40 Top Technologies

The Next 30

August 5, 2006 By AOPA Communications staff

Attitude heading reference system (AHRS)

The future of attitude and directional control during instrument flight lies in a more stable, nearly bulletproof device: the solid-state attitude heading reference system. AHRS is an inertial system that uses MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) gyros and accelerometers to determine roll, pitch, and heading in dynamic conditions. Originally used in automobiles to provide information to anti-lock braking systems, these AHRSs were produced in enough quantity by the automotive industry to help drive down the price point of systems with enough fidelity and reliability to use in aviation applications. Coming next? Multiple AHRSs per airplane, with several sensors combined in a single unit. The goal is further cost reduction and better system reliability. A single unit has a lower installation time, fewer connections (among the weakest points in any electronics installation), and a higher mean time between failures — around 5,000 hours.— JKB

ANR circuitry

Active noise reduction, or ANR, means there is an electronic circuit that is on the warpath for noise, listening through its own microphone and providing attenuation. It is mostly found in headsets, rather than entire cabins. Nearly all ANR headset manufacturers use the same analog circuitry. Meanwhile, excitement over digital circuitry seven years ago has peaked and subsided somewhat. Digital circuitry generated attenuation for scores of frequencies — many more than analog, but it takes more power and circuitry, making the headset larger and heavier. Smaller and lighter is the way some manufacturers are headed, such as performing ANR in an earpiece — no headband.— AKM

Whole-airplane parachutes

(Video courtesy Ballistic
Recovery Systems)

The uncertain outcome of trying to fly a damaged airplane to a safe landing spot — or surviving pilot incapacitation — is being offset by a growing list of pilots and passengers who have lived through these experiences because of whole-airplane parachutes. Whole-airplane parachutes are deployed by a pull on a handle in the airplane cabin. This shoots off a rocket that deploys a round parachute. The system adjusts for different deployment speeds, automatically opening the parachute and lowering the airplane to the ground. Touchdown impact is equivalent to that experienced in a leap from a 10-foot-tall ladder. The useful load surrendered to gain the second chance provided by whole-airplane parachutes is a small price to pay.— SWE

Air bags

Seat belts and shoulder harnesses reduce the incidence of head trauma injuries caused by deceleration. Now air bags — which are known to further lessen the severity of these injuries — are FAA approved and being installed on many models of new general aviation aircraft. They're also being retrofitted (via supplemental type certificate) on a small list of used aircraft.— SWE

A good idea, but...

Here's a roundup of several 1990s general aviation innovations that go to show that what looks good in theory does not always hold up in reality.

Mix a communications radio and a GPS and you get a handheld GPS/com. AlliedSignal's Bendix/King KLX 100 and Garmin's GPSCom 190 arrived first on the scene. But the compromises to combine them were too great and pilots opted for individual handheld GPSs and transceivers instead. The handheld GPS/cell was a close cousin: Building on AirCell's cellular service for GA airplanes, Garmin married GPS and cell phone to create NavTalk, but it was too big as a cell phone and too small as a GPS.
Advancing aircraft designs was critical to help propel manufacturing into the next century. From 1985 through 1989, the Prescott Pusher was alive and kicking. This four-place aircraft composed with computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD-CAM) software was an important contribution to aviation. Some critics who experienced firsthand the Pusher's performance and handling may not share this sentiment.
The drawing board at Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites conceived the awesome Beechcraft Starship. Produced by the Beechcraft Aircraft Corp., the first production ship flew in 1988 — after the company plunked down development dollars of more than $300 million. It was a great concept and a beautiful design, but commercially it was a no-go. Only 53 Starships were built, and but a handful were sold. All have since been retired.
NASA and OMAC Inc. participated in a study of low-speed stability and control characteristics of aircraft with advanced canard configurations. Enter the OMAC Laser 300, a turboprop pusher aircraft, its design based on the OMAC I prototype. The flight-test program lasted two years, but it went nowhere.
Weather Fax had catchy slogans such as: "Weather-in-your-hands-in-minutes" and "There's a storm brewing in your fax machine." You'd better stock up on fax paper and ink. A fax report piled 10 inches deep predicted a no-go for this product.
A portable 20-pound flight-planning system developed by Lasertrack Corp., the Lasertrack FP100, used a compact optical disk of airport and approach chart information, brought together under the umbrella of Jeppesen's LZ chart service. Today's Internet and Jepp's electronic chart service are much lighter to carry around.
Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures Inc. had a vision: Build a single-engine six-seat turboprop, mix it up with sophisticated aerodynamics, and pump up the thrust — 320 knots at Flight Level 300. Certification roadblocks and funding shortages squashed the company's dream of turning out eight Jetcruzers a month. The company went belly up in 2004.— Machteld A. Smith, Senior Editor

