automated

Flight Service Station (AFSS). Airborne

communications are supported from the

AFSS En route Flight Advisory (EFAS)

position. While AFSS services have been

invaluable to GA, there are nevertheless

notable challenges that provide opportunities

for the development of cockpit weather

graphical display systems.

In summary, there is not a clear cut cost

tradeoff between request/reply and

broadcast. Some aircraft may already

be configured with avionics that can be

modified with minimal nonrecurring cost to

obtain graphical weather data. Some GA

operators who are not willing to pay for

expensive MFDs may prefer to use their

own portable display including Laptops or

PDAs. The tradeoff between a broadcast

service and a request/reply service may

be related to how frequent the GA operator

may fly, where he may fly and whether he

flies VFR and/or IFR.

Analysis of Avionics Displays including

Size, Mounting Considerations,

Portability, and Power

In addition to cost, there are other

considerations that can increase the

useability of having graphical weather in

the cockpit. These include the size of the

device where the graphics are displayed,

where in the cockpit is the display mounted,

how is the display mounted, and electrical or

power issues that are required. Some of
NASA/CR—2002-211903 33

these considerations fall into human factors

issues and will not be discussed at length

here. A comparable analysis of current

offerings, however, are addressed.

Panel Mounted Display

The majority of commercial vendors

surveyed offered either their own panelmounted type display device, usually

designed to be mounted in the center of the

instrument panel, or the ability to display on

a similar device manufactured by another

vendor. Most were MFD’s. Only Aircell,

ControlVision, and Jeppesen current

offerings were not compatible on panelmounted MFD’s.

The preponderance of panel-mounted

displays appears to be consistent with the

Kauffmann, 2000 survey findings which

found that approximately 2/3 of GA users

surveyed preferred the weather display to

either be integrated into current cockpit

display systems or as a separate stand-alone

panel mounted cockpit display.

These results were additionally consistent

with Burt, et.al., 2000, “Impact of a

Weather Information System Display on

General Aviation Pilot Workload and

Performance”[12], which concluded that

pilots preferred the display mounted in the

center of the instrument panel followed by

the display mounted in the center of the

control yoke.

Panel-mounted display devices were fairly

comparable in size, shape, and power usage.

Of the displays reviewed, most had a

diagonal viewing area of approximately

4-6” with the largest being ARNAV’s ICDS

2000 and Avidyne’s EX5000 at a diagonal

of over 10”.

Input power used for these displays

generally falls in the range of 10-33 VDC.

UPS Aviation Technology Apollo MX-20

draws 40 watts maximum and the ARNAV

ICDS maximum input power is 50 watts.

Non-Panel Mounted Display

Echo Flight’s “Flight Cheetah” is the

only portable MFD reviewed. It has a 6.4”

diagonal screen and requires between 10-

35 VDC. It is important to note, however,

that the Garmin panel mounted 400 or 500

series will also display Echo Flight graphical

weather products.

The Aircell and ControlVision offerings

display weather graphics on IPAQ devices

that use minimal power. However, screen

size is considerably smaller than any of the

MFD’s reviewed.

Jeppesen weather graphics are currently

viewed on any Windows compatible laptop

computer of which there are several

manufacturers.

Receiver/Transceiver

There are several commercial offerings

that require the purchase and mounting

of receiver or transceiver hardware. The

mounting can be temporary or permanent.

In all cases the mounting can be horizontal

or vertical.

Size of the equipage is also similar with

most being approximately 7-9” long, 5-7”

wide, and 1.5-3” high. Power requirements

are similar – generally in the range of as

little as 6 to a maximum of 32 VDC.

Analysis of Display Functionality in

addition to Weather Graphics

There are several other technologies which

bring information to the cockpit that are

as or more important to the GA pilot for

decision making. These include traffic,

terrain, and moving maps that contain

navigational information.

It has been suggested by informal surveys

performed by AOPA that these kinds of

information become more valuable for pilot

decision making when combined with

graphical weather over graphical weather
NASA/CR—2002-211903 34

alone. This has been more statistically

proven by Kauffmann, 2000, which showed

that over 60% of GA survey participants

believe that the combination of moving map

and GPS with graphical weather is a product

success factor for the GA market segment.

Multi-Functional Displays

In almost all cases, the vendors surveyed

had a current product offering or planned

offering that allowed graphical weather

products to be displayed with other valuable

technologies.

For example, the Honeywell Bendix/King

KDR 510 receiver allows for graphical

weather to be displayed on the KMD 550 or

850 MFD’s along with traffic, terrain,

position, moving map, and flight plan. The

flight plan and traffic can be overlaid with

graphical weather.

Additionally, if the aircraft is equipped with

on-board radar, electrical discharge

information can be overlaid with NEXRAD

images. Terrain graphics cannot be overlaid

with weather due to similarity of colors used

for graphical weather.

ARNAV’s MFD 5200 can display graphical

weather along with terrain information.

Their Terrain Obstruction Proximity System

(TOPS) icons indicate where terrain is in the

path of the aircraft over the next 60 miles at

the current aircraft altitude. The icons are

the same color as strong reflectivity echoes

so it is unclear what is depicted if strong

reflectivity returns are directly over the

terrain icons.

Echo Flight’s Flight Cheetah allows for

overlay of graphical weather with other

technology such as approach overlays and

terrain alerts. It should be noted that the

enhanced mapping functionality, which

depicts terrain contours, is a better overlay

than the terrain alert functionality with

graphical weather due to different colors

used. As with the Honeywell system, the

terrain alert map uses similar colors to the

reflectivity levels on NEXRAD products.

The Flight Cheetah does not have traffic

functionality at the current time.

Garmin 400 and 500 series MFD’s allow for

overlay of graphical weather information.

These include a dedicated weather only

display, a separate moving map with

weather and flight plan display, a traffic

and weather display, and if the aircraft is

equipped with a Goodrich Stormscope onboard radar, electrical discharge information

can be overlaid as well.

ControlVision’s Anywhere WX offering

allows for the overlay of graphical weather

information onto a moving map display,

flight plan, traffic, and terrain. However, the

display used is the IPAQ and as such, the

display size is considerably smaller than the

average panel-mounted or Echo Flight

portable MFD.

The Aircell offering only depicts graphical

weather information by itself. There is no

moving map so there is no proximity of

weather to the current aircraft position

information. Further, Aircell does not

currently offer any other functionality to

overlay with graphical weather.

Analysis of Graphical Weather Products

The objective section described several pilot

decisions that can be affected by weather.

Graphical weather product requirements

should be defined in terms of these decisions

so that product content, timeliness, and

display characteristics can be of value to

the GA pilot.

Analysis of GA Weather Needs

Part 91 weather related accident causes or

factors statistics for 1989-1997 illustrate

that winds have by far produced the most

incidents at 43%. Incidents caused by

visibility and ceilings produced 24%,

turbulence 8.5%, precipitation and density

altitude 6%, thunderstorm 2% and

windshear 1%.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 35

The study by Keel, et al., 2000 [13],

showed that the need for specific weather

information varies by phase of flight from

en route to approach to landing. Thus, while

all of these weather phenomena are

important to the GA pilot, their relevance, or

focus towards making operational decisions

shifts by phase of flight. These include

spatial or temporal factors, strategic or

tactical use, and display characteristics.

For example, for en route operations, it is

important for the pilot to have access to

ceiling and visibility information along the

flight path to determine if the flight will

continue under VFR or IMC conditions. In

the approach and landing phase of flight,

short-term forecasts at destination airport(s)

become important to determine an alternate

airport if the destination airport is below

minimums. In both cases, a cloud top and

bottom graphic would assist in these types

of decisions but the focus in both temporal

and spatial factors would be vastly different.

In another example, wind information at

flight level is critical for both IFR and VFR

operations to determine fuel burn and

potential to hold or reach the alternative

airport. Approach and landing decisions

would be more affected by low-level wind

shear and crosswind component on the

runway.

If flying IFR, icing information is very

important en route to either stay above,

below, or avoid altogether so that icing

encounters are avoided. For landing

decisions, surface icing information

becomes important to determine breaking

distances.

Convective activity along the intended flight

path is important for re-routing. However,

trend information for reflectivity mosaics,

while of some relevance for ground-based

strategic planning, tend to be less useful for

more tactical pilot decision making (i.e.,

short-term (30 minutes) forecasted

movement of reflectivity cells). This is

because neither the future movement of

convective cells nor storm growth and decay

are linear in time and space. The pilot would

find a short-term extrapolation of where

cells are expected to be, along with cell

strength, much more valuable towards a

modification of flight route. In this case,

advanced scientific algorithms will have

taken much of the guesswork away from

the pilot.

Operational decisions can also be affected

by level of reflectivity. It can be argued that

the 30DbZ reflectivity threshold can be used

as a good indicator of the airspace changing

from VFR to IFR conditions and the 40DbZ

reflectivity threshold can be used as an

indication of the onset of convection.

If an additional reflectivity level for

extreme convection is also shown, it can be

concluded that for the GA pilot, the relative

value of more than 3 or 4 reflectivity levels

decreases quickly for aviation decision

making.

PIREPs can also be quite useful for decision

making but it must be understood that the

same weather can and does affect different

aircraft in different ways. Pilot experience

will also influence a particular weather’s

effect on operations. Lastly, the information

contained in a PIREP can be ephemeral in

both space and time, meaning highly

perishable. A PIREP graphic that is an hour

old will have limited value.

In the approach phase, the GA pilot will

require similar kinds of information as in the

en route phase but the display of the product

must have a much higher glance value due

to limited pilot attention. Products that

have no interpretive aspects and are free of

multiple colors, lines, or depictions become

much more valuable.

In the landing phase, GA pilots will require

a final update on runway winds, visibility

(although as previously indicated, VFR

pilots will make landing decisions based on

‘personal minimums’ and are not regulated

by airport minimums), and surface icing for
NASA/CR—2002-211903 36

braking considerations. During this phase of

flight the availability of graphical weather

products may have limited use due to other

pilot duties required and the overall lack of

time and attention available.

Other considerations that should not be

overlooked are weather conditions such

as temperature, humidity, wind speed and

wind direction that directly effect aircraft

performance. These are important pre-fight

as well as in-flight considerations and can

affect a variety or operational decisions such

as determining aircraft service ceilings and

acceptable takeoff and landing lengths.

