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By Daniel Baxter |
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March 16, 2010 -
In a first for accredited collegiate flight training programs, GA-FDM
announced at the National Training Aircraft Symposium that Purdue
University’s Department of Aviation Technology is factory-equipping its
fleet of new Cirrus training aircraft with GA-FDM’s predictive Flight
Data Monitoring (FDM) and recording systems.
The GA-FDM system,
already used by corporate and air taxi firms, is modeled on the FAA’s
Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program that has been so
successful at the major airlines in improving aviation safety and
training, and reducing operational costs.
The GA-FDM system
provides a web-enabled Digital Flight Data Recorder with built-in engine
trend monitoring, embedded real-time flight analysis, and automatic
wireless transfer for uploads via the Internet.
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At the conclusion of each flight, the system sends flight summary emails
to pilots and instructors, and automatically uploads flight data and
FDM/FOQA analysis results over the Internet to GA-FDM’s servers.
Internet connectivity is key to enabling Purdue faculty and students to
conduct flight research, replays and training, using the latest in
embedded FDM/FOQA technology, right from their desktop.
“Purdue stands at the industry forefront by embracing the safety and
training benefits of FDM for their pilot training and research
programs”, said Brian Morrison, co-founder of GA-FDM. “Student pilots
and instructors use standard web browsers to access near-real-time
engine maintenance (MOQA) and flight (FOQA) evaluation reports as soon
as they land, and review safety reports, operational and logbook data,
GoogleEarthTM flight tracks, and play back or simulate any flight from
their desk or laptop computer.” “A solid FDM program is a crucial part of risk management and safety assurance at the core of our safety management systems”, said Brent Bowen, Professor and Head of Purdue’s Department of Aviation Technology. |
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“We feel it is
important that our students begin to be immersed in FDM and SMS from day
one, so they are well-prepared to enter the aviation industry as
professional pilots. Our students will train to be the best, safest
pilots in the history of general aviation. The data provided through
these technologies will form the core of the model aviation data center
being developed at Purdue. Data incorporated from the Cirrus fleet and
Phenom Very Light Jet training program will be utilized in all three
curricula of our aviation programs. Student and faculty researchers will
use this information for trend analysis never
“Our approach
underscores the philosophy ‘Train like you fly; fly like you train,’ by
enabling pilots to learn from each other’s experiences. We are proud to
be working closely with Purdue to bring all the benefits of FDM to the
student pilot curriculum, and to the future of aviation.”
GA-FDM ‘Fly with
Intelligence’, the team of Alakai Technologies (www.alakai.us.com) and
CAPACG (www.capacg.com), is focused on bringing the proven benefits of
FDM/FOQA to General Aviation. GA-FDM systems help owners and operators
implement proven FDM/FOQA and Safety Management System (SMS) programs.
GA-FDM analyzes the tremendous volumes of flight data to increase
safety, identify accident pre-cursors, reduce risks, improve training,
and reduce operating costs.
Detailed FDM/FOQA
reports contain indicators of aircraft and pilot performance, with
expert suggestions for preventive and corrective measures. Customers
have experienced significant operational savings, including reduced fuel
consumption and maintenance costs, operational safety improvements,
enhanced training, and lower aircraft insurance costs. |
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