IMC for choppers coming at last
Thread Starter
Interestingly i have since heard from 2 pilots who have flown IMC with sole reference to Synth Vision and they both said it was "EASY" . Not saying this should be the approved method but surely as a get out of jail card it could be very useful , especially for non ifr competent pilots who find themselves iimc.
While we have non ifr pilots flying vfr machines we will always have iimc followed by cfit .
With ref to the Chinook accident and also more recently the one in London , i would say that both would have been avoided if synth vision had been available ....and how many more ??? I am also told it is now not an expensive option .
A bit like cars now adopting HUD , infra red cameras , forward looking radar with auto braking , auto parking ..................they seem to be fast to adopt technology to make their cars safer . We however in a much more high risk environment have done very little over the past 20 years
While we have non ifr pilots flying vfr machines we will always have iimc followed by cfit .
With ref to the Chinook accident and also more recently the one in London , i would say that both would have been avoided if synth vision had been available ....and how many more ??? I am also told it is now not an expensive option .
A bit like cars now adopting HUD , infra red cameras , forward looking radar with auto braking , auto parking ..................they seem to be fast to adopt technology to make their cars safer . We however in a much more high risk environment have done very little over the past 20 years
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I have a Flymap L as a removable device, and 2 years back I opted to add Synthetic vision. It is a GPS-based system (no FLIR camera for real-time). I have not flown inadvertent IMC but the system is fantastic, particularly when flying around the Scottish Highlands below the peak tops.
It is clear to me that this would be a very, very useful tool for IFR / inadvertent IMC.
The system would be even better if it were fully integrated into the aircraft avionics package - which it can be - but that option proved far too expensive so my system remains as a stand-alone running power from an auxiliary outlet. I did check, but (for example) to add airspeed indication you need to break-in to the pitot vacuum line and that is a no-no without soooooo much paperwork and cost. So I don't have a single screen which includes airspeed (I do have groundspeed), and I have no engine data (which can be shown) and the sensor for the AH is not mounted in the best place (under the mast) because that would require the running of an additional wire back to the box, so the sensor is further forward than is ideal for the unit.
Unfortunately, the system of regulation designed to keep aircraft safe is one of the reasons why development of safety features proceeds so slowly.
It is clear to me that this would be a very, very useful tool for IFR / inadvertent IMC.
The system would be even better if it were fully integrated into the aircraft avionics package - which it can be - but that option proved far too expensive so my system remains as a stand-alone running power from an auxiliary outlet. I did check, but (for example) to add airspeed indication you need to break-in to the pitot vacuum line and that is a no-no without soooooo much paperwork and cost. So I don't have a single screen which includes airspeed (I do have groundspeed), and I have no engine data (which can be shown) and the sensor for the AH is not mounted in the best place (under the mast) because that would require the running of an additional wire back to the box, so the sensor is further forward than is ideal for the unit.
Unfortunately, the system of regulation designed to keep aircraft safe is one of the reasons why development of safety features proceeds so slowly.
Thread Starter
John . IF all else failed do you believe you could do a 180 and fly for a few minutes using this screen ? I am told it is totally intuitive , just like looking out of a small screen . If you could hook it up to give engine data , airspeed , VSI etc without having to spend a fortune on CAA/EASA arse covering , would you do it ? Also do you believe you could/would fly straight into a hill or building if you had it or would it make that scenario almost impossible if its working ?
We have been bumping into hard things in fluffy clouds consistently now for around a century . We know that pilots are human so if systems are complex (ifr) they will sometimes mess up . Even just as an extra comfort , who would not like to look out front and see the ground where you think it should be ??????
If the heli industry was like the auto industry we would have all this safety kit AND more by now . In the last few years they have fitted , to mention just a few
1) All around airbags
2) Ifrared cameras for the dark
3) Radar with auto braking
4) auto parking
We however are just beginning to use .....GPS !!!!!!!!!!!!! And even then not properly
We have been bumping into hard things in fluffy clouds consistently now for around a century . We know that pilots are human so if systems are complex (ifr) they will sometimes mess up . Even just as an extra comfort , who would not like to look out front and see the ground where you think it should be ??????
