News

Excerpts from April-2008 issue FLYING magazine (Jay Hopkins):

RECONSTRUCTING THE FLIGHT

There are a number of reasons why around 700 people die each year in aircraft operating under Part 91 and Part 135, while Part 121 operations sometimes go an entire year without any fatalities. Airlines have stricter regulations, and operations manuals spell out every nuance of how a flight and the entire airline will be run. When they do have an accident, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder usually allow the NTSB to get a pretty good idea what led to that accident, allowing everyone to learn from that accident and avoid the same thing in the future.

FOQA programs rely on heavy, expensive flight data recorders, putting this type of data analysis beyond the financial means of charter or corporate operators, flight schools, or individual pilots. To overcome this problem, UHL Research Associates (www.uhlflight.com) has spent the last 12 years developing a Flight Reconstruction System (FRS) that weighs less than two pounds and is available for under $4000.

The reason the hardware is so simple and inexpensive is that most of the work is done after the data is removed from the aircraft by software developed by Urban Lynch, the founder of UHL Research Associates. The software takes about 20 seconds to analyze a one hour flight and produce a three dimensional wire frame reconstruction of that flight with both an external view and an out of the cockpit view.

The applications for this system are almost unlimited. While every operator could benefit from the analysis of operating parameters and variances, there are specific benefits for some applications:

Flight Schools:
The FRS can also help flight schools monitor student solo flights and keep track of how rental pilots are operating their airplanes. One flight school in Malaysia that equipped an airplane with the FRS system was surprised to learn that a student pilot on a solo cross country flight did not follow the intended flight plan but instead wandered off to different areas where he was not supposed to go. This kind of blatant disregard for the rules could easily lead to an accident in the future.

Post Accident Analysis:
This is where the FRS would really pay for itself. One of the most frustrating issues in general aviation is that many times we have no idea why an airplane crashed. This often leads to complicated litigation with the pilot’s estate blaming the manufacturer and the manufacturer blaming the pilot. An FRS would show investigators exactly what happened, which could reduce expensive litigation and hopefully result in reduced insurance rates for everyone.

Summary
With any new system that monitors aircraft operation, there is bound to be resistance from pilots and instructors who don’t like the idea of anyone looking over their shoulders at everything they do. Once pilots understand that the data is typically used for de-identified trend and variance analysis to improve flight operations, and that it can exonerate a pilot after an incident or accident that was not their fault, I believe the inherent value in this system will become evident. Over time, the information derived from many flights and accidents could allow us all to learn how to avoid those kinds of accidents in the future, ultimately saving lives by reducing the number of people who die each year in general aviation accidents.

Report From UHL Malaysian Representative (10-Sept-2007)
On Flight School Use

Dear Dr. Lynch,

I've done a demo flight on the UHL for the Malaysia Flying Academy last
week. The data obtained from the demo flight was rather interesting where a student was doing a solo cross-country navigational flight. To our surprise, the recorder captured that the student did not follow the proper flight plan and was caught wandering off to different areas that he was not supposed to. His lead instructor was furious that his student did that and told us that this is indeed a good system.

The 90% FOQA Solution for 1/10th the Cost

UHL makes Business & Commercial Aviation (BC&A)
Sept-2007 issue page 10

Click on the article below to view an enlarged version.

Air Combat USA Employs UHL - FRS (17-Nov-2006)

Air Combat USA employs the UHL - Flight Reconstruction System (FRS) to reconstruct aircraft dog-flights for “fighter pilot for a day”.

UHL Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract (5-July-2006):

UHL is awarded a U.S. Air Force contract to demonstrate the UHL-Flight Reconstruction System(FRS) technology as a survivable recorder for military aircraft accidents and the Military Flight-Safety/FOQA Program. Contract to be completed over the next 8-months.

Article from Aviation Week & Space Technology (11-07-05):

Click on the articles below to view an enlarged version.

Quotes from Aviation Week & Space Technology (08-22/29-05):

Inexpensive flight recorder also has potential for accident investigations, maintenance monitoring and training MICHAEL A. DORNHEIM /
LOS ANGELES

Mission Aviation Fellowship(MAF): "It's a great tool for accident investigation, but also for finding trends," says Thomas Tharp, the MAF avionics manager. "For example, we might discover pilots approaching too fast at a strip, and find that there is an illusion that makes the guys go too fast." "Our intent with the FRS is primarily FOQA and it's certainly good for that and accident investigation," says Steven R. Lehman, MAF assistant manager of safety. "The UHL software is amazing, it makes it all work.

Richard F. Healing: Richard F. Healing was briefed by Lynch when Healing was still an NTSB board member, and thinks FRS "has the potential to reduce NTSB investigator workload." But he cautions that investigators "may still need to pull parts off the wreckage for examination." Sectors within the NTSB have high expectations based on the expensive flight data recorders carried by airliners, but the status quo on most other aircraft is no recorder at all. "General aviation needs to have something, and the FRS is a step and may be the answer," Healing says.

Basler-Turbo Conversions: Basler Turbo Conversions, which modifies Douglas DC-3s to turboprop power, has evaluated several recording devices for health monitoring, especially for operations under rough conditions such as fire fighting. "The typical single recording accelerometer costs a fair amount of money and takes a lot of time to analyze," says sales director Patrick E. Keesler . "The UHL FRS does so much more for so much less-it's amazing. We've seen lots of stuff and this is the first time someone's come to us with a reasonably priced and reasonably sustainable unit.

Robert T. Francis: Healing and former NTSB Vice Chairman Robert T. Francis think the FRS system would be good for training and sharpening skills. "It would be an enormous advantage for safety and training, to evaluate wear and tear and pilot performance," Francis says.

December 04, 2000

Quotes from Aviation Week (12-04-00):

"I wrote parameters in flight from the dashboard instruments and
compared them with post-flight readouts from the FRS, all derived
purely from GPS. The match was generally excellent."

"My experience showed that this algorithm was well designed and
and transparent to the user--the nuances of maneuvers were faithfully
re-created and the flight path wasn't jumpy."

"The device could serve as a "tattletale" for rental aircraft: Did the
airplane go to Mexico? Was the oxygen altitude exceeded? Were
aerobatics performed?"

News
September 2001

Quotes from Private Pilot (09-2001):

"When we first heard about a portable flight data recorder based
soley on GPS input, we were skeptical to say the least."

"Speeding up the playback, there was the image of the Cessna rolling
down the runway and lifting off. I had made notes during the flight,
correlating altitude, headings and time, and I watched while the plane's
image made the correct turns at the appropriate times."

"The first still was viewed from the side, and it was easy to see the image
make a pitch-up motion and then nose down, lose altitude and level off.
The data indicated an altitude loss of less than 100 feet, which corresponded
exactly with my notes."

"I was impressed, and during the playback I could imagine CFIs
everywhere being able to show the students exactly what they were doing,
instead of trying to use words and hand gestures."

"With a projected cost of about $2000, this flight data recorder will find a
market in flight schools, rental outfits, aircraft manufacturers, test flight
facilities, the military flying clubs and just about every airplane flying."