In addition to aircraft performance factors

weather considerations are also an issue of

pilot convenience and comfort, especially

for small general aviation aircraft without air

conditioning, or without adequate cockpit

heating. Turbulence remains a concern. For

example, flying above summertime scattered

clouds can be an enjoyable flying experience

as opposed to below those same clouds in

turbulent conditions.

Weather Graphics Available to GA Pilots

via Data Link

Most of the graphical weather products

currently offered to the GA pilot via data

link are quite similar. They appear to have

been driven by current data link technology

and perceived GA pilot weather needs by

commercial vendors. This is in contrast to

graphical weather needs being driven by the

operational decision-maker.

Graphical products include composite

NEXRAD mosaics and graphical METARs.

Some other commercial offerings provide

other aviation graphics such as ceiling and

visibility, icing, and turbulence charts

from the Aviation Weather Center. These

additional charts are already available to

ground-based decision-makers for strategic

planning. Further, making these products

available to a greater potential market, such

as GA pilots in the cockpit, serves these

companies well as additional sources of

income at little additional cost. However,

the value of these products towards GA pilot

decisions is quite limited at the expense of

available limited bandwidth.

With regard to available graphics, Aircell

and ControlVison currently only offer

NEXRAD mosaics. The Aircell graphic is

static, meaning that there is no moving map

and the GA pilot does not necessarily know

where the plane is with respect to the

precipitation. The mosaic offers 16 levels

of reflectivity at 2km resolution. However,

as indicated earlier, 16 levels of reflectivity

probably has limited additional value over

3 or 4 levels.

The NEXRAD composite shown with

ControlVision’s Anywhere Map is depicted

in 6 levels with 2km resolution. The

difference here is that the reflectivity is

shown on a moving map display and the

pilot can see where the aircraft is with

regard to potentially significant weather.

Echo Flight currently offers NEXRAD

composites, ceiling and visibility,

precipitation, wind speed and direction,

temperature and dew point spreads, and

graphical METARs. The NEXRAD product

is shown in 4 levels (3 colors) and from 8km

resolution for a national depiction to 2km

resolution for regional depictions.

Garmin depicts similar weather products

on their MFD’s as they receive weather

information from Echo Flight. Garmin also

provides electrical discharge information

overlaid with NEXRAD graphics if the

aircraft has a Goodrich Stormscope onboard radar.

The indication of electrical discharges

enhances pilot awareness of convective

activity and relative storm strength above

and beyond simple depiction of 40 DbZ

reflectivity contours. This can assist IFR

pilots in making the widest avoidance

possible from the convective activity.

Additional value to the lower-end GA or

VFR only pilot is much more limited as
NASA/CR—2002-211903 37

these users would not likely be able to afford

the relative expensive Stormscope equipage

and the fact that they would not likely be

flying in any vicinity of convective activity.

ARNAV premium graphical weather

products, as available over their ARNAV

proprietary network, include NEXRAD

composite graphics, winds aloft graphics,

significant weather report graphics including

3-D turbulence and icing graphics, graphical

METARs, and National Convective Weather

Forecast (NCWF) 1-hour products. The

NEXRAD graphics are shown with 4 levels

of reflectivity and a 64km resolution for

national mosaic and 8km regional mosaic.

The regional mosaic comprises the area

within 150nm from the aircraft. NOTE:

FISDL graphical weather products are to

include the national and regional mosaics

at the same resolutions mentioned, and

graphical METARS. However, these are

not currently available via FAA provided

frequencies.

Honeywell Bendix/King graphical weather

products include NEXRAD composite

mosaics, graphical METARs, and lightning

graphics. Both national and regional

NEXRAD mosaics are depicted in 4 levels

of reflectivity and 4km resolution.

NEXRAD composite mosaic reflectivity

animation is planned.

Jeppesen weather products include

NEXRAD composite graphics with 16

levels of reflectivity and 2km resolution.

Additional graphics are numerous and

include winds aloft, significant weather

prognostications, surface weather analysis,

wind and temperature forecasts, etc. As

indicated in the opening paragraphs of this

section, these kinds of charts had limited

value to GA pilots while en route. This is

consistent with the results of the NASA and

Embry-Riddle study.

Graphical weather products planned from

other vendors not currently offering data

link services are not evaluated in this

section. However, a sampling of planned

products are listed in the detailed matrix in

the Appendix.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 39

Conclusions

Weather Data Link Conclusions

Analysis of current and projected

communication data links for providing

graphical weather data to the cockpit

indicates that a broadband satellite broadcast

implementation is effective for timely,

strategic GA flight planning. Ground-based

broadcast service of local and/or airport

terminal weather conditions could

complement and/or enhance satellite

broadcast service by providing more tactical

GA flight planning information.

Aviation weather providers are now offering

continuous broadcast services over GEO

satellites channels with adequate bandwidth.

Satellite digital radio service providers could

also be candidates for satellite broadcast

of aviation weather data. GEO satellite

transmission time delays are not a factor

for this type of GA advisory information.

Ground-based candidates for broadcast of

local weather conditions include the recently

FAA selected L band UAT data link and the

VHF VDL-2/3 data links. Weather data

transmission loads per RTCA documents

[14] indicate that UAT and VHF data links

will support local graphical weather services

to the cockpit.

In order to facilitate accelerated GA

acceptance of weather data links, weather

information services must be provided

in conjunction with other aviation

communication services. These services

could include ADS-B, TIS-B, voice

communications, GPS moving map displays,

and satellite-based navigation aids for en

route and terminal navigation. These

services need to be incorporated into

multifunctional avionics to reduce weight,

power and space requirements while

limiting cost and taking into account human

factors issues for GA pilots.

In addition to limiting nonrecurring avionics

cost, recurring cost must be affordable to

the low end GA community to achieve

significant utilization. This could be

accomplished if data link transmission costs

are significantly reduced or eliminated for

aviation users. Recurring subscription costs

might then be based solely on charges for

weather and aviation related flight products.

This would require the Government to

provide free aviation data communication

data link transmissions in a similar manner

to current FAA voice communication

services .

Graphical Weather Product Conclusions

Weather needs for aviation have, in general,

been derived in three ways. They have been

derived by meteorologists or other nonaviation users, as opposed to NAS decisionmakers, they have been derived by phase

of flight, and they have been derived by

technology that is currently available.

Unfortunately, each of these methods is

flawed and has lead to the development of

products that do not entirely satisfy the end

user’s weather needs. It is becoming more

understood that aviation weather needs are

derived by operational decision making and

the kinds of weather, product content and

focus, and display characteristics that affect

those decisions.

Weather needs derived by non-users will

invariably not be satisfactory because of

their lack of operational understanding that

is required to develop valuable aviation

focused weather products. Many aviation

products contain far too much information

than is necessary for aviation operational

decsion-making. NEXRAD mosaics that

contain 16 levels of reflectivity are a good

example of this.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 40

Weather needs derived by phase of flight

is only partially satisfactory. While an

understanding of the kinds of weather that

affect operations during specific phases of

flight will be revealed, and is important, a

breakdown of this methodology occurs

when it is realized that the same operational

decisions can be made in different phases of

flight. For example, while en route,

encountered windshear activity that has not

been forecasted can cause a change in route

or altitude. However, windshear encountered

in the approach or landing phase of flight

may cause an escape decision. In other

words, the GA pilot will have different

“options” depending on the phase of flight

when aviation-impacting weather is

encountered. This leads to the need for

similar products but with differing focus.

As mentioned in the analysis section, focus

can change for strategic or tactical use,

spatial and temporal extent, or display

characteristics.

If technology is allowed to drive weather

needs, satisfaction of that need may never be

achieved. For this reason it is important to

separate weather needs from weather

requirements. Weather needs should be

derived based on operational decisions,

not technology (solutions). As long as

operational missions do not change, properly

defined weather needs will not change. Once

understood what weather and appropriate

characteristics (focus) affect operational

decisions, technological solutions can then

be evaluated towards satisfying those needs.

These solutions become the weather

requirements. Weather requirements can

change with time as technologies improve.

Concepts of Operations are classic examples

of how perceived improvements in

technology will better satisfy user needs

at specific future points in time.

For this particular study, the assessment of

data link technologies for bringing graphical

weather to the GA cockpit appears to be

technology driven, not user driven. In order

to properly assess data link solutions, GA

graphical weather needs must be defined

first. Because such needs have not been

validated, commercial providers have no

way of knowing what products or product

characteristics to provide to the cockpit.

Currently, GA graphical weather needs

do not appear to have been well defined or

validated. Where there have been attempts

to do so, the methodology may have been

flawed. By focusing on GA user operational

decisions, specific graphical weather needs

can be identified.

For example, specific graphical weather

needs may include a particular set of

products required for decision making.

Some of these products may be required

during all phases of flight while some

others may not. Some may require much

bandwidth. Others may require less

bandwidth but need to be extremely timely,

perhaps every 30 seconds. While en route,

operational decision making may be

satisfied by requesting graphical weather

product updates only when deemed

necessary. When making approach or

landing decisions, perhaps the pilot will

not have time to request graphical weather

products. In this case, a continuous

broadcast may be necessary and, suffice to

say, availability below 5,000 feet AGL is

obvious.

While not a driver for specific data link

technologies, an important factor to

maximize the value of graphical weather

to the GA user is specific product

characteristics and how they may change

based on decisions made during each phase

of flight. This includes product resolution,

accuracy, display, and integrity. GA

operational thresholds also need to be

considered in order to determine certain

product characteristics. A good example

of this was mentioned earlier regarding the

number of reflectivity levels depicted in a

composite mosaic.

Where resolution and accuracy will certainly

change as the pilot moves from the en route

phase to approach. For example, a resolution
NASA/CR—2002-211903 41

of 2 or 4km for convective cells may be

quite satisfactory while en route. This can be

driven by the expectation that reasonably

precise navigation allows for a 2–3 mile

lateral deviation from filed flight path.

However, lateral deviations decrease

significantly in the approach phase of flight.

Resolutions of 1km or less for convective

cells may be necessary for operational

decision making.

Integrity can be defined as the minimum

percent of validation (for whatever product

characteristics apply) that the decision

maker will accept before using the product

“with confidence”. To this end, a forecast

product that projects convective activity

2 hours in the future, with a certain

resolution and accuracy, may have an

integrity of 70%. This means the convective

activity within this resolution and accuracy

will be valid 70% of the time. However, a

30 minute forecast may require an integrity

of 80 or even 90% before it is used for

decision making.