If the heli industry was like the auto industry we would have all this safety kit AND more by now . In the last few years they have fitted , to mention just a few
1) All around airbags
2) Ifrared cameras for the dark
3) Radar with auto braking
4) auto parking
We however are just beginning to use .....GPS !!!!!!!!!!!!! And even then not properly
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Nigel
As I said, I have bought / fitted and I did look into having it added completely to the avionics package but the process / time / cost was prohibitive. If it had been less problematic I would have a secondary glass-cockpit using the kit I already bought but can't switch-on.
What's it like to fly based on this? Take a look at the left screen picture in this link and you will see that it is very simple http://ikarus-ulm.com/portal/sites/d...-%20Flymap.pdf Not the same system as I have but you can run mine split-screen if you want; I just find 7" screen a little small for that.
Of course, your primary instruments are still available but on the Flymap you can have AH, DI, Alt, Speed superimposed on the (rather accurate, I might add) terrain representation together with engine data at the bottom of the screen (including Fuel).
There is also 'highway in the sky' as an option which gives you a GA glideslope to runway. Runways are marked as grey strips and (again) remarkably accurate.
Could I 180 and fly a few minutes on this? In turbulent IMC an unstabilised helicopter will still be a handful (I guess, having never been IMC) but I think it would be easier to 'believe' your instruments over your senses when both the AH and the synthetic terrain show you pointing at the ground than just your AH alone.
In practice, flying the remote Glens in W Highland with this mode selected you could navigate safely without reference to outside view if you had to. That would include a 180 and a let-down to a runway. Over towns? there is not sufficient detail in the terrain map to show buildings, etc so if you are THAT low it's not going to help keep you from playing 'wrecking ball'. Fit a Rad Alt in that case.
We would need a simplified process to approve kit of this kind. I understand the potential for unforeseen interaction and disturbance of other aircraft systems so I would not advocate 'fit what you want' but when we are talking about bolting a screen to the cockpit (instead of having it removable), taking power through a fuse (without the addition of a very expensive auxiliary plug) and running a single wire through a wire duct in order to best site the gyros it does begin to look like the safety rules get in the way of aircraft becoming safer in practice.
John
As I said, I have bought / fitted and I did look into having it added completely to the avionics package but the process / time / cost was prohibitive. If it had been less problematic I would have a secondary glass-cockpit using the kit I already bought but can't switch-on.
What's it like to fly based on this? Take a look at the left screen picture in this link and you will see that it is very simple http://ikarus-ulm.com/portal/sites/d...-%20Flymap.pdf Not the same system as I have but you can run mine split-screen if you want; I just find 7" screen a little small for that.
Of course, your primary instruments are still available but on the Flymap you can have AH, DI, Alt, Speed superimposed on the (rather accurate, I might add) terrain representation together with engine data at the bottom of the screen (including Fuel).
There is also 'highway in the sky' as an option which gives you a GA glideslope to runway. Runways are marked as grey strips and (again) remarkably accurate.
Could I 180 and fly a few minutes on this? In turbulent IMC an unstabilised helicopter will still be a handful (I guess, having never been IMC) but I think it would be easier to 'believe' your instruments over your senses when both the AH and the synthetic terrain show you pointing at the ground than just your AH alone.
In practice, flying the remote Glens in W Highland with this mode selected you could navigate safely without reference to outside view if you had to. That would include a 180 and a let-down to a runway. Over towns? there is not sufficient detail in the terrain map to show buildings, etc so if you are THAT low it's not going to help keep you from playing 'wrecking ball'. Fit a Rad Alt in that case.
We would need a simplified process to approve kit of this kind. I understand the potential for unforeseen interaction and disturbance of other aircraft systems so I would not advocate 'fit what you want' but when we are talking about bolting a screen to the cockpit (instead of having it removable), taking power through a fuse (without the addition of a very expensive auxiliary plug) and running a single wire through a wire duct in order to best site the gyros it does begin to look like the safety rules get in the way of aircraft becoming safer in practice.
John
