Aircraft Performance Monitoring

Aircraft Performance Monitoring
The General Aviation Steering Committee (GAJSC) System/Component Failure Working

Group asserts that pilots continue to hold unreasonable expectations of their personal
performance, and the performance of their aircraft, which has contributed to fatal GA accidents.
Reasonable performance expectations, based on realistic data from flight data monitors, can help
to forecast system/component problems before they reach the point of failure, resulting in safer
flight operations.
Flight Data Monitoring expect. Comparing your performance with the POH
will enable you to develop accurate performance
Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) has been around predictions and reasonable performance
since before the jet age and commercial airplanes expectations.
make extensive use of the technology. Systems
comprised of sensors, computer hardware, and Many data monitoring operations involve no
software acquire and archive flight data for use in automation at all. Basic instrumentation such as
trend analysis and investigations of accidents and airspeed indicators, attitude indicators, angle of
incidents. While it’s true that most general aviation attack indicators, manifold pressure, RPM, and G
(GA) aircraft don’t have dedicated automatic flight indicators give immediate feedback as to whether
data recording devices now, we will be able to enjoy design limitations have or are about to be exceeded.
the benefits of equipage in the future. In the Pilots can track engine power, fuel flow, oil
meantime, it’s often surprising to see what we temperature and pressure. Panel mounted GPS
already have. systems and
many hand
Tools You Can Use Now held units
are already
Changes in aircraft performance can be a sign of capable of
developing mechanical issues. Your Pilots Operating
recording
Handbook (POH) will help you to predict your
position,
aircraft’s performance, but only by monitoring your
heading,
personal performance can you know what to speed, and
altitude.
Some engine
monitors have recording capability and many aircraft
owners participate in oil analysis programs — a tool
for gauging engine health and heading off expensive
or, in some cases, disastrous problems.
Continued on Next Page
www.FAASafety.gov Download All Fact Sheets at bit.ly/GAFactSheets

AFS-850 20-12
The Future is Here into NGAFID. Devices that record flight data offer an
easy, and free way for pilots to visually analyze flight
Manufacturers are already offering self-contained performance for trends and changes over time to
flight data and visual data recorders for GA airplanes improve their flying. Second, pilots can share their
and helicopters. We’re seeing multi-sensor analysis data with NGAFID from a smart phone/tablet using
programs on high-end GA aircraft with integrated the General Aviation Airborne Recording Device, or
performance, navigation, and route information. GAARD™, mobile app. Depending on your method of
Auto landing systems are making their way into some logging data, you can even use the NGAFID to
GA aircraft now and, over time, they’ll become monitor for airworthiness/maintenance concerns. All
available in lower-priced platforms. data collected from onboard avionics, an FDM
It’s true that modern avionics have made the recorder, or the GAARD app is anonymous and de-
collection of flight data and flight performance identified so pilots can share their data without any
analysis much more accessible to GA, but the fear of reporting or reprisal. The NGAFID is managed
question is how do GA pilots access and use that by GA community members and associations.
information? Unlike in the commercial world where Thanks to GA data sharing and analysis programs,
you have a structured system like Flight Operations more safety issues can be detected, resulting in more
Quality Assurance (FOQA) that can be easily used to interventions, leading to fewer accidents, and fewer
tap the data from operators, the GA community has lives lost. As more data is shared and analyzed,
more limited options, despite its much greater groups like the GAJSC develop safety enhancements
footprint on NAS operations. and raise awareness in the community through
To provide a solution to that problem, the FAA targeted outreach efforts like the #FlySafe Campaign.
partnered with academia and industry to create a FAASafety.gov and the FAA Safety Team’s
portal that could collect data from the wide variety of (FAASTeam) WINGS/AMT airmen proficiency
GA operations. The end result was the National programs are great resources for pilots and
General Aviation Flight Information Database mechanics to help improve their skills and
(NGAFID). knowledge. More developments are on the way,
including a complete redesign of FAASafety.gov with
artificial intelligence capability that will use data to
suggest customized training and flight activities.
We are certainly in an age of innovation where
information, technology, and pilot performance
combine to make flying safer than ever before.
Resources
Image from NGAFID that allows users to view flight data. • National General Aviation Flight
Information Database and
The NGAFID allows GA pilots to analyze and share GAARD™ App
their flight data in two ways. First, operators
equipped with avionics capable of recording flight www.ngafid.org
data can upload flight and engine data anonymously • FAA Safety Briefing Sep/Oct
2020, “The Missing Link
Contributing to the Future by
Examining Your Past,” p. 13
medium.com/faa/the-missing-link-abdc1fda5de6
www.FAASafety.gov Download All Fact Sheets at bit.ly/GAFactSheets

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Aircraft Performance Monitoring

The General Aviation Steering Committee (GAJSC) System/Component Failure Working

www.FAASafety.gov Download All Fact Sheets at bit.ly/GAFactSheets

www.FAASafety.gov Download All Fact Sheets at bit.ly/GAFactSheets

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