Airfield Wind Advisory System

1
Airfield Wind Advisory System

• Dr. Paul A. Curto, NASA Headquarters
• Jan Zysko, Kennedy Space Ctr.
• Gerald E. Brown, Langley Research Ctr.

2
Cockpit Display Unit

• Digital readout shows only five factors
• runway ID (alphanumeric 3-4 character identifier)
• wind direction (degrees from magnetic north)
• wind velocity (knots) average and peak gust
• runway selection (10 degree increments from 1 to
  36)
• Readout appears as follows
• X68 102/15G25 15
• Alternative version can display cross-wind vector
  (using a manual switch or button)
• Automatically detects ground signal and activates
  unit within 8-10 miles of airfield
• Simple yet elegant handheld design allows pilot
  to gather landing information with a one-second
  glance

3
Automated Ground Unit at Airfield

• Includes sonic anemometer mounted on a 4-meter
  pole (military version) or 10-meter pole (civil
  aviation) coupled to a microprocessor
• Averages wind velocities over 37-second interval
  (may be adjusted for 1 minute averages and 1
  second gusts)
• Broadcasts data digitally over a one-watt spread
  spectrum transmitter at 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz
• Prototype unit uses solar power and battery
  backup, run with zero maintenance at KSC since
  1995 (except for a battery change)

4
System Design Innovations

• automatic runway selection algorithm
• selects runway and landing heading which
  maximizes use of the headwind
• also optimizes when used at airports with more
  than one airstrip
• automatic activation in proximity to the airfield
  (8 to 10 mile range)
• simple display eliminates data clutter
• inexpensive, rugged, utilitarian design

5
Prototype Configuration
Ground station used at KSC
Basic version, built and flight-tested at KSC in
late 1999
6
Prototype Flight Tested

• Worked perfectly the first time
• tests conducted at KSC Shuttle Landing Facility
• Prototype built and flight tested for under 10k
• Uses commercial components
• spread spectrum 900 MHz transmitter/receiver
• backlit LCD display
• Reuse of ground sensor units emplaced in 1995,
  with zero maintenance over the years
• good model for retrofits at existing airports
  (can use current anemometer and windsock system)

7
Advantages

• Increases safety all pilots given wind info
  simultaneously no redialing radio pilot can get
  needed info with a glance with a no clutter
  display, concentrate on the flight path
• one of the most common causes of fatal GA
  accidents, misjudging crosswinds at landing, is
  addressed
• Allows most advantageous vector approach to
  airfield, saving three to five minutes per
  landing
• Very inexpensive and easy to implement at all
  airfields
• Portable display unit goes with the pilot on any
  aircraft he flies (75 of pilots do not own the
  aircraft they fly)
• Fits with general aviation philosophy (cheap,
  rugged, useful)

8
Market Potential

• Airfields
• 600 controlled airports in U.S.
• 5,400 airstrips in U.S. (includes
  non-controlled)
• 40,000 airstrips worldwide
• Pilots
• 750,000 U.S. pilots
• 2 million pilots worldwide

9
CONUS Airfields
10
Costs and Benefits

• All U.S. controlled airfields could be
  instrumented for under 10 million (600 at
  16,000 each)
• All general aviation airstrips and helipads in
  U.S. could be outfitted for less than 100
  million (5,400 at 16,000 each)
• All U.S. pilots could own cockpit display units
  for less than 100 million (750,000 at 120 each)
• Worldwide sales of airfield and cockpit units
  could exceed 1 billion over the next decade
• Accident rates and near misses could be reduced
  significantly, saving about 100 lives per year
  globally

11
The Next Steps

• U.S. patent 6,311,107 issued 10/30/2001
• Overseas patents filed on design concepts
• Conduct second phase flight test program
• Instrument all ten NASA airstrips and helipads
  and about 20 nearby military and commercial
  airfields
• Design two versions and build about 200 flight
  units for use by all NASA pilots, select FAA and
  military pilots, and flight-qualified astronauts
• Run a six-month pilot program and disseminate
  results to entire aviation community
• Begin development of internet version
• Utilize Glenn Tempest embedded web server
  software
• Utilize Dryden Ring-Buffered Network Bus
  architecture
• Develop software for PDAs, cell phones and GPS
  devices to display AWAS data and web-based
  software for internet systems