In conclusion, once a well defined

standardized set of GA graphical weather

products is validated based on decisions

affected, when they are needed, and their

characteristics, then various data link

solutions can be properly assessed to

determine which architecture can best

satisfy the users’ graphical weather needs.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 43

Recommendations for Future NASA Research and Development

(R&D) Efforts

Recommendation I

• Flight test and evaluate representative

commercial weather data link

systems.

A flight test and evaluation of some or all of

the surveyed vendors in this report is

recommended. NASA should obtain at least

one system of each representative

technology and conduct an objective

evaluation utilizing a typical GA aircraft

types flown by a diverse group of GA pilots.

NASA could contract out this evaluation, if

desired, to an independent aviation company

or an aviation oriented university. The FAA,

for example, has contract vehicles with

universities including a multi-university

Center of Excellence for General Aviation

with over three hundred training aircraft.

The lead university in this consortium is

Embry-Riddle University.

This flight testing should be conducted in

representative GA aircraft with as a diverse

group of pilots as practical to perform

evaluations. Pilot members of professional

organizations such as AOPA, EAA, NBAA,

etc. could participate. The results of this

evaluation would indicate which current

technologies have the greatest potential for

accelerated market penetration.

Follow-on R&D efforts could then be

explored to further reduce nonrecurring and

recurring costs of the preferred technologies

for GA operators to increase market

penetration. As indicated by an EmbryRiddle pilot survey, these costs significantly

influence GA pilot interest and utilization of

weather data links.

Recommendation II

• Investigate FAA NEXCOM VDL-3

data link FIS services

It is recommended that NASA initiate an

R&D effort to investigate FIS utilization of

the new VHF VDL-3 two-way digital data

link standard proposed by FAA for their

Next Generation Air/Ground

Communication (NEXCOM) program. It

should be tested and evaluated for aviation

weather data link applications.

Assuming prioritization is incorporated for

all ATC message traffic over VDL-3 data

channels, FISDL information including text

and graphical weather should be evaluated

for ATC VDL-3 transmissions on a not-tointerfere basis.

While VHF VDL-2 GMSK and CSMA data

links are currently being used today, the

VDL-3 Time Division Multiple Access

(TDMA) implementation being proposed by

FAA for ATC voice and data

communications in the NAS will be initially

operational about 2009 with GA utilization

towards 2020. Ground-based VHF VDL-2

and UAT broadcasts should be compared

with VHF VDL-3 TDMA weather data

transmissions for accuracy, efficiency and

timeliness.

Assuming VDL-3 potential for GA

graphical weather, NASA should coordinate

with the FAA NEXCOM team to investigate

future integration of weather data link

services in the NAS for GA and commercial

aviation.

Since FAA has always provided VHF ATC

communication services at no cost to NAS

users, presumably there would not be

communication service charges for weather
NASA/CR—2002-211903 44

data linked to the cockpit by FAA. This

could significantly reduce the cost of

weather services to GA by eliminating the

communication charges currently passed on

by aviation graphical weather service

providers.

GA users would only require a new

multimode VDL-3 digital capable along

with an appropriate avionics display. This

could address the desire by many GA

operators and organizations to have a single

radio provide multiple functions and

services to the cockpit.

Recommendation III

• Develop R&D partnership with XM

and/or Sirius Satellite Radio to

investigate their use for FIS

NASA has investigated the use of state-ofthe-art satellite digital audio radio systems

(SDARS) for delivery of weather

information as highlighted in NASA

research paper by Stough and Martzaklis

[15]. This paper indicated the feasibility of

SDARS for FIS transmission to GA aircraft

was demonstrated successfully in South

Africa in 1999 using the AfriStar SDARS

satellite.

Sirius and XM Radio are the current satellite

service providers in the U.S. XM Radio

and Sirius advertise approximately 100

entertainment channels with a subscription

price of $9.99/month for XM and

$12.95/month for Sirius. If these satellite

radio broadcast service providers could see a

business case for also carrying graphical and

text weather products, this would be very

attractive to aviation as well as some marine

and ground transportation U.S. operators.

GA pilots could display not only weather

information in the cockpit, but could listen

to digital CD quality musical entertainment

as well as news, sports, business, etc.

Graphical weather data would most likely

increase the subscription cost although the

delta increase would be dependent on the

number of users ultimately signed up by

SDARS providers.

It is recommended that NASA establish and

R&D partnership with an SDARS satellite

radio provider and an independent aviation

company and/or university to evaluate the

potential of providing weather information

to NAS users via SDARS satellite

broadcasts.

NASA should compare this approach with

other commercial ventures for providing

aviation weather for quality of weather

information, timeliness, and value to the

GA user.

Recommendation IV

• Participate with FAA and RTCA in

Safe Flight 21 and UAT R&D

development

Safe Flight 21 is a government and industry

cooperative effort to develop Free Flight

capabilities from evolving Communications,

Navigation and Surveillance (CNS)

technologies. Safe Flight 21 will

demonstrate cockpit display of FIS

including weather as well as traffic and

terrain information for pilots. Traffic

information will be realized by utilizing

Global Positioning System (GPS) data

and Automated Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast (ADS-B).

MITRE CAASD has developed an L-Band

radio data link called the Universal Access

Transceiver (UAT) for the FAA Safe Flight

21 implementation. UAT incorporates a

broadcast architecture with two way

transmissions. UAT ground stations can

send FIS-B transmissions including weather

as well as Traffic Information ServicesBroadcast (TIS-B). RTCA SC-186 has

drafted MOPS for UAT. MITRE has been

flight testing UAT since 1995 with the

assistance of the Florida Institute of

Technology Aviation program and EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 45

FAA has conducted Safe Flight 21

demonstrations in the Ohio valley with the

Cargo Airline Association (CAA) members

(UPS, FedEx, and Airborne) as well as the

Alaska Capstone tests with 100 to 200 GA

aircraft equipped.

It is recommended that NASA join with

FAA and RTCA in further development and

evaluation of FIS-B weather services for

GA. FAA is meeting with GA avionics

manufacturers to discuss funding for GA

avionics development. NASA can pursue

their aviation safety mission goals and their

CNS objectives while coordinating

with FAA and participating in RTCA

technical committees and work groups.

Recommendation V

• Evaluate hybrid satellite and groundbased architecture

The SAIC, ARINC, TRW and Crown

Communications Weather Data link

Architecture Study (May, 2000) [16]

supported by NASA analyses concluded that

a hybrid implementation of broadband

satellite national broadcasts along with

ground-based narrowband local broadcasts

would be optimal for aviation FIS

requirements. The results and conclusions

obtained in this market survey and

evaluation supports this assessment.

It is recommended that NASA evaluate

this architecture approach by integrating a

commercially available satellite broadcast

service (PWA or Merlin) along with VHF

(VDL-2/3) and/or UAT airborne receivers

on a GA type aircraft. Data link integration

of strategic and local weather data should be

investigated. In addition, data link reception

reliability in the presence of adverse weather

and/or radio frequency interference should

also be evaluated.

This R&D effort should be conducted in

a context that future avionics must be

multifunctional to provide maximum

aviation services to the cockpit to enhance

safety while minimizing space, weight and

power requirements given the very stringent

constraints within most GA aircraft.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 47

Appendix One

Arthur R. Feinberg and James W. Tauss

Aviation Management Associates, Inc.

8752 Center Road, Springfield, Virginia 22152

Phone: 703-644-4465 Fax: 703 569 1577 www.avmgt.com

VENDOR SURVEY

Aviation Management Associates (AMA), a consulting firm located in Springfield, Virginia, has a NASA

contract to conduct a market analysis of companies providing or intending to provide graphical weather

information to the general aviation (GA) cockpit. The effectiveness of these commercial offerings to

address pilot weather needs and improve safety are critical for NASA to determine future research

investment decisions. Please answer these questions and provide any additional comments as appropriate.

Tell us a little about yourself and your company

1. Your name and title: ________________________________________________ 2. Company/Address: ______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

3. Phone: ________________ FAX:________________ Email:________________

Tell us about your Product Offering

1. Product name and Model #: ___________________________________________

2. Product description/type (transceiver, MFD, etc.): _________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. Additional H/W or S/W required: ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. Advertised product component costs: ___________________________________

5. Technological concerns and cost drivers: __________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Tell us about how the weather products are displayed

1. Cockpit weather display:___________________________________________

2. Additional product functionality:______________________________________

3. Product/functionality growth capability:________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Tell us about the weather services your product provides

1. Monthly costs and service plans: _______________________________________

________________________________________________________________

2. Weather graphics included:___________________________________________

3. Weather text or other products included: _________________________________

4. Weather product provider: ____________________________________________

5. Product availability and response time: ___________________________________

AMA
NASA/CR—2002-211903 48

Tell us how graphical weather products are received in the cockpit

1. Transmission media (cellular, satellite, etc): ______________________________

2. Characteristics (request/response, broadcast, etc): _________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. Receiver/antenna specific requirements: _________________________________

4. Technological concerns/cost drivers:____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Tell us about your ground infrastructure architecture

1. Distribution of weather products: ______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

2. Interfaces with NWS, FAA, etc: _______________________________________

3. Communications network:____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. Technological concerns/cost drivers:____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Tell us about product installation and integration

1. Product applicable to aircraft types:_____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. Aircraft modifications:_______________________________________________

3. Are products FAA certified/certification required? _________________________

4. Other compliance/integration issues:____________________________________

5. Other compatibility/operational issues:__________________________________

Tell us about your customers

1. Production quantity/unit sales:_________________________________________

2. Delivery lead time:__________________________________________________

2. Reliability, Availability & Maintainability:_______________________________

3. Warranty:_________________________________________________________

4. Target market & approach:____________________________________________

5. POC for Customer satisfaction/feedback: ________________________________

Tell us some recommendations for improved market penetration

1. Cost drivers:_______________________________________________________

2. Barriers to market penetration:_________________________________________

3. Technological issues:________________________________________________

4. Suggested NASA R&D initiatives:_____________________________________

5. Additional comments & recommendations:_______________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
NASA/CR—2002-211903 49

Appendix Two

Arthur R. Feinberg and James W. Tauss

Aviation Management Associates, Inc.