Touchscreen displays

They first burst onto the scene with ATMs, personal computer point-and-click technology, video games, retail sales terminals, home appliances, and military and space applications. Now the touchscreen is becoming part of automotive command-and-control technology, and general aviation is not far behind. In fact, some electronic flight bags and PDA-based aviation handheld devices already use touchscreen technology. Several companies have experimented with panel-mount touchscreen controls, most notably Honeywell Aerospace with its Primus Epic operating system. Early test versions of the displays included touchscreen controls for aircraft systems deemed noncritical — cabin temperature control, for example. Although touchscreen technology still has many tickets to punch on its way to a certified mainstream technology in general aviation, it's clear that the technology is up to the task. It's the function-and-reliability aspects that currently slow aircraft installation.— TAH

Digital com radios

Digital communications radios are the future; it's just a matter of when. The FAA's plan to go all digital and solve the growing frequency-congestion problem ran out of steam. For its part, Europe is adopting 8.33-kHz channel spacing, which seems to be the default solution for its near-term future. Digital radios, as opposed to analog, will provide many advantages, such as more available frequencies, less interference, and increased security.— DWR

Smart flight control systems

Smart flight control systems, also known as "fly-by-wire" (FBW), won't quickly sift down to general aviation because of two factors. First, the motives to lower weight and reduce maintenance and troubleshooting costs aren't as critical in the average general aviation airplane as in a military fighter or an airliner. The second factor is that GA airplanes lack the required electrical power generation capabilities and distribution systems necessary for FBW.— SWE

Ice-protection solutions

Light general aviation airplanes have always had a tough time handling ice-protection systems. The chief drawbacks are the complexity and weight of traditional deicing (removing ice once it has formed) or anti-icing (preventing ice from accumulating) systems. Still, over the past 20 years some impressive progress has been made. Inflatable deice boots — with their complex timers, valves, pumps, and vulnerable rubber leading-edge panels — still have their place on larger airplanes, but in the light-single and twin-engine markets some new technologies have come into their own. One is the weeping-wing system, which pumps a glycol-based fluid through tiny pores in titanium leading-edge panels. Though it's an old system, first developed by the British for use in World War II, it's now available on several high-performance piston singles. Advantages include maintenance-free leading edges and ease of operation.

More recently, a new type of electrothermal leading-edge protection has come about. This system uses heated panels with a flexible graphite-foil laminate surface. A "parting strip" at the cusp of the leading edge — the "impingement point," in icing jargon — helps ice begin to shed once a heating cycle begins. Because the system is completely electric, it must be fed by an alternator capable of putting out 100 to 150 ampere-hours' worth of power. New cutting-edge alternators can meet this demand without a tremendous weight penalty.

Electrothermal ice protection is a promising new technology that does away with the complexity of inflation cycles, flow valves, and electromechanical timers. A new type of ice-protection system, now in its infancy, holds out hope for a lighter, simpler, more dependable method of safe flight in icing conditions. Kelly Aerospace's Thermawing ice-protection system uses electrically powered panels and parting strips to keep airfoil leading edges free of ice accretions. Currently with a supplemental type certificate for use in Columbia 350 and 400 aircraft, Thermawing approval for Beechcraft B55 Barons is expected in 2007. Can more approvals, and certification for flight into known icing conditions, be far behind?

More new ice-fighting technology is in the works. One involves the field of icephobics — chemicals that can be applied during the preflight, and which will repel ice. Another uses "memory metals" that deform when electrically heated, then return to conform to leading-edge contours once a very rapid heating cycle ends.— TAH

Multifuel engines

Multifuel engines, what a good idea. Someday there may not be avgas, and you'll need to throw something else in, like car gas. The problem is, your overhaul may cost more later.

