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Thursday, 28 February 2013 22:37

Programming the Citation X FMC - Steps 1 thru 3 the Basics

The Honeywell Primus 2000 EFIS flight director system is composed of five 7"x8" CRT screens. Dual flight management systems with GPS are standard.

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 February 2013 22:50

Sunday, 24 February 2013 03:17

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Saturday, 12 May 2012 01:59

Crew Schedules, Sleep Deprivation, and Aviation Performance

ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2012) — Night-time departures, early morning arrivals, and adjusting to several time zones in a matter of days can rattle circadian rhythms, compromise attention and challenge vigilance. And yet, these are the very conditions many pilots face as they contend with a technically challenging job in which potentially hundreds of lives are at stake.

See Also:

Mind & Brain

Matter & Energy

Science & Society

Living Well

Reference

In an article to be published in a forthcoming issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, John A Caldwell, a psychologist and senior scientist at Fatigue Science, a Honolulu business focusing on fatigue assessment, examines the problem of sleep deprived pilots by teasing out the complex interplay of inadequate sleep and circadian rhythms. He explains how airline industry solutions miss the point and then suggests other options.

Caldwell points out that "fatigue-related performance problems in aviation have been consistently underestimated and underappreciated, despite the fact that decades of research on pilots and other operational personnel has clearly established that fatigue from insufficient sleep significantly degrades basic cognitive performance, psychological mood, and fundamental piloting skills."

Evidence abounds. In 2004, a corporate airlines flight crashed as it approached Kirksville Regional Airport; in 2008, Honolulu based pilots of Go! Airlines overshot their destination by more than thirty miles because they fell asleep during a trip that was only fifty minutes long. A Northwest Airlines Flight overflew its destination by 150 miles because pilots had dozed off at the controls. In 2009, fifty people were killed when a Continental Connection flight en route from Newark to Buffalo crashed into a house. Pilots failed to respond properly to a stall warning and the flight went out of control.

After examining what went wrong, the NTSB concluded that, "the pilots' performance was likely impaired because of fatigue." Since 1990 the US National Transportation Safety Board has placed pilot fatigue on the Most Wanted List of safety related priorities.

Why? Because as fatigue increases, "accuracy and timing degrade, lower standards of performance are accepted, the ability to integrate information from individual flight instruments into a meaningful and overall pattern declines, and attention narrows. "

In one study, F-117 pilots were deprived of one night of sleep and then were tested on precision instruments. Not only did pilot errors on those instruments double after one night of sleep loss, pilots reported feeling depressed and confused.

Clearly fatigue is fundamentally the result of insufficient sleep, but for pilots the important issue is the consequences of that sleep loss when they are sitting at the control panel. The author suggests that "fatigue related risks increase substantially when (a) the waking period is longer than 16 hours, (b) the preduty sleep period is shorter than 6 hours, or (c) the work period occurs during the pilot's usual sleep hours." READ MORE: Science Daily

Thursday, 08 December 2011 22:52

Aviation Safety

Safety Management System (SMS)

What is a Safety Management System (SMS)?
SMS is the formal, top-down business approach to managing safety risk, which includes a systemic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures. (Order VS 8000.367)

The Aviation Safety Organization's Safety Management System Website was created as a public resource for those seeking to learn more about SMS within the aviation industry and the FAA. The website will also provide resources to individuals and aviation product/service provider organizations seeking to learn more about implementing a SMS within their organization.

SMS introduces an evolutionary process in system safety and safety management. SMS is a structured process that obligates organizations to manage safety with the same level of priority that other core business processes are managed. This applies to both internal (FAA) and external aviation industry organizations (Operator & Product Service Provider).

This website will evolve; please continue to visit this site periodically for enhancements, updates and the most current information about SMS, Aviation Safety and the interface with FAA.

