Weather-in-the-Cockpit Vision

Presented to:

By:

Date:

Federal AviationAdministrationWeather-in-the-

Cockpit Vision

FAA Office of the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety

NCAR Cockpit Weather Workshop

Stephen Van Trees, Manager, AIR-130

August 8-10, 2006

NCAR Weather in the Cockpit Workshop2Federal Aviation

AdministrationAugust 8-10, 2006

Overview

• Purpose• Justification• Synopsis of Vision• Operational Concept of Use• Benefits• Implementation Issues• AVS Weather Related Documents• Summary



Purpose

• Define a Near-term Concept of Operational Use For Weather in The Cockpit

• Establish a Common Understanding of Weather in The Cockpit

• Provides a Foundation For Collaboration With Others in Industry, Government, Academia

• Today’s Presentation is Intended To Start a Dialogue With Other Stakeholders



Justification

• Needs exists for common situational awareness between– Pilot– Controller– Dispatcher (Flight Service Station specialists in GA)

• Leads to enhanced decision making and shared responsibility in making decisions related to weather



Shared Responsibility

• Flight Service Stations

• Airline Dispatch

• Air Traffic Control

• Pilots and Aircrews



Benefits

• Safety - Prevent Weather Accidents and Fatalities– Weather largest cause of GA fatalities in the U.S,

200 deaths annually– Weather is causal factor more than twice as often as

any other factor in GA fatal accidents

• Safety – Mitigate cabin injuries due to turbulence

• Efficiency – Aid in Selecting Most Cost-Effective Routes



Synopsis of Weather-in-the-Cockpit Vision

“Enable flight deck weather information technologies that allow pilots and aircrews to engage in shared situational awareness and shared responsibilities with controllers, dispatchers, Flight Service Station specialists, and others, pertaining to preflight, en route, and post flight aviation safety decisions involving weather.”





Operational Concept of Use

• Cockpit-oriented Operational Concept Of Use

• Focuses On Certification Design Requirements, Flight Technical Standards, Training, and Procedures, and Weather Information

• Tied Together By a Network-centric Enabled Operation Such As SWIM



System Wide Information Management (SWIM)

•Private & Public Sector Ground-based Users

Access Data

•Weather Data

•Integrators

•Weather Data Sources•Air Carrier

• AC # 1

• (In flight)

•Broadband & R/R DL

•Air carrier

• AC # 2

• (On ground)

•Gate link & R/R DL

•General Aviation AC: Ground & In-flight Updates

•SWIM **

•(Secure Internet)

•** - Only pre-approved and authenticated users allowed access



Sample Weather-in-the-Cockpit Scenario



Implementation Issues

• Use of Airborne Data Sensors• Development of Weather Products• Training and Human Factors Considerations• Integration of Weather Data from Multiple

Sources• Determine What Weather Information is

Needed By Each Group of Decision Makers



Airborne Sensors and Comm Links

• Airborne Turbulence Detection System• TAMDAR - Tropospheric Airborne

Meteorological Data Reporting• MDCRS - Meteorological Data Collection

and Reporting System• TAPS – Turbulence AutoPIREP System• Systems use both airborne sensors (cross

link) and data link



Weather Data Link Product Development & Evolution

• Text to Graphics (Today’s “First generation”)

• Weather Trending and Probabilistic Products

• Fully Integrated Electronic Moving Map, Weather, Terrain, Obstacles, and Traffic Displays

• Depictions Present Both Permanent and Temporary Change Data To Crews in an Intuitive, Easy To Comprehend Manner



Data Link Design Considerations

• Equipment and Displays with appropriate Data Link Communication Protocols

• Weather Products• Appropriate Standards, Evaluation and

Certification• Archiving Onboard Data For Post-flight

Retrieval and Analysis



Strategic, Tactical, and Controlling

• Strategic– CBs over Iowa and Nebraska, moving NE at 20

knots, tops to FL 450.

• Tactical– IMC in 5 NM; a 180 degree turn will place aircraft in

VMC

• Controlling– Altimeter two niner seven niner (29.79)– RVR… Trending data for last 10 minutes shows a

RVR of 400 meters, Runway 12R.



Training and Human Factors Considerations

• Important to ensure proper use of tools and that tools are human-centered principles

• Design training on crew resource and risk management and aeronautical and pilot decision-making

• Design software and hardware based upon common human factor functional design standards to facilitate ease of training and use



Shared Responsibility

Information

Flow

AircraftCockpit / Flight Deck

AOCAirline Dispatch &Flight Operations

ATMAir Traffic

Management



Design Certification Issues

• Cross-FAR Part Harmonization For Crew Training and Retention

• Use of Color in Displays• Electronic Flight Bags• Advanced Display Steering Group



Flight Standards Issues

• Intuitive Cockpit Display Products• Need For Manufacturers And Private Sector

“How To Use” Guidance Materials• 14 CFR Part 61 Airman Training And

Evaluation Standards• AIM Guidance and Advisory Circulars• Operational Approval Aspects That Ensure

Quality And Timely Data is Available to Support Pilot Decision Making Process



FAA Guidance, Outreach, and Training

• Design Approval Guidance– Weather Products and Enabling Depiction Hardware and

Weather Product Software– Archiving Weather Data

• Operational Approval Guidance For New Products and Non-government Vendors

• Guidance For Airman Training and Airman Evaluation Criteria

• FAA Safety Program Pilot Outreach Training• FAA Air Carrier Pilot Outreach On Data Link

Weather



Collaborative Efforts Underway

• RTCA SC-206 and EUROCAE WG-44 Developing Weather and Aeronautical Information Services, Data Link Standards

• Efforts Supported by FAA Personnel



AVS Participation in Ring Criteria



The Future

• Vision Enables– NGATS Weather Concept of Operations (version

1.0, May 13, 2006) – International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO)

vision for the Future Air Navigation System



Summary

• Presented the AVS Vision of Weather in The Cockpit

• Should Be Considered a Living Document• Want Comments and Feedback From Other

Stakeholders• For Success, Need Support and

Collaboration of Government, Industry, and Academia

• Send Additional Comments to:[email protected]