AOPA ASI Blog: Leading Edge

There’s a management mantra that has served me well over the years that says, “If something is a good idea, and it deserves to succeed, the sixth time you present it, there’s a 75% chance of getting it approved.” Your exact mileage may vary but the concept is sound.

There are two good ideas that I’ve been a strong proponent of for years and have fussed about in various meetings: putting angle of attack (AOA) indicators in light GA aircraft and adding front seat airbags. Both ideas are so completely obvious that you have to wonder why it’s taken this long to begin implementation. (Cue the mantra.)

As the industry co-chair of the obtusely-named GA Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC to our friends), an FAA-industry initiative to study and implement GA safety efforts, it’s been on my agenda for some time. In Washington, D.C., in addition to committees, there are also subcommittees who actually do the work. Our subcommittee focused on loss of control which is one of the leading fatality producers. Not many fatal accidents occur when the pilot is in control, but I digress.

What’s good about this breakthrough is that both pieces of equipment are relatively simple and they work; one makes the pilot aware that he’s asking the wing to do something impossible, and the second helps to save the bacon if the first one is ignored. Here’s another big breakthrough: none of this is a perfect solution that too often leads to bureaucratic gridlock when a good solution will get us far better results than the status quo. But we’re moving on it anyway!

Another bit of good news is that the FAA Small Airplane Directorate has said they will make it much easier to retrofit both of these devices to old aircraft. Many new airplanes have had airbags for years, and older ones can be equipped, in some cases, more easily than with shoulder harnesses. Good for them—let’s see safety equipment become integrated into old airframes quickly to encourage owners to make a good choice. An aside: shoulder harnesses are very cheap if there is an attach point. Rather expensive if one has to be fabricated.

The AOA indicator can be used to good effect with more precise takeoffs and landings. Some of us are, shall we say, somewhat lacking in those areas. The turns which seem so benign can occasionally bite very quickly. The airbags are pure insurance and worth more than any earthly object when needed—otherwise they’re worthless, but then that’s how it is with insurance. Do you feel lucky?

A double-pronged approach to stall prevention and survivability in many accidents—what a concept! And it’s not mandated but should stand on its own merits.

“To those whom much is given, much is expected.”

So said President John F. Kennedy. As pilots we have been given much—the ability to move more freely than most in a country that still allows it (mostly). We get to see and do things that most of our citizens can only dream of. And if we are to continue, the story must be told more widely to bring new people into this wonderful world of GA and to appreciate it even if they don’t fly. This isn’t easy, and there are barriers—some of the largest being the economic ones. But opportunity resides in crisis, and we’re pleased to be taking steps to help those truly deserving.

If you are a GA charitable organization, a student pilot in need of a scholarship, a teen interested in aviation, or a military member interested in joining AOPA, read on for some big news.

The AOPA Foundation is giving money away! 

Perhaps it’s better put that we’re investing in the future. (I sometimes get carried away!) Thanks to the generosity of pilots like you, the AOPA Foundation is able to provide some much needed financial support in two key areas: growing the pilot population, and improving the image of general aviation. There are many groups doing great work such as disaster relief, transportation by volunteer pilots, medical flights, and so much more. This week the Foundation launched the Giving Back program to provide just a little extra lift to those who will help carry the message of the benefits of flight. We’re giving back to those who give back to the GA community. “No one has ever become poor by giving.” So said Anne Frank.

Here’s an overview:

Nonprofit organizations doing charitable work through GA can apply for grants to support their mission. Grant applications are being accepted now through July 1. Ten grants of up to $10,000 each will be awarded at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Fort Worth, Texas, in October.

Ten flight training scholarships will be awarded to deserving student pilots. Not only will that add pilots to our ranks, but scholarship winners are natural ambassadors for GA, helping to improve our image as perceived by the general public. Do you remember when you first became a pilot? It was ALL you talked about—at least I did.

Lastly, we will provide 2,500 free AOPA memberships to teens through the AOPA AV8RS program and to active military members in order to introduce these segments of the population to the world of general aviation.

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” So said President Abraham Lincoln. In the pilot community these days there’s no shortage of critical opinion. Some pilots even have more than one! Add some weight to it by making a contribution; click here to make a donation directly to the Foundation’s Giving Back project. It will be invested wisely, and it’s tax deductible!

And I’ll be waiting to hear from you.

Safe Flights.

Helicopters—we’ve all heard the pejorative descriptions: Thousands of parts flying in loose formation. It’s good that it’s leaking—we still have hydraulic fluid. Flying helicopters is like juggling three $150 champagne bottles…it’s not a case of if you drop them, but rather how many, etc.

But they’ve always fascinated me for a variety of reasons—not the least of which is the tremendous jobs they do in tough situations—things a fixed-wing aircraft simply can’t. What might be a difficult and tremendously useful situation? How about landing on oil platforms, which is how much of the world’s petroleum workers get to their job so we can get to ours.

So it was of some interest when Sikorsky Aircraft announced that it had recently certified a new system that claims to reduce pilot workload by 60 percent in the critical approach phase to a platform. This technological feat was done in conjunction with PHI, which is one of the largest civilian helicopter operations.

According to the Sikorsky press release, “Rig Approach will be available as an option on the S-92 helicopters, providing a fully coupled and automated approach capability with a higher safety margin than currently is available with any other offshore approach procedure. The feature can be retrofitted to aircraft already operating.”

To the staid universe of fixed-wing operations this seems like old news—an autopilot function that guides one to touch down better than a human. But the complexity of helicopters hasn’t allowed this to be done before. It also tells me that the microprocessor firepower of today’s avionics is allowing us to do unimaginable things with hardware that once required a highly skilled and trained human.

The airlines have long been advocates of autopilots, and while we’ve discussed the occasional miscue, they do provide a consistency of operation that humans can’t. Automation, however, cannot always manage the outlier events that can have catastrophic consequences. This leads to an interesting discussion on how much the human should be “in the loop” of operating the machines. After all, we are generally lousy monitors for long periods of time—it’s the attention span thing. But we can be highly effective for limited periods to manage those unusual events provided the critical-event skills have not atrophied. If we get too mentally disengaged however, it’s hard to get back in the game—and therein lay the difficulty.

As super-automated flight control equipment becomes more commonplace, it falls on us to define the hows and wherefores to maintain those old skills while developing new ones.

What will they think of next? Glad you asked!  Just announced—the Terrafugia TF-X is a tilt rotor car that will automatically takeoff and land in your driveway! But you only need your checkbook now to invest for venture capital purposes—the real deal is projected to take 8-10 years to arrive at a driveway near you.

Congratulations to Sikorsky, PHI, and the FAA on an end of the beginning of a new era. But it is only the beginning.