Multifuel refers mostly to engines that can burn either unblended automobile gas or avgas. Yes, there are supplemental type certificates allowing automobile gas, but the engine manufacturers advise against it and will void your warranty if they detect it. There are questions about octane, acidity, and lubrication (some owners toss additives into their mogas to keep valves from sticking, to the shock of the engine manufacturers). More research is needed here.— AKM

Diesel engines

First of all, it's not a diesel aircraft engine; it's an aircraft engine that uses compression-ignition similar to that found on diesel engines. And it doesn't burn diesel fuel; in this country it burns Jet-A. It is nowhere near ready for retrofit into your personal airplane. But if you hear at Oshkosh this year that a French diesel engine has been approved on a popular high-wing airplane, be aware that opens the floodgates to larger acceptance of the technology in this country. So far, Diamond Aircraft is the only airframe manufacturer offering such an aircraft engine to the U.S. market — the Thielert engine on the DA-42 twin.— AKM

Small turbine engines

There's no question that the new generation of small, lightweight turbofan engines made the current flock of very light jets possible. These engines' light weights, small dimensions, and fuel economy make them ideal for this new type of jet. With thrust ratings in the 900-to-3,000-pound range, these engines can give airplanes cruise speeds in the 350-to-400-knot range at optimum altitudes. Like so many other technological advances, the new generation of small turbofans had its origins in military applications such as the cruise missile and unmanned air surveillance vehicles.— TAH

Defining technology

What the acronyms and abbreviations mean

Nothing identifies a member of a certain group like his use of jargon. And, in aviation, it's fluency in the aviationspeak of acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations that separates the wheat from the chaff: You know the lingo, you're in the gang.

The use of acronyms — the most universally accepted term for abbreviations written as the initial letter or letters of words — is relatively new. The word acronym first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary as late as 1943. Aha, 1943. Yes, acronyms to identify organizations, concepts, and plans began appearing during the World War II era, when the military and Franklin D. Roosevelt began coming up with many of the commonly used acronyms or initialisms used today: "Loran," or "long-range navigation," is an acronym and "FBI" is an initialism (you say "F-B-I" not "FEE'-bee").

In aviation, especially aviation technology, acronyms and initialisms are the language of those in the know. Here's a guide to technically savvy pilotspeak. If it's an acronym, the definition is followed by (A) and the pronunciation; an initialism is followed by (I). We want you to sound like a technology-lingo pro.

AHRS: air data attitude heading reference system (A — AH'-da-harz)
ADC: air data computer (I)
ADDS: Aviation Digital Data Service (I)
ADIZ: Air Defense Identification Zone (A — AY'-diz)
ADS-B: automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (I)
AFSS: automated flight service station (I)
AI: attitude indicator (I)
airmet: airmen's meteorological information (A — EHR'-met)
ALS: approach light system (I)
ANR: active noise reduction (I)
APU: auxiliary power unit (I)
ARSR: air route surveillance radar (I)
ARTCC: air route traffic control center (I)
ARTS: automated radar terminal system (I)
ASDE: airport surface detection equipment (I)
ASOS: automated surface observation system (A — AY'-saws)
ASR: airport surveillance radar (I)
ATIS: automatic terminal information service (A — AY'-tis)
AWOS: automated weather observation system (A — AY'-waws)
CAS: collision avoidance system (I)
CHT: cylinder head temperature (I)
CFIT: controlled flight into terrain (A — SEE'-fit)
CTAF: common traffic advisory frequency (A — SEE'-taf)
DUATS: Direct User Access Terminal system (A — DOO'-ahts)
ECDI: electronic course deviation indicator (I)
EFAS: En route Flight Advisory Service — everyone calls it "Flight Watch"
EFIS: electronic flight information system (A — EE'-fis)
EGPWS: enhanced ground proximity warning system (I)
ELT: emergency locator transmitter (I)
EPNdB: effective perceived noise in decibels (I)
ETOPS: extended-range twin operations (A — EE'-tahps)
EVS: enhanced vision system (I)
FADEC: full authority digital engine control (A — FAY'-dek)
FIS: flight information service (I)
FMS: flight management system (I)
GPS: Global Positioning System (I)
HITS: highway in the sky (A)
HIWAS: hazardous in-flight weather advisory service (A — HY'-wahs)
IHAS: integrated hazard avoidance system (A — EYE''-has)
LLWAS: low-level wind shear alert system (I)
loran: long-range navigation (A — lor-AN')
METAR: aviation routine meteorological report (A — MEE'-tar)
MFD: multifunction display (I)
Mode C: altitude-reporting mode of secondary radar
Mode S: Mode Select; discrete addressable secondary radar system with datalink (A)
nexrad: next-generation weather radar (A — NEKS'-rad)
PAPI: precision approach path indicator (A — PA'-pee)
PCATD: personal computer-based aviation training device (I)
PDA: personal digital assistant (I)
PFD: primary flight display (I)
RNP: required navigational performance (I)
SATS: Small Aircraft Transportation System (A — SATS')
sigmet: significant meteorological information (A — SIG'-met)
SUA: special-use airspace (I)
TAA: technically advanced aircraft (I)
TAWS: terrain awareness warning system (A — TAWZ')
TCAD: traffic alert and collision avoidance device (A — TEE'-kad)
TCAS: traffic alert and collision avoidance system (A — TEE'-kas)
TFR: temporary flight restriction (I)
TIS: traffic information service (A — TIS')
tracon: terminal radar approach control (A — TRAY'-kahn)
TKS: Tecalemit, Kilfrost, and Sheepbridge Stokes (brand of icing-protection system) (I)
VASI: visual approach slope indicator (A — VAS'-ee)
VLJ: very light jet (I)
VNAV: vertical navigation (A — VEE'-nav)
WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System (A — WAHS')— Julie Summers Walker, Managing Editor