8752 Center Road, Springfield, Virginia 22152

Phone: 703-644-4465 Fax: 703 569 1577 www.avmgt.com

USER SURVEY

Aviation Management Associates (AMA), a consulting firm located in Springfield, Virginia, has a NASA

contract to conduct a market analysis for the provision of graphical weather information to the general

aviation (GA) cockpit. The effectiveness of these commercial offerings to address pilot weather needs and

improve safety are critical for NASA to determine future research investment decisions. Please answer

these questions and provide any additional comments as appropriate.

Tell us a little about yourself

1. Your name and address: ______________________________________________

2. Phone: ________________ FAX:________________ Email:________________

3. Type of aircraft you own_____________________________________________

4. Where and how often do you fly_______________________________________

Tell us about how you receive graphical weather products in the cockpit

6. Product name/Model # (if known): _____________________________________

7. What other H/W or S/W did you need to purchase: ________________________

__________________________________________________________________

8. Were there any issues when installing:___________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

9. Did you feel the cost to equip was reasonable:_____________________________

10. If not, why:________________________________________________________

11. Maintenance/Service issues:___________________________________________

Tell us about how the weather products are displayed

4. What graphical weather products do you receive:_________________________

5. What products do you NOT use: ______________________________________

6. Do you feel the cost is reasonable:_____________________________________

4. If not, why:_______________________________________________________

Tell us about the weather services you receive

6. Does the current service or functionality meet your expectations and if not

why:_____________________________________________________________

7. What are the required core capabilities: ____________________

8. What would you be willing to pay: _____________________________________

9. What would you like to see operationally approved:_______________________

10. Additional comments: _______________________________________________

AMA
NASA/CR—2002-211903 51

Appendix Three

References

1. Federal Aviation Administration

Safer Skies: Focused Safety Agenda

– Weather Joint Safety Team. Final

Report, March 2000.

2. National Transportation Safety

Board Office of Accident

Investigation, Table of general

Aviation Accident Statistics, 1993-

2000.

3. AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety

Review – General Aviation Weather

Accident – An Analysis and

Preventive Strategies. 1996.

4. Federal Aviation Administration

Mission Need Statement for

Aviation Weather (#339). 2002.

5. Federal Aviation Administration

Concept of Use For Weather. Draft

2002.

6. Sonquist, J. and Dunkelberg, W.

Survey and Opinion Research:

Procedures for processing and

Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice-Hall. 1977.

7. Federal Aviation Administration

Users’ Aviation Weather

Information Needs and Priorities

and Government/Industry

Responsibilities in the provision of

Aviation Weather Services, National

Aviation Weather Users’ Forum.

1993.

8. National Aviation Weather Program

Council Joint Action Group for

Aviation Weather: National

Aviation Weather Program Strategic

Plan: Office of the Federal

Coordinator for Meteorology, FCMP32-1997, April 1997.

9. Latorella, K., and Lane, S., General

Aviation Pilots' Perceived Usage

and Valuation of Aviation Weather

Information Sources. NASA/TM2002-211443

10. Kauffmann, P. and Pothanum, K.:

Estimating the Rate of Technology

Adoption for Cockpit Weather

Information Systems. SAE paper

2000-01-1662, 2000.

11. Sirili, Y., Ozan, E., and Kauffmann,

P. A Market research Study for

Future Weather Information

Systems in General Aviation,

Proceedings of the American

Society of Engineering Management

Conference, Wichita, KS. 2001.

12. Burt, Jennifer; Chamberlain, James

P.; Jones, Kenneth M.; and Coyne,

Joseph: Impact of a Weather

Information System Display on

General Aviation Pilot Workload

and Performance, SAE Paper 2002-

01-1552, April 2002.

13. Keel, B., et. al., Aviation Weather

Information Requirements Study.

Georgia Tech Research Institute,

Atlanta, GA. 2000.

14. RTCA, Inc.: Aeronautical Spectrum

Planning for 1997-2010.

RTCA/DO-237, January 1997.

15. Stough, P., and Konstantinos, S.,

Progress in the Development of

Weather Information Systems for

the Cockpit. NASA LRC and GRC

and Daniel Garland, Embry-Riddle

Aeronautical University. NASA

2002-01-1520

16. TRW, ARINC and SAIC:

Communications System

Architecture Development for Air

Traffic Management & Aviation

Weather Information Dissemination

- AWIN 2007 Architecture.

Contract NAS2-98002, 2000.
NASA/CR—2002-211903 52

Glossary

ACARS Aircraft Communications and Reporting System

AIM Aeronautical or Airman’s Information Manual

AEA Aircraft Electronics Association

AGL Above Ground Level

AMA Aviation Management Associates

ANN ARNAV Aeronautical Network

AOC Airline Operating Center

AOPA Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

ASD Aircraft Situation Display

ASIST Aeronautics Safety Investment Strategy Team

ATC Air Traffic Control

AvSP Aviation Safety Program

AWIN Aviation Weather Information

CAA Cargo Airline Association

CDM Collaborative Decision Making

CFIT Controlled Flight Into Terrain

CSMA Carrier Sense Multiple Access

CNS Communication, Navigation, Surveillance

CPDLC Controller Pilot Data Link Communication

CONUS Conterminous United States

EAA Experimental Aircraft Association

EFB Electronic Flight Bag

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FCC Federal Communications Commission

FIS-B Flight Information System - Broadcast

FISDL Flight Information System Data Link

FMS Flight Management System

GA General Aviation

GAMA General Aviation Manufacturers

GEO Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting

GMSK Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying

GPS Global Positioning System

GRC Glenn Research Center

H/W Hardware

IFR Instrument Flight Rules

IMC In Meteorological Conditions

LEO Low-Earth Orbiting

METAR Aviation Routine Weather Report

MFD Multi-Functional Display

MNS Mission Need Statement

MOPS Minimum Operational Performance Standards

NAS National Airspace System

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NBAA National Business Aircraft Association

NEXCOM Next Generation Air/Ground Communication

NEXRAD Next Generation Radar

NOTAM Notice to Airmen
NASA/CR—2002-211903 53

NTIA National Telecommunications & Information Administration

NRC National Research Council

NTSB National Transportation Safety Board

NWS National Weather Service

PC Personal Computer

PDA Personal Digital Assistant

PIREP Pilot Report

R/R Request/Reply

SDARS Satellite Digital Audio Radio Systems

SOW Statement of Work

STC Special Type Certificate

SUA Special Use Airspace

S/W Software

TAF Terminal Aerodrome Forecast

TBD To Be Determined

TDMA Time Division Multiple Access

TFR Temporary Flight Restriction

TIS-B Traffic Information Services - Broadcast

TOPS Terrain Obstruction Proximity System

UAT Universal Access Transceiver

UPS United Parcel Service

VDL VHF Data Link

VFR Visual Flight Rules

VHF Very High Frequency

WINCOMM Weather Information Communications

WxAP Weather Accident Prevention Project
Appendix Four

Vendor Product Description Weather Display Data Link 

Characteristics

Weather Data 

Source/Prods. NR Cost Rec Cost A/C Type Technical Considerations

Aircell, Inc. Airborne cellular 

systems, A/C installed

Meteorlogix, DTC 

Duats LOS issues (>5000' AGL)

Louisville, Colorado Voice and data, CONUS 

coverage

www.aircell.com FAA certified (STC's)

UPS Aviation MFD Aircell: Meteorologix, 

Merlin: Jeppesen

Salem, Oregon

www.upsat.com

Echo Flight

EchoMap S/W and 

satellite transceiver 

communicator. 

Laptop Meteorlogix Cost of 

laptop

Global w/US weather data. No 

TAFs. 

Boulder, Colorado Flight Cheetah MFD $6k Displays (Echo & Garmin)

www.echoflight.com Garmin 400/500 MFD $2K Portable w/GPS (no FAA 

certification)

ARNAV Meteorlogix

Puyallup, WA

www.arnav.com

Honeywell Bendix/King NWS 

(NOAAPORT/AWC)

Olathe, Kansas

www.bendixking.com LOS issues (>5000' AGL)

WSI Corp. WSI Western Hemisphere

Billerica, MA Data only

www.wsicorp.com Late 2002

Currently 39 towers 

implemented (east of Miss.). 

Mid 2003 200 towers for full 

CONUS coverage. FAA 

WeatherStream's Pilot 

Weather Advisior 

(PWA)

GEO Satellite, 

broadcast

Variety of MFD's and 

portable devices inc. 

EFB's (planned)

$30-50/mo. 

(est.) $5K (est.) Products TBD

KDR 510 receiver $7.5-12.5K KMD-550 or 850 MFD 

system

LEO (Orbcomm 

VHF) satellites, 2-way 

data link, R/R, 

57.6kbps

$9-55/mo. 

plus $1 each 

access

Composite NEXRAD, 

ceil./vis., precip. Wind 

speed/dir., T/Td, 

METARs, Graphic 

METARs.

Lower end 

GA up to biz. 

Jets

$49/mo. for 

premium 

graphics

METAR and TAF text, 

AWW, PIREPs, 

AIMETS/SIGMETS, 

CONV. SIGMETS. 

Premium products: 

Regional and national 

NEXRAD w/animation, 

0.5 BREF, graphical 

METARs, NLDN

VHF Towers, FIS 

VDL-Mode 2, 

broadcast, 31.5kbps

Aircell: same as above. 

Merlin: Antenna, cost, avail.?

NEXRAD, FIS data

Products TBD

VHF Towers, FIS 

GMSK, broadcast, 

31.5kbps

METAR text, graphical 

surface conds.. 

Premuim products: 

NEXRAD composite, 

winds aloft, SIG. WX 

reports inc. 3-D turb., 

icing, graphical 

METARs, NCWF

$8 - 10K

$42/mo. for 

premium 

graphics

Most

LOS issues. Not nationwide. 

FAA certified products. Can 

be used with several other 

MFD manufacturers.

Aircell: Ground based 

cell tower network, 

Merlin: Geosync. 

Satellite

S/W to interface with 

both Aircell (Guardian) 

and Satellite 

Tech.(Merlin) MX-20 

MFD-5200, ICDS MFD

WxLink VHF receiver 

(DR-100) and WxNet 

transceiver

A/C installed avionics 

system

$30 - 

$499/mo. 

