A new an innovative product to improve safety ?

[buster172]

Hello and thank you in advance for reading this post.

Having posted previously on PPrune and receiving an excellent response I though I would ask for your help one final time.

I have just started my Honours year in Industrial Design and would like to design a new product for the aviation market.

I would like to concentrate on safety as I feel this is a very important issue that affects us all in aviation and would like your views and thoughts as to areas that require attention.

Previously I developed a kneeboard for the private market after posting for research on PPrune and receiving many excellent and informative posts. I would be interested in developing this further or tackling another cockpit related issue. However at this early stage I am open to suggestions concerning absolutely any area, airfields, passengers, aircraft, security, cockpit management, etc.

I would welcome views from anyone with in the industry.

Any information at all would be hugely appreciated, as this is a very important year for me!

Thanks again for reading my post, I look forward to any suggestions you may have.

Regards,

Buster

:)

[slim_slag]

It's an expensive business providing safety equipment for planes, have you read about the TSOd Pencil (pdf) (http://www.rst-engr.com/rst/magazine/tsodpencil.pdf) :) 1977 money too!

[pulse1]

I have just been trying out some voice recognition software on my PC. I talk to it and it types out what I say into my Word.doc.

It occurs to me that a similar accessory connected to the aircraft radio could be used to print out key words onto a small screen, saving the pilot from having to write down things like QNH, Transponder codes, headings etc.

The software I have been using has to be "trained" to recognise my voice but I wonder if, with the very limited number of key word and number variations you get in ATC, whether this would be necessary. Just a thought.

P1

PS. I'm very disappointed that you did not develop my last suggestion which would have been really helpful - a pause button :rolleyes:

[Who has control?]

Buster
Any chance of a look at the kneeboard you developed - a link or a picture maybe?

[chrisN]

There have been a few fatal accidents in 2-seat training gliders where the student pilot froze on the stick in a spin, pulling hard back, so preventing the instructor from recovery action. On one occasion people reached the wreckage and heard the dying instructor repeating "let go of the stick . . ." until he expired.

One suggestion was to develop a replacement control column with a stiff spring as part of the shaft, or with a hinged section normally kept straight by an internal spring, but not so stiff that the other column could not override it. Either design would need a collar which could be slid over the hinged part to keep it as stiff as the original for when that seat would be occupied by the pilot in command.

No-one ever made one AFAIK, but it might be a lifesaver once every few years if every training glider had one.

(In one of the most popular training gliders, Schleicher K13, the rear cockpit has a removeable stick. That might be of use when carrying a passenger thought to be at risk of interfering with the controls, but it is no use for teaching, and student pilots are almost always put into the front seat of tandem 2-seaters, for several reasons.)

Approval of such a device for gliders would be relatively simple. The BGA Technical Officer would be able to advise.

[buster172]

Firstly, thank you all very much for replying to my post, I really appreciate such excellent feedback.

When I designed the kneeboard using the advice and ideas from yourselves on this forum I recieved a lot of great feedback from my course. They were very immpressed by the quality of replies I had recieved and how willing everyone was to help.

So thanks again for posting, it really is going to make a difference to my project.

Slim Slag

Thank you for the very informative pencil certification text :D

I thought it very amusing, and I had an idea that with the level of development I am required to undertake this year, that I may have to consult the CAA with regards to what ever product I come up with. Something for me to look forward to !

Pulse 1

Thats a very interesting idea. I can imagine how it may be quite beneficail in times of a high workload to have that kind of facility. I will have to look into how software may be able to interprit differing voices and accents across frequencies and varying signal strengths. I am thinking about a system that interacts with the pilot on a visual basis in some manner, but it could also aid communications.

With regard to your last idea. A pause button, now that was a GREAT idea, but it had me stumped. A friend didnt think ATC might like it much either

:D

Who has control?

I must apologise for not having posted any images of my last project. I do remember their being interest in seeing the final concept. I dont know how to post images here, but give me a few days and I will do my best to send you some. I would appreciate your thoughts on my final idea.

chrisN

Thank you for your post. This is the sort of tragic accident I would like very much to be able to help avoid through my design.
It made disturbing reading to think that up until the last moment the instructor was literelly fighting for control of the aircraft.
When I did my PPL in Florida there was an incident when a student froze on the controls, steeply pitching down and the instructor had to strike the student to regain control. This was in a Cessna, so I appreciate the point you are raising when the instructor cannot directly control his student, as with a tandem seat arrangement.

Thank you all once again for posting. I will put these ideas into my think tank and over the course of the project comeback to the post with any developments as I work them out and see what you think, if that would be ok ?

