shamelessly stolen from R.A.P - Breaking Aviation News

Clark1961

Clark1961

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Breaking Aviation News: A new safety device for aircraft

BOEING PROPOSES NEW FLIGHT DECK EQUIPMENT

EVERETT, WA (AP) Boeing Commercial Airplane Company Vice President of
Engineering, Bill Alum, today announced the company's development of a new,
high technology transport jet flight deck warning system designed to help
pilots avoid the sort of incident that Asiana Airlines flight 214
experienced recently while attempting to land in San Francisco. The new
device utilizes measurements of air pressure taken at different points on
the aircraft's airframe to calculate how fast the airplane is traveling
through the air. The actual technology involved in the inputs and how they
are processed is still considered proprietary technological information by
Boeing, as well as by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Mr. Alum said that this device, if installed in all new aircraft, as well as
being retrofitted into the existing commercial aircraft fleet, "has the
potential to save hundreds of lives each year". It is engineered to provide
the pilots of these mammoth, high performance aircraft with continuous,
real-time updates of how fast the airplane is moving. This will allow them
to always make sure that the aircraft's speed remains within a safe
operating envelope. "Information is power", said Mr. Alum. The full name of
the device is yet to be determined, but the current working name is
"airspeed indicator".

Reaction within the aviation industry has ranged from skepticism to
enthusiasm. Dr. Phillip Head, chairman of the Department of Aeronautical
Engineering at M.I.T. stated that his department has been recommending
something such as an airspeed indicator for many years, but that their
advocacy for it has "fallen on deaf ears".

In Toulouse, France, AirBus Chief Engineer Pierre Le Fou said that, due to
AirBus' advanced flight guidance systems, such a device would be an
unnecessary addition to their flight decks. "The technical advancement of
our flight decks is such that pilots have no need for this type of
information. Our guidance systems are constantly aware of all pertinent
parameters while in flight, and will automatically keep them within the
normal range. The pilots of our aircraft have no use for such a device as an
airspeed indicator".

In Seoul, Korean Pilots Association (KPA) spokesman Lee Bang-wan stated that
a device such as this proposed airspeed indicator would only serve to be a
distraction in the flight deck, and that KPA pilots would probably just
ignore it. Additionally, he stated that such a complex system was unneeded
considering that the KPA pilots have a safety record that is "equal to that
of any air carrier that is currently based in Korea".

In Washington, D.C., R. N. Mowth, a spokesman for the U.S. Air Transport
Association, stated that "oppressive federal regulation, such as any
requirement to have so-called airspeed indicators installed in transport
aircraft, is just one more sign of a government run amok with too much
power, and its stifling of the free enterprise system".

Skepticism not withstanding, Boeing seems to be determined to proceed with
the development of this new flight deck technology. Mr. Alum stated that "we
feel that, once pilots reach the point that they understand the value of the
heretofore unavailable information that our proposed airspeed indicator can
give them, they will embrace this new device and will learn to keep a close
eye on it".
 
I wonder how long it'll take for that fancy technology to trickle down to us GA guys??? An AI...probably something the experimental guys will get a hold of first.
 
Velocity173 said:
I wonder how long it'll take for that fancy technology to trickle down to us GA guys??? An AI...probably something the experimental guys will get a hold of first.
Click to expand...

The problem with a device like this is that an aircraft can stall at any airspeed. I've heard of a thing called an AOA indicator that is supposed to be more reliable in this regard. Non of this fancy technology helps at all when the glide slope is out though.
 
An airspeed indicators are soo last year. You want the actual newest technology in your plane- an advanced form of shaped silica, it's called a window.
 
bartmc said:
The problem with a device like this is that an aircraft can stall at any airspeed. I've heard of a thing called an AOA indicator that is supposed to be more reliable in this regard. Non of this fancy technology helps at all when the glide slope is out though.
Click to expand...

The only AoA indicator GA need installed goes inside the brain of the pilot. Sadly, too many pilots, or their instructors, neglect to install it.

It consists of nothing more than the awareness of stall speeds at various load factors caused by weight or G-loading, and an input for airspeed. An option that should be mandatory is an awareness of what happens to the airplane when it skids a turn at low speed.

Cost to install is about two hours of reading. A test flight should be done with a competent instructor.

Obstacles to this installation include pride, ignorance, complacency, and illiteracy. An often-suggested replacement is an idiot-proof airplane that flies itself. That would work well as long as the idiot stays on the ground and the airplane goes flying by itself.

Dan
 
warthog1984 said:
An airspeed indicators are soo last year. You want the actual newest technology in your plane- an advanced form of shaped silica, it's called a window.
Click to expand...

The one I have is an off-shoot technology: polymer of methyl methacrylate. It's softer than that silica stuff, yellows with age, and scratches easily. These benefits make it more desirable!
 
Perhaps more time/money should be spent on attracting pilots who can stick fly the planes, know when to stick the planes and know when to use automation.

Maybe spend more on training and then retaining good pilots, you slam your guys through, give them a chitty sched, pay them to the point they can't live a good life, well that's not a safe situation IMO.

End of the day, no matter how many gadgets and regs you pass, it has always and will always boil down to the pilots, how they are trained, their common sense, stick and rudder skills and how they feel (good time off, good diet, feeling the company cares a little, etc).
 
I bet Boeing has now clue at what it'll cost to re-equip a whole fleet with one of these airspeed indicator things. Sounds like black magic to me. I'll take the sound of the wind whistling by to judge my speed thank you very much.
 
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