(voice) plus 

$2/min

Piston 

(Guardian) 

and jets or 

turbo props 

(AT or 

AGT.02)

$7.3K TBD

Flight Guardian S/W on 

MFDs, PDA's, Laptops

Ground based, U.S. 

cell towers, voice and 

data. R/R, 9.6kbps

$4 - 8K

Guardian 1000, AT.02, 

AGT.02

NASA/CR—2002-211903 55
Appendix Four.—Concluded.

Vendor Product Description Weather Display Data Link 

Characteristics

Weather Data 

Source/Prods. NR Cost Rec Cost A/C Type Technical Considerations

Jeppesen DTC/Dyncorp DUATS, 

Jeppesen

Aircell service current, Merlin 

planned mid 2002

Engelwood, CO

www.jeppesen.com

Rockwell Collins Universal Weather

High end but 

used down to 

Premier CJ's

Cedar Rapids, IA

www.rockwellcollins.com

Avidyne Wx. provider TBD Only CONUS

Lincoln, MA

www.avidyne.com

ControlVision Meteorologix

Pittsburgh, KS

www.anywheremap.com

Flytimer Digital ATIS and email also 

available

Concord, MA Auto-tunable to take advantage 

of excess side bandwidth

TAMDAR probe to be 

integrated

Certification planned this year. 

Live flight trials planned

Garmin Meteorologix via Echo 

Flight data-link service

Olathe, KS

www.garmin.com

Satellite Technologies, 

Inc. Jeppesen MA SK-1 certification by FAA 

pending

Dulles, Virginia

www.satelinktech.com

$2,899 

$30-100/Mo. 

Plus 

$1.75/min.

Cessna 175, 

other private Not IFR certified Anywhere WX, GPS 

flight manager S/W Compaq IPAQ PDA

Aircell: Ground based 

cell tower network, 

LEO (GlobalStar) 

satellite, R/R

NEXRAD mosaics, 

METAR and TAF

$2,950 for 

tranceiver, 

$10-18K for 

MFD

$29-49/Mo.

Panel 

mounted for 

Part 23 FAA certification pending

FlightMax DX50 

transceiver

FlightMax MFD 

(EX5000)

LEO (Orbcomm), 

R/R, digital 2-way 

VHF format

TBD but national and 

regional NEXRAD 

mosaics, METAR 

(graphical and text) 

planned

$50K $400-

1,300/Mo. Type certified 

in '03 for 

Challenger 

601

Considering forey into lower 

end GA market with potential 

leveraging of ARINC 

infrastructure

Communication 

Management Unit and 

Radio Interface Unit, file 

server

Adaptive Flight Display 

3010E

VDL-Mode 2 (land), 

Immarsat (ocean), 

ACARS protocol Graphical worldwide 

weather, NEXRAD

$4.5-5K $19.95/mo.

FAA certification unknown

Flight Star Most Eflight Pad (Intermec), 

Laptop or other MFD's

Aircell: Ground based 

cell tower network, 

Merlin: Geosync. 

Satellite

DUATS text, NEXRAD 

composites, winds 

aloft, icing, SIG WX 

progs, surface anal., 

wind/temp. forecasts.

TBD TBD Low end GA

www.flytimer.com

ACARS Control Unit 

Transceiver MFD's, IPAQ, laptop ARINC ACARS 

network, R/R

NEXRAD, METAR, 

TAF, TAMDAR 

products planned

$3,495 for GL 

49

$9.95-55/Mo. 

Plus $1 each 

access

GDL 49 Transceiver MFD's (GNS 430, GNS 

530)

LEO (Orbcomm), 

R/R, 2.4kbps uplink 

and 4.8 kbps downlink NEXRAD, graphical 

and text METAR and 

TAF

$45/mo. After 

year 1.

GOES IR images, 

composite satellite, 

NEXRAD 0.5 BREF, 

NEXRAD Echo Tops, 

SIGMET, CONV. 

SIGMET, Icing reps., 

Wind/temp aloft fcsts., 

METAR, TAF, 

AIRMET, PIREP, TFR, 

ASD, various NOTAM, 

Flight Explorer service

Data only

MA SK-1 satellite 

receiver

Merlin system dispays 

on various MFDs

GEO satellite, 

broadcast $3.5K

NASA/CR—2002-211903 56
Appendix Five

Company, Address, Phone, 

Email Contact Product and Description Non-Recurring Cost Service Plans and Recurring Costs Availability Weather Source, POC and Email Comm. Link Req. Equipage Maintenance or Warranty

Applicable Aircraft, 

Mounting, Power Constraints or Considerations

AirCell, Inc. 

Brian Cox, Director of New Technology 

Direct Number = 303 379 0239 FAX = 

303 379 0201 . Alternate POC is Bill 

Darbe, Technical Sales, and Marketing at 

913 780 3488

Guardian 1000. Airborne cellular 

transceiver, panel mounted 

system provides voice, data, and 

battery back up comms. Data 

can be displayed on MFD's, 

PDA's or laptops. 911 service.

Around $3,500 uninstalled. S/W is $99.95 for 

Compaq iPAQ PDA. Otherwise $649.95 for the 

S/W and PDA.

 $9.95/month plus $1.99/minute for 

data services alone (Flight 

Guardian); $29.95/month up to 

$499.95/month plus $1.99 - 

$1.75/minute for voice and data 

(various levels of service with 

minutes included) Additional charge 

for weather. Access to FIS data 

including NEXRAD images. 

Additional $10/month for wx access 

using other H/W or S/W.

Transceiver unit, 

antenna. Need a 

display device. For use 

with Anywhere Wx 

(Control Vision planned 

capability), need the 

moving map S/W for 

geo-located reflectivity 

(Available summer 

2002)

1172 Century Drive Suite 280, 

Building B Louisville, Colorado 

80027

DataComm 500. Airborne data 

transceiver. Data and listening 

only capability. Data can be 

displayed on MFD's, PDA's or 

laptops. Includes the voice 

receiver.

$2K uninstalled but not currently on the market 

as a stand-alone module due mainly to 

overwhelming interest in Guardian 1000 and the 

fact that DataComm has no tactile display to 

show strength of signal.

$9.95/month plus $1.99/minute for 

data services alone (Flight 

Guardian); $29.95/month plus 

$1.99/minute for data (Flight 

Guardian Plus). Also provides 

ATIS and AWOS voice channels, 

Internet connectivity, email. Verify if 

voice receiver is an additional 1x 

cost. Additional $10/month for wx 

access using other H/W or S/W. 

Transceiver unit, 

antenna. Need a 

display device. Flight 

Guardian Plus also 

requires MX-20 or H/W 

and S/W from other 

companies (Working 

with UPS Aviation 

Technologies for 

example)

AT.02. Airborne voice and data 

transceiver. Contains internal 

modem and RS-232 port. 

Connects to MFD's, PDA's, and 

laptops. Intercom functionality.

Around $4K uninstalled

 $9.95/month plus $1.99/minute for 

data services alone (Flight 

Guardian); $29.95/month up to 

$499.95/month plus $1.99 - 

$1.75/minute for voice and data 

(various levels of service with 

minutes included) Additional charge 

for weather. Access to FIS data 

including NEXRAD images

2 year

Certified for jets and 

turbo-props up to 

600Kts (antenna). 

Piston plane too loud for 

voice function.

AGT.02. Air/Ground voice and 

data transceiver for use on ramp 

or in air. Includes 2 phone 

modules, internal modem, and RS232 port. Can connect to MFD's, 

PDA's, and laptops. Intercom 

functionality.

Around $8K uninstalled

 $9.95/month plus $1.99/minute for 

data services alone (Flight 

Guardian); $29.95/month up to 

$499.95/month plus $1.99 - 

$1.75/minute for voice and data 

(various levels of service with 

minutes included) Additional charge 

for weather. Access to FIS data 

including NEXRAD images

Designed specifically for 

piston aircraft. Certified 

up to 250Kts (antenna). 

Guardian Transceiver 

unit is 8.5" L x 6.25" W x 

1.25" H. Max power 18-

32 VAC.

Line of site issues. Typically starts above 5,000 feet AGL in many areas. 

Maint. Plan on back of service agreement. Only pay for link when data going 

through (R/R by the minute). Transport of the data to the cockpit is where the 

cost is - not the data. Flexibility is there to add more channels. 20-25kByte 

files downloaded in about a minute. DataComm will become available as a 

data only solution when integrated S/W matures for display on other MFD's. 

Graphical weather is stand-alone with no aircraft proximity integration. No 

other overlay capabilities.

Line of site issues 6-month free intro airtime package Transceiver unit, AMU 

kit, connector, antenna

Ground-based cellular 

telephone network 

(voice and data). Uses 

existing towers (leased 

space) with antenna dish 

focused up. Very low 

power. Continental US 

coverage. In-House 

Metric: 90% of all voice 

calls successful 1st 

time; 70% of all data 

transfers successful 1st 

time.

303 379 0200

www.aircell.com

Specific maintenance 

plan on back of 

service agreement. 

Some have Guardian 

1000 has 1 year 

limited coverage; 

AT.02 has 2 year 

limited coverage. 

Broken equipage is 

sent directly back to 

Aircell.

Uses Flight Guardian S/W. 

Meteorologix is the weather 

provider. Also DTC DUATS 

available.

Current - Wx 

availability announced 

at Sun N Fun (April 

2002). Guardian 

1000 just released - 

in production. 350 

dealers (i.e., Duncan 

Aviation)

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Appendix Five.—Continued. Company, Address, Phone, 

Email Contact Product and Description Non-Recurring Cost Service Plans and Recurring Costs Availability Weather Source, POC and Email Comm. Link Req. Equipage Maintenance or Warranty

Applicable Aircraft, 

Mounting, Power Constraints or Considerations

UPS Aviation Technologies Jim Guitteau, Head of Sales

2345 Turner Road SE, Salem OR 

97302 800 525 6726

www.upsat.com

Echo Flight Cindy Smith 

EchoMap S/W and satellite 

communicator Communicator 

uses GPS for navigation and twoway messaging via Orbcomm 

network. Data is sent through RS232 serial port and can work on 

laptop loaded with EchoMap. 

NOTE: Data only

Cost of laptop plus EchoMap S/W and 

transceiver at $1,795 and antenna at $180.