I hope your posts are the start of many more suggestions. You all made me look good last time.

;)

Regards,

Buster

[Crossedcontrols]

I did a design course project for part of my degree, it started out based on speech recognition using some pretty new technology, but had to change it to an electronic kneeboard using a Palm. The speech chips never worked. There is a big difference matching a learned phrases to trying to understand words from different speakers. If you need any of the background stuff and sources let me know.

CC

[slim_slag]

Current commercial speech recognition technology would not have a hope in hell of picking up and recognising human speech in a piston engined cockpit. Think how difficult it can be when humans are listening! It's not too bad in a modern car or flightdeck, but even then it has problems. Certainly nowhere near robust enough to depend on in aviation use.

FYI, ATC in the US are using speech recognition software to train their controllers. They use software which can recognise speech from anyone and doesn't need to be trained, however it is optimised for a certain 'accoustic model', i.e. North American speakers. Still understands Brits, but not as well. It works well in an ATC environment because there is a standard phraseology, "free speech" is considerably harder to process.

As for the student who wouldn't let go of the stick. The Mark One Hatpin is useful, doesn't need to pass certification, continue sticking it into the student until he lets go :)

[buster172]

slim slag,

thanks for your reply.

Mark one hat pin :D sounds very effective !

I thought I might add a few of my own ideas to see if anyone would like to give me some feedback.

I have consulted a CFI and ATP driver with regards to products or devices that may aid new pilots in training and as they gain experience to help me get started.

Some ideas we discussed included a device to correct parallax (please excuse the spelling) error? Ensuring the instructor can demonstrate flying in balance easier.

A visual guide for pilots to judge fields within gliding distance. Perhaps a simple strip or line on the canopy to aid judging the gliding distance? Something I believe is often difficult for infrequent flyers.

A device to help demonstrate AOA, relative to speed?

A simple HUD system that could project information to the pilot with out the need for him/her to monitor instruments, thus aiding lookout in all stages of flight?

This could be developed to link in with GPS, perhaps projecting airspace and boundaries onto the real terrain, thus improving situational awareness?

I thought also about looking into visibility. Improving aircraft visibility, for gliders and composite aircraft.

These are just very general areas and any views or suggestions to their benefit or practicality would be hugely appreciated. No matter how outrageous the idea, or obvious, It may not be obvious to me!

I do hope these may give you some ideas, and me !

Thanks once again for your patience !

Yours

Buster,

[Dark Helmet]

CrossedControls:
Did you finish your Palm Pilot kneeboard? I would be interested in seeing it.

[Mr Wolfie]

As CFIT is statistically the biggest killer in GA, anything that can reduce the incidence of this accident occuring would be a benefit (& very marketable I guess).

Handheld / Portable GPS based terrain avoidance / alerting system or a something based on radar a bit like sonar depth finders fitted to boats. (Lots of regulatory hurdles, never mind technical difficulties with the latter I would imagine).

All the best with whatever project you undertake.
Mr Wolfie.

[Crossedcontrols]

Dark Helmet

Regarding the Palm kneeboard, it was a design exercise, constrained by time. So no I didn't produce the product. Also there are loads of software about see below. The Flight Buddy is very good, but I hate all the clutter of Palm, GPS comms cables, power cables etc. I'm turning into a retro flyer using map and eyeball ina cub keeps me happy (and lost).

Try the sites below or searches for shareware/freeware Palm software

http://www.aspenleaf.com/palm/
http://palmcomputing.palmgear.com/palm/searchresults.cfm?category=173


CC

[Dark Helmet]

CrossedControls,

Thank you for those links, I will go and have a look!

[RotorHorn]

B172, on a larger scale, its always struck me that in this age of computers and wireless communications we stil rely on a VHF radio to communicate with air-traffic and each other.

How about a system that links GPS to suitably equipped ATC installations that tells them where we actually are, and not where we think we are?

Also, anything that could give me a spare hand to hold a pencil in an R22 would be helpful - we cant even let go to write something down at the moment.... :rolleyes:

Cause of Accidents IMHO

1. CFITS - i.e. running into something (hill etc.) we didn't know was there, because we dont know where we are
2. running into other aircraft/controlled airspace - because we didn't know where we are.
3. i see a pattern forming here.....

[Who has control?]

Buster,

Seeing as we are getting to that time of year again - how about a a hot-air blower to de-ice wings etc. Suggest an old car-engine on a trolley and use the fan to blow hot air from across the catalyst though a hose & nozzle.