SMS Explained	Get quickly up to speed! What is SMS? Where did it come from? How does it work?
SMS Rulemaking Activities	Information regarding our FAA Aviation Safety rulemaking activities.
SMS International Collaboration	Information about our SMS international collaboration efforts.
Reference Library	Information at your fingertips. Access a wide range of guide books, articles, websites, and training materials for you and your staff.
SMS Pilot Projects	Have you heard about the FAA Voluntary Implementation Efforts and Pilot Projects? Learn about current (and future) planned activities.
FAQs	Get the answers to some frequently asked questions.
Specifics by Aviation Industry Type	Information tailored to your specific sector (ex: Air Carriers, Air Taxi, Air Tour, Maintenance under 121, Repair Stations, Non-Certificated Repair Facilities, Flight Schools, Simulator Facilities, Airports, etc.)
Contacts	Contact information for FAA offices working with SMS.

Please send us your feedback! What would you like to see on this website? Please feel free to email your comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Source: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/sms/

Last Updated on Thursday, 08 December 2011 23:01

Wednesday, 19 October 2011 03:17

Can I (Legally) Use My iPad?

Since acquiring my Apple iPad® last summer
and stocking it with an ever-evolving suite of aviation apps, this amazing and, yes, magical device has become my favorite tool for 21st century flight planning, flight management, and flight monitoring. Every pilot who sees its capabilities seems to want one, but the first question I usually get — even before the obligatory exchange of best app tips — concerns the legalities of using iPad during flight.

Straight from the Source

For those operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91, the single
best source of information about the FAA’s view of iPad use is Advisory Circular 91-78, Use of Class 1
or Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). AC 91-78 is applicable to instrument flight rules (IFR) or visual flight rules (VFR), preflight, flight, and postflight operations conducted under part 91 unless such use is prohibited by a specific section of 14 CFR chapter I. AC 91-78 provides “information for removal of paper aeronautical charts and other documentation from the cockpit through the use of either portable or installed cockpit displays (electronic flight bags).” Though its July 2007 publication date obviously preceded the iPad’s introduction in 2010, the guidance still applies.

If you aren’t certain about the definition of EFB, AC 91-78 can help. In brief, it defines an EFB as an electronic system that can display a range of aviation data (e.g., checklists, navigation charts, pilot’s operating handbook (POH)) or perform basic calculations (e.g., performance data, fuel calculations). Physical EFBs may be portable (Class 1), attached to a mounting device (Class 2), or built into the aircraft (Class 3).

As far as the FAA is concerned, “The in-flight use of an EFB in lieu of paper reference material is the decision of the aircraft operator and the pilot in command” for part 91. This guidance applies as long as the interactive or precomposed information used for navigation or performance planning is valid, up-to-date, and functionally equivalent to the paper reference material it replaces.

Do I Need Paper Back-ups?

The FAA does not require you to carry paper, but AC 91-78 suggests that pilots consider a secondary source of aeronautical information. The secondary source could be a separate electronic display.

A related point is AC 91-78’s recommendation for implementing an EFB. The idea is to practice with the iPad or other EFB before you leave your paper products at home. Items to evaluate include: workload management
during various phases of flight, integration of the EFB into the cockpit, display and lighting, and system failures. You also need a solid grasp of the aeronautical information apps you are using. You don’t want to be fumbling for the right data at a critical phase of flight.

Other considerations include power and signal strength. Though the iPad’s battery life is excellent, intensive use over a long flight can drain the battery faster than you might expect — especially if you start with less than 100 percent. Several after-market devices are available to boost and stabilize the GPS signal reception to your iPad.

Note: Operators of large and turbine-powered multiengine and fractional ownership aircraft operating under part 91F and part 91K should reference AC 120-76, Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Use of Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) (currently under revision), for specific functionality and/or equipage guidelines.

Susan Parson is a Special Assistant in the FAA’s Flight Standards Service and editor of FAA Safety Briefing. She is an active general aviation pilot and flight instructor.

Learn More

AC 91-78 Use of Class 1 or Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) – July 2007 http://rgl.faa.gov/REGULATORY_AND_ GUIDANCE_LIBRARY/RGADVISORYCIRCULAR. NSF/0/eb15b0c685650a0486257321006b3b8c/$F ILE/AC%2091_78.pdf

InFO 11011 – May 13, 2011 - The Apple
iPad and Other Suitable Tablet Computing Devices as Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/ airline_operators/airline_safety/info/all_infos/ media/2011/InFO11011.pdf

“Flying Paperless Airplanes” – FAA Safety Briefing – May June 2010