Laptop PC with RS-232 

port, cable. Antenna 

(non-directional)

Requires EchoMap S/W and Orbcomm communicator. According to 

EchoFlight - will not get FAA certification because it is portable. 6.4" diagonal 

display screen for the FC 270. 10-35 volts power.

1919 14th St., Suite 601, Boulder, 

CO 80302 1 

888 739 7161

Sales: 888 948 9657

Flight Cheetah fl270. A MFD with 

a modified display screen to 

reduce glare, increase 

brightness. Data only but can 

include Navaid DB, Digital 

Approach Chart subscription, 

WAC's, etc.

$5,995 for Flight Cheetah turnkey package (inc. 

both GPS and VHF antenna, S/W and 

transceiver)

Flight Cheetah. 

Mounting hardware.

Pricey. But data access anywhere, request-reply, email possible. Better 

image quality over laptop esp. glare reduction. NOTE: Flight Cheetah 180 

not available yet (smaller version of the 270). MFD allows animation for 

trend. Enhanced mapping functionality is better than terrain alert to overlay 

with weather reflectivity mosaics due to similar colors. No traffic info. 

Graphical weather can be overlaid with approach graphic.

www.echoflight.com sales@echoflight.com

EchoMap S/W and transceiver 

used with Garmin GNS 400 and 

500 series MFD's. Data only

Cost of Garmin avionics plus S/W and 

transceiver at $1,795

Garmin avionics, 

EchoMap S/W and 

Communicator. Verify 

need for mounting 

hardware

Recommendation to NASA is to make the data link free. EchoFlight makes 

their money on the H/W and S/W they sell.

Satellite Technologies Inc.

Harlan Hamlin, VP and GM of Aviation 

Services. Cell phone is 571 238 5058. 

Craig Correa and Joe Bravman also 

support Harlan.

Jeppesen DataPlan

21700 Atlantic Blvd., Dulles, VA 

20166 703 788 7010 Mike Cetinich mike.cetinich@jeppig.com

www.satellinktech.com 703 579 4061 www.merlinwx.com www.jeppesen.com

Weather Services 

International Keith D. Hoffler

Pilot Weather Advisor (PWA). 

Offers graphic and text weather 

on a wide variety of PC's and 

CPU-based displays via an RS232 interface. The receiver is a 

blind mounted satellite receiver 

system

Between $4-5K for the hardware (current quote 

in AOPA mag. 3/25). 

4 Federal Street, Billerica, MA 

01821 757 865 1400 x221

S/W that can be used with 

Northstar avionics, ADR 

Flightguide, and eflightpad ( 3 

different flight bags)

Northstar ($12K), ADR Flightguide ($7K), 

Eflightpad ($6K). Investigating IPAQ PDA. 

Recent WSI announcement indicates strategic 

partnership formed with Sandia Aerospace to 

produce avionics.

www.wsicorp.com khoffler@wsi.com www.wxstream.com

MX-20 has a 6" diagonal 

screen. 640x480 pixels. 

10-40 VDC max power.

MA SK-1 satellite receiver. 

Merlin-Air portable 

service kit includes the 

receiver (Model MA SK1) with integral GPS 

receiver, FAA certified 

antenna, and interface 

S/W for the display 

device. Display device 

and interface cable not 

included. Display 

devices required 

include PDA's, panel 

mounted MFD's, 

Laptops or PC's. 

Display device needs a 

standard USB or RS232 serial port.

MPR-1 certification by FAA to be obtained after MA SK-1 in production and 

commercially available. This will allow Merlin data to be displayed on FAA 

certified equipment. Recommendations include shorter certification time and 

development of future industry display standards without any near term 

impacts to delay customer acceptance. Discussed a "consumers report" 

type of flight test evaluation by NASA or Emory Riddle of all current product 

offerings. Suggested NASA to assess market price sensitivity for weather in 

the cockpit (what will GA pay?). Liability insurance for these aviation products 

also a concerm. At Sun N Fun they will be demonstrating the Merlin service at 

several booths - Jeppesen (who also does Flight Map and Flight Deck), UPS 

Aviation Technology, EDMO (worlds largest avionics distributor), Eastern 

Avionics, Icarus Instruments (IPAC product), Blue Mountain Technology 

(home-built market), Sellers Aviation (PC Flight Systems), and Lance Air 

Avionics (Kit planes). 

Initial installation in a 

Piper Saratoga. Other 

aircraft to follow to 

facilitate certification. 

Sandia display to be 

made appropriate for all 

aircraft.

Uses quality WSI data - in FSS, all top 50 FBO's, etc. 5-minute update cycle - 

no data more than 11 minutes old. 3 marketing strategies planned: Work with 

MFD manufacturers, stand alone system, and interface with portable 

electronic flight bags. Runs on Windows 98, Me, XP, etc. PWS developed 

under NASA SBIR contracts including phase III from NASA GRC 

(WINCOMM). Recommends timely TFR and NOTAM info. METARs every 5 

minutes. Consumer Reports type testing welcome if objective (Aviation 

Consumer Mag?).

GEO continuous 

broadcast via Mobile 

Satellite Ventures 

(MSV). (Formed 

partnership with TMI 

communications and 

Motient Corp.(formerly 

AMSC))

Remote mounted 

receiver and antenna. 

Outside manufacturers 

of MFD's not identified 

as of early March 2002 

- but working to form 

strategic partnerships 

including Avidyne, 

Goodrich, Honeywell, 

and USPAT.

S/W to interface is in 

addition to MFD. 

Different antennas 

likely based on which 

service desired.

Cost for Merlin service/equipage likely to be more. NOTE: Also working with 

Bendix/King to develop interface to receive datalink weather info via FIS-B. 

Status unknown.

MA SK-1 will be priced at $3,500 and does not 

include an MFD or other display device. This 

includes 1 full year of weather data link Merlin 

Service and using the Apollo UPS-AT display. 

Fixed monthly service estimated to 

be $45/month after the first year for 

unlimited access to GOES Infrared, 

visible, composite satellite, NEXRAD 

2km base ref., NEXRAD echo tops, 

Conv. SIGMETS, SIGMETs, Icing 

reps., turb. Reps, wind and temp. 

aloft fcsts., METARs, TAFs, 

AIRMETs, PIREPs, Temporary Flight 

Restrictions, Airspace Situation 

Displays, Airway NOTAMs, Facility 

NOTAMs, NAS NOTAMs. Flight 

Explorer service will also be made 

available (verify if additional charge)

MX-20 - Multi-Functional Display $7,295.00 

S/W to interface with 

Aircell and Satellite 

Technologies 

proposed mid 

summer 2002

Aircell source is Meteorologix. 

Satellite Technologies (Merlin) 

source is Jeppesen.

WSI

Less than $50/month. Subscription 

and flat fee programs planned. Cost 

driver for relatively low subscription 

fee quoted as competition. Additional 

features and option planned

Sandia certification 

planned for late fall 

2002 with shipments 

to customers shortly 

thereafter.

Broadcast via 

GEO...Mobile Satellite 

Ventures (MSV). 

(Formed partnership with 

TMI communications 

and Motient 

Corp.(formerly AMSC)). 

L-Band transmission.

Summer 2002 launch

Not available yet

Aircell would be cellular 

ground stations. Merlin 

service would be via 

GEO.

Generally from $9.95/month to 

$55/month plus $1 each access. 

Package deal of $29.95/month 

includes free weather images every 

20 minutes. $1.00 for additional 

images at higher hourly frequency. 

Weather products include composite 

NEXRAD, ceiling and visibility, 

precipitation, wind speed and 

direction, temperature and dew point 

spreads, email and position reporting. 

METARS and Graphic METARS 

available but no TAFs.

Meteologix (formerly DTN)

Orbcomm LLC's low 

Earth-orbit 

communication satellites 

on VHF frequency. 

Downlink is 137-

138MHZz or 400MHz. 

Uplink is 148-150MHz. 

Although R/R, can set up 

download intervals every 

15, 30, etc. minutes - so 

quasi-broadcast. Takes 

2-21/2 minutes from 

request to receive 

products. 2.4kbps up 

link and 4.8 kbps 

downlink. Claim is that 

this is adequate 

because of their 

compression and burst 

transmission mode 

techniques (metric of 

98% of messages within 

20 minutes via this 

technique).

Current. U.S. wx data 

available worldwide.

30 day money back . 

S/W upgrades 

included with monthly 

subscriptions

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Company, Address, Phone, 

Email Contact Product and Description Non-Recurring Cost Service Plans and Recurring Costs Availability Weather Source, POC, and Email Comm. Link Req. Equipage Maintenance or Warranty

Applicable Aircraft, 

Mounting, Power Constraints or Considerations

Garmin

Sales = Scott Smith, Technical = George 

Koelsch. Sheryl Milsap, Aviation Desk, 

Best info is on web site.

1200 E. 151st. Street, Olathe, KS 

66062 913 397 8200

www.garmin.com Go to web site, type in dealer location, 

aviation, VA to get dealerships

Avidyne Corp.

Jason Och, New biz development and 

product manager 781 402 7476. He is 

the person to discuss cost drivers and 

related issues. Mark Sandeen is Jason's 

boss. Joch@avidyne.com

FlightMax designed to interface with FlightMax flight MFD's ONLY. Bidirectional Request-Reply

55 Old Bedford Road, Lincoln, MA 

01773 781 402 7585 Working FAA certification. Not releasing production estimates

www.avidyne.com 800 284 3963

FIS are aviation-specific networks. Suggestion is to leverage technologies 

already developed - now different technologies going head to head..but no 

interoperability. Need higher level of integration to combine solutions. 

Otherwise market can only support so much. **Combination transceivers that 

can handle multiple technologies**. Lower end GA solutions probably not an 

option due to costs alone. Need to compel folks here to equip via regulatory 

or for compatibility (if FAA goes digital). Consider spectrum management. 

Ultimately broadcasts are good for common data but 2-way or msg capability 

gap.

ControlVision

Link up with Richard Herbst, Marketing. 

References and sales brochures 

(including maintenance and weather 

source) being mailed to AMA. Alan Kirby, 

Tech. Specialist was very helpful. 

Number is 620 231 9748.

Box 596, Pittsburgh, Kansas 66762 620 231 6647 alan@anywheremap.com

www.anywheremap.com 800 292 1160

Arnav

Frank Williams (President), John 

Glaisyer, Program Manager FISDL. 

