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 airlines in improving aviation safety and training, and reducing operational costs, according to officials with GA-FDM.
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. 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.
“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, Google Earth 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. “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. 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 before possible.”
“Our approach underscores the philosophy ‘Train like you fly; fly like you train,’ by enabling pilots to learn from each other’s experiences,” said Scott Meacham, co-founder of GA-FDM. “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.”