Spoke at length with Susan Hamner, VP. 

253 848 6060 x28 shamner@arnav.com

Pierce County Airport, 16923 

Meridian East, Puyallup, WA 98373 253 848 6060

www.arnav.com

GDL 49 transceiver: 9" 

L x 5.4" W x 2.1" H. 6-

31 Watts max power. 

Horizontal or vertical 

mounting. 410 series: 

3.75" diagonal LC 

display; 11-33 VDC 

power. 500 series: 

4.75" diagonal LC 

display; 11-33 VDC 

power.

FAA Certified products. Suggested NASA R&D initiatives mentioned were EPIREPs. Additional product tracking capability (ADS-B). Other MFD's that 

can be used with the DR-100 include Garmin, Allied Signal, Trimbel, II Morrow, 

and NorthStar. Graphical weather can be overlaid with Terrain Obscuration 

Proximity System (TOPS). Some TOPS icons are the same color as heavy 

convective reflectivity colors so unclear as to how displayed when overlapped.

Applicable to most 

aircraft. About 200 

sales. MFD 5200 CDU 

max power 25 Watts; 5" 

diagonal LCD. ICDS 

max power 50 Watts; 

10.4" diagonal LCD.

 WxLink receiver and WxNet 

transceiver are high speed, 

multimode, multifrequency 

datalink. MFD 5200 (lower-end). 

ICDS 2000 higher-end). DR-100 

aircraft datalink receiver. RCOM100 SatPhone @$19,995.

MFD 5200 around $6K. Paired with the DR-100 

costs $8K. ICDS around $10K.

Free transmission of FIS METAR 

text and graphical surface condition 

reports. Premium products to be 

available at additional cost 

($495/year) include NEXRAD 

composite graphics (64km national 

mosaic within 150nm from the 

aircraft and 8km local mosaic within 

150nm from the aircraft), winds aloft 

graphics, and significant weather 

reports including 3-D turbulence and 

icing graphics, graphical METARs, 

NCWF 1 hour products.

Current but unknown 

as to status of full 

CONUS 

implementation. 

Claimed availability in 

small regions of the 

country.

Wx provider not announced 

yet

GDL 49 Datalink Transceiver add 

on to the GNS 430 or GNS 530 

MFD avionics. Lightning and 

traffic data already available. 

GNS 430 combines GPS 

navigation, VHF comms., and 

moving map graphics. Also 

includes IFR GPS, ILS, VOR, 

LOC and glideslope. WAAS 

compatible. GNS 530 display is 

larger and has additional 

functionality.

Panel mounted for Part 

23 aircraft - up to King 

Air (basically multiengine). They claim 

about 2000 users but no 

evidence. 320x234 

pixels x 65,536 colors. 

5" diagonal color active 

matrix LCD. 10.4" 

diagonal for EX5000 

with 800x600 pixels and 

65,536 colors.

Not announced yet bu 

2 years parts and 

labor likely.

Use with FlightMAx 

FSD products (ex. 

FlightMax EX5000)

DTN Meteorologix

Selected by FAA along 

with Honeywell to 

provide weather data link 

service via FAA 

provided spectrum. 

Currently using VHF 

GMSK but slated to 

switch to VDL-Mode 2 

by 2004. Product is 

called WxLink which 

periodically broadcasts 

wxs info to the cockpit 

while in flight using the 

WxLink receiver and 

WxNet transceiver. 2 

VHF frequencies to 

broadcast over a portion 

of the ARNAV 

Aeronautical Network 

(AAN). Also has a 

partnership with Global 

Star to provide voice 

and data to cockpit via 

LEO constellation.

Wx Data link S/W, 

MFD 5200 Cockpit 

display, DR-100 

aircraft data link 

receiver, engine 

monitoring module, 

antenna?

FlightMax DX50 datalink 

transceiver. MFD is Flight Max 

with either 5" or 10.4" (EX5000) 

display

$2,950 for the transceiver includes antenna 

($2,450 for existing customers). Requires an 

Avidyne MFD (Flight Max series) . For example, 

the EX5000 is about $12,950. Other MFDs 

range from $10-18K . Stand alone, remote 

mounting, VHF compatible.

Orbcomm LLC's low 

Earth-orbit 

communication 

satellites. R/R. Digital 

format, 2 channels (2-

way VHF in the 137-138 

uplink and 150 downlink 

mghz). Only CONUS 

currently available. 

Ground stations to 

send/receive messages. 

2-7 minute typical 

response time.

Mid-late 2002

About $599/year (30 updates/month) 

or $349/year (10 updates/month). 

Plan to include NEXRAD national and 

regional mosaics for CONUS, 

graphical SIGMETS, plain text 

METAR. No TAFS yet.

From $9.95/month to $55/month plus 

$1 each access. Access to 

NEXRAD, text and graphical 

METARs and TAFs.

Meteologix (formerly DTN)

Orbcomm LLC's low 

Earth-orbit 

communication satellites

Literature states late 

2001 but FAA 

approval of 

EchoFlight product 

likely in late April 

2002

AnywhereWx is an integrated 

GPS Flight Manager S/W. that 

can received data link weather via 

either a satellite link (Global Star) 

or cellular (AirCell)

Average download time is 30 seconds between request and receipt of 

weather info. Comm is dropped after 1 minute. Cellular solution is R/R. 

Global Star used for making calls (no cell phone use in cockpit). Can the wx 

piggyback on the cell phone use? With 1 minute drop of comms. from Global 

Star, would not have inappropriate use of phone time w/terrestrial towers. Not 

IFR certified. S/W runs on Pocket PC or Windows CE. Aircell provided wx 

graphics can be displayed on moving map with flight plan, traffic, and terrain. 

IPAQ display considerably smaller than average MFD.

Current - weather 

service since 

1/1/02...about 400 

users. Otherwise 

about 6,000 

registered users.

Compaq iPAQ, 

Globalstar tri-mose 

phone, AnywhereWx 

S/W, GPS receiver, 

Sat-pack integration 

module, mount. Need 

an expansion sleeve 

card to attach to PDA 

to have a wireless 

modem.

Global Star satellite 

telephone or AirCell 

Ground based cellular 

network

$2,899 introductory offer includes Compaq iPAQ 

PDA, GPS receiver, AnywhereWx S/W, Global 

Star GSP 1600 Tri-satellite phone, and universal 

yoke mount. Weather upgrade only is $1,699. 

Can also be used with AirCell's Guardian 1000 at 

$3,500. 

$30 - $110/month plus $1.49 - 

1.69/minute. Includes national radar, 

NEXRAD ,and METAR and TAF text. 

Rates dictated by number of free 

minutes. Download upgrades to 

computer via Internet. 6 Month free 

upgrades w/purchase then $115/year 

for 12 upgrades (Airways, airports, 

etc). TFR's updated daily but need 

phone to dial up sat. phone Internet 

connection.

6 Month limited for 

H/W. Phone and 

IPAQ separate.

Cessna 175, other 

private. Uses Aircell 

Guardian 1000 

transceiver (dimensions 

and power apply).

Meteorologix

1 year limited

Purchase of the GDL 

datalink transceiver and 

EchoFlight S/W 

assuming already 

equipped with GNS 400 

or 500 series MFD 

avionics

$3,495 for the transceiver

Requires EchoMap S/W and Orbcomm communicator. NOTE: EchoFlight 

product not FAA approved yet (Planned launch 4/20). Must contact local 

dealers for references. Scott Smith recommended Penn Avionics in 

Collegeville, PA 610 409 0328 ext. 4. Ask for Peter Stelzenmuller.

Appendix Five.—Continued.

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Company, Address, Phone, 

Email Contact Product and Description Non-Recurring Cost Service Plans and Recurring Costs Availability Weather Source, POC, and Email Comm. Link Req. Equipage Maintenance or Warranty

Applicable Aircraft, 

Mounting, Power Constraints or Considerations

Honeywell Bendix/King

Gary Stuteville = 913 712 5545 Gary 

would be the person to talk to cost drivers 

and the like. Dustin Wunder, sales 913 

712 5766 to send out brochures on AFIS, 

FISDL, and KDR equipment. Tom Kraft 

is the marketing manager for Integrated 

Hazard Avoidance.

KDR 510 VDL-Mode 2 datalink 

receiver

$5,495 for datalink receiver only - to be 

integrated with the 550 or 850 MFD System. 

Price includes the interface module card (KAC 

503 FIS module). Antenna not included. KMD550 

is $7,460 (non-radar equipped aircraft) and the 

KMD850 is $12,406 (radar equipped aircraft). 

Current but full 

NEXRAD coverage 

east of the Rockies 

by May 1, 2002. Mid 

2003 for full coverage 

anticipated. Sales 

person said the 

ground system is 

quite reliable since 

they store and buffer. 

50 out of 200+ towers 

installed as of mid 

June 2002.

Lower end GA up to 

some biz jets. Several 

hundred sales. Direct 

marketing. KDL 510 

transceiver is 3" L x 6" 

W x 10" H; 10-32 VDC 

max power. Horizontal 

or vertical mounting. 

KMD 550/850 has a 5" 

diagonal with 10-33 

VDC max power.

Line of site but available above 5,000 feet. Any older equipment will have to 

be upgraded to the KMD 550 or 850. The IHAS 5000 and 8000 are total 

systems that integrate the KMD functionality to bring positioning, weather 

avoidance, traffic advisories, and terrain warnings. AOPA spokesman said 

that this integration was the way to go but expressed concern that the price 

was way too high for weekend warriors. Can overlap weather with flight plan 

and traffic. If equipped with on board radar, can display electrical discharges 

with NEXRAD.

One Technology Center, 23500 W. 

105th St., M/D #45, Olathe, KS 

66061-1950

877 712 2386 

gary.stuteville@honeywell.com AFIS

Much higher price but geared towards very high 

end biz jets and commercial carriers (esp. who 

travel out of US)

Worldwide coverage

www.bendixking.com 913 712 2613

Rockwell Collins Matt Smith - Manager of Advanced 

Products 319 295 7290. NOTE: Not for low-end GA Currently strategizing how to support this market. Would like to leverage ARINC infrastructure.

400 Collins Road, NE, Cedar 

Rapids, IA 52498

319 295 1590 

mtsmith@rockwellcollins.com

Recurring comm costs about $500/month. VHF has coverage issues (LOS); 

need to be at altitude to access info. Need low cost SATCom like GPS - not 

privatized. Compete at the product level.

www. rockwellcollins.com trray@collins.rockwell.com

FIS-B still has questions in his eye - like broken up into regions and flight plan 

has to go through more than one. Data can be 'stale' because data stored on 

board. But they are looking at it and plan to be compatible. VHF (VDL Mode 2 

R/R) comms as listed here does not have the ARINC 600 connection. This is 

priced considerably higher (about $200K) and is more rugged for Air 

Transport applications.

Goodrich Ray Wabler

Goodrich Avionics Systems 5353 

52nd. St., SE, Grand Rapids, MI 

49512-9704

937 426 1700X3012

616 949 6600 www.goodrichavionics.com

Flytimer Stan Durlacher, CEO

Concord, MA www.flytimer.com

978 318 0600X224 shd@flytimer.com

Universal Avionics

Paul Tews, Program Manager for 

Multifunctional Displays. David 

Upchurch, Marketing. Sales for the east 

region are Tom Hook at 410 398 2789 

and Randy Chappell at 860 824 0319. 

3260 E. Universal Way, Tucson, AZ 

85706 520 295 2300

www.universalavionics.com

Jeppesen Matthew Ruwe, Marketing Rep. For 

Navigation S/W, GA Division

55 Inverness Drive east, Engelwood, 

CO 80112-5498 303 328 4779

www.jeppesen.com matt.ruwe@jeppesen.com

Need the aircell phone 30 day on S/W. All aircraft applicable. Looking to display products on other vendor MFD's. Plans TBD. No current 

certification issues as laptop is portable.

Universal Weather - Brian 

Allen in Houston, TX. 800 231 

5600

ACARS, airborne phone 

(ground based 

commercial VHF). VHF 

is about 800 kbps range 

(12 lines of text). 

Telephone is about 

2.4kbps range for 

graphics.

SmartDeck is under development 

and will be an integrated Flight 

Display and Control System that 

will allow data link of graphical 

weather. Otherwise only 

Stormscope which displays 

electric discharges from a conemounted sensor (not data link). 

Discharges from the stormscope 

can also be displayed on Garmin 

UniLink. Can be configured to act 

like a modem (telephone) or VHF 

transceiver. Unilink LS is an 

accessory to their Flight 

Management System (FMS) 

called Flight-Deck Connect.

Approximately $28K for the VHF transceiver (not 

including installation and standardized antenna). 

Approximately $20K for the modem unit (no VHF 

transceiver). NOTE: Either configuration 

requires FMS for4 GPS navigation. Approximate 

minimum equipage cost is $35K.

VHF facilitates receipt of AFIS text 

messages only as well as flight plans, 

position reports,etc. Graphics and 

text received from Unilink modem 

include NEXRAD mosaics, satellite 

imagery (vis. and IR), winds aloft, 

tops/movement, other AWC-derived 

graphics. Looking at pre-pay type of 

service(expected level of use) for lowend and high volume discount plans 

Current service.

2 years.

TBD

Data link and weather 

provider evaluation 

ongoing. Possible 

announcement by 

Oshkosh (July 2002). 

Looking at a GEO 

broadcast data link.

Issues they are working on include how to get around subscription costs 

(especially for those that don't fly 6 months out of the year). This indicates 

they want to target, in part, lower-end GA users. Also they would like NASA to 

encourage growth/marketability to bring costs down and to reduce certification 

time (process). Many times there are second thoughts to adding functionality 

due to time to cert. issues.

KDR 510 VDL Mode 2 

data link receiver, KAC 

503 FIS module, 

dedicated VHF 

antenna. The FIS 

module can be installed 

on the KMD 550 or 

KMD 850 MFD's

TBD TBD Sometime in 2003

Communication Management Unit 

(CMU) MODEM, Radio Interface 

Unit (RIU). Not ATM compatible 

yet. Get text and graphical 

products from the CMU on a 

dumb display called the CDU 739 

using ACARS protocol. Also 

CMU can interface with a file 

server unit to show graphical 

products on a heads up display 

called an Adaptive Flight Display 

3010E

Free products include text TAFs, 

METARs, SPECIs, AWW, PIREPs, 

AIRMETS and SIGMETs, CONV. 

SIGMETs. Broadcast data available 

to anyone that can receive it today. 

Encryption starts early '03. Valueadded graphics at $49/monthly with 

yearly contract. Includes NEXRAD 

(regional and national at 4Km 

resolution, animation available early 

'03, graphical METARs, NLDN

NWS

Weather is broadcast 

via Honeywell 

proprietary ground 

stations (approx. 220) 

with data formatted for 

Bendix/King receivers. 

Uses FAA provided 

spectrum. KDR datalink 

receiver uses VDLmode 2 at 31.5kBps.

Larger biz jets, 

corporate and 

commercial carriers

Ground and satellite based so availability is worldwide. Price and capabilitiy is 

comparible and competitive with Teledyne's Telelink, Universal Avionics 

Unilink, and Rockwell Collins AFD 3010E system. Leverages ACARS 

infrastructures. 

In the $50K range for business/regional/jet 

applications (not the more expensive 900 series 

which is made for Air Transport). Breakout is: 

VHF radio 4000 about $14-18K; CMU about 

$25K; Upgrade of CDU or display to receive 

graphical weather about $10K. Additional File 

Server Unit is about $30K.

Graphical worldwide weather 

including overlays for NEXRAD 

products. In the $5-15K/year range

Type certified for 

Challenger 601 by 

Summer '03

Universal Weather

Current offering geared 

towards very high end 

users but the 3010E 

heads up display is used 

down to Premier CJ's. 

Also used in King Air 

and Part 25 Citiations.

VDL-Mode 2 

ACARS/ARINC network 

over land or SatCom 

over ocean (Inmarsat). 

25Khtz channels. 

31.5kbps. R/R

DTC and Dyncorp DUATs. 

Worldwide weather available 

via Jeppesen International 

Weather Service

Cellular solution via 

AirCell (current) and 

GEO solution via Merlin 

(planned)

FlightMap S/W includes 

FlightStar. For North America 

coverage: $499 1x charge. InFlight S/W to be released with Sat 

Link (cockpit optimized interface). 

Need Aircell phone.

Table computers @ $4-6K with wireless keypad. 

Windows XP, 2000 or 98 compatible.

Subscription service options: 

$249/year for weather. Unlimited 

access to graphics and text. 2km 

resolution/16 level NEXRAD 

mosaics. Charges per min apply as 

per Aircell arrangement. Other 

options include Nav data and 

FlightMap updates ranging from 

$495/year (28 day updates), $229 

for every 56 days, $149 for every 3 

months, or $99 for 1x a year update.

Merlin service 

available mid 2002. 

AirCell current.

Biz jets, Higher end 

turbo props including 

King Air and Gulfstream

Simple piston GA all the 

way up to biz jets

Regulatory issues such as FMS is for level C, 178 issues

Certification: STC on jets, twin - 337 form, portable electronic - none but 

expected 3rd quarter. Prototype currently 'flying'. UAT is threatened by 

ACARS and Flytimer disqualified from FAA initiaitive due to 'spurious' reasons 

(UAT req. for broadcast between airplanes...Flytimer doesn't broadcast pier 

to pier). NOTE: TAMDAR (Tropospheric Atmosphere Meteorological Data 

and Reporting) optical detection system demonstrated - Auto PIREPS 

(senses 9 parameters and sends to ground based servers with 3-D time 

stamp). Probe to be integrated with Flytimer system

S/W purchase, 

transceiver, display 

device or S/W for your 

MFD. Final application 

layer to be developed.

ARINC/ACARS network 

with processing power 

on the ground. R/R to 

convert text ot graphics. 

Developing an encoder 

to compress weather 

images to send over 

slow network. 2.4kbps 

up to plane. They feel 

that this is sufficient for 

graphical weather data 

(352 towers and 9 

frequencies for user). 

Plan to upgrade to VDLMode2 with ACARS 

certification by late 

summer '02.

TBD but looking at various 

NIDS vendors

Transceiver with generic RS-232 

connection (an ACARS Control 

Unit) that hooks into a MFD, 

IPAQ, laptop, etc. 3 offerings are 

being planned: simple piston GA, 

higher up, and jets. Auto-tunable 

to fit into excess bandwidth (sides 

of baseband). Basically a reseller 

of ACARS services.

Approximately $2,500 (transceiver, antenna and 

S/W) for lower end; $4,500 for mid level and 

$6,500 for high end

Recurring subscription costs TBD but 

competative. Expected to include 

graphics and text products including 

NEXRAD (every 15 minutes as 

available) and GAI lightning data. 

Dispatch of logistics services, tie into 

ARINC, email, digital ATIS, pre-dep. 

clearences also.

Product rollout 4th 

quarter '02.

Appendix Five.—Concluded.

NASA/C

R

—2002-211903

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63

NASA Aviation Safety Program Weather Accident Prevention/Weather

Information Communications (WINCOMM)

Arthur Feinberg and James Tauss

Data links; Market research

Unclassified -Unlimited

Subject Category: 32 Distribution: Nonstandard

Aviation Management Associates, Inc.

8752 Center Road

Springfield, Virginia 22152

Project Manager, Gerald Chomos, Communications Technology Division, NASA Glenn Research Center,

organization code 5640, 216–433–3485.

Weather is a contributing factor in approximately 25-30 percent of general aviation accidents. The lack of timely, accurate

and usable weather information to the general aviation pilot in the cockpit to enhance pilot situational awareness and

improve pilot judgment remains a major impediment to improving aviation safety. NASA Glenn Research Center commissioned this 120 day weather datalink market survey to assess the technologies, infrastructure, products, and services of

commercial avionics systems being marketed to the general aviation community to address these longstanding safety

concerns. A market survey of companies providing or proposing to provide graphical weather information to the general

aviation cockpit was conducted. Fifteen commercial companies were surveyed. These systems are characterized and

evaluated in this report by availability, end-user pricing/cost, system constraints/limits and technical specifications. An

analysis of market survey results and an evaluation of product offerings were made. In addition, recommendations to

NASA for additional research and technology development investment have been made as a result of this survey to

accelerate deployment of cockpit weather information systems for enhancing aviation safety.