Friction stir welding

( Video courtesy Eclipse
Aviation Corporation)

Friction stir welding is one way to modernize the construction of aluminum airframes. Traditionally, aluminum parts are joined by riveting, which is a time-consuming process and the rivet heads can impose drag. Friction stir welding joins aluminum parts without rivets, creating a smooth, strong bond. In the process, a lathelike device spins a steel pin at high rpm. Heat from the friction of the spinning pin softens the aluminum along the abutted or overlapped pieces enough that they meld. Currently only Eclipse Aviation is using friction stir welding in general aviation. It claims it can weld 20 inches per minute, which it estimates to be 10 times faster than riveting.— TBH

Very light jets (VLJs)

Very light jets, loosely defined as small jets weighing less than 10,000 pounds, are both a compendium of new technology and a new technology in and of themselves. VLJs are possible because of new small, fuel-efficient turbofan engines. Leveraging new engine technology and typically the latest in avionics and systems, VLJs are like flying technology beds. Some believe that the lower costs of VLJs combined with the power of real-time Internet (see "Internet," page 80) scheduling will yield a paradigm shift in executive travel. Fleets of VLJ air taxis utilizing typical GA airports will mean easy and relatively inexpensive point-to-point transportation never before possible.— TBH

Graphical weather depictions

Trite, but true: A picture says a thousand words. Though you can still call up plenty of textual weather products, the trend is definitely toward more graphics and less verbiage. What began with a trickle of charts with the early weather-by-fax services turned into a flood of information you can download from a multitude of aviation weather Web sites — and take with you to the cockpit. Today's electronic flight bags, panel-mount datalink weather displays, and online briefing services feature a wide variety of informative and colorful graphical products. We've come a long way from the black-and-white days of soggy DIFAX imagery available only at flight service stations. And there's no turning back.— TAH

Whatever happened to...?

Here today, gone tomorrow

Some general aviation product technologies, manufacturers, and concepts are gone. But where did they go? And why did they vanish? Let's take a look.

Seven years ago, Trimble Navigation discontinued its general aviation product line. Trimble was best known for its loran and GPS receivers and generally forward-thinking approach to products. Today the company is alive and well, providing GPS, laser, optical, and inertial technology services — to name a few — to a commercial market spanning from the military and defense sector to mining and agricultural operations.

You cannot say Trimble without thinking of Terra. Its lightweight, compact avionics radios were a decisive factor in equipping the center panel of the 1994 AOPA sweepstakes airplane — AOPA's Better Than New (Cessna) 172. AOPA was not the only one to see the value of Terra's ingenuity. In mid-1996, Trimble acquired Terra Corp. lock, stock, and barrel. But the Terra products went away with the rest of the Trimble aviation products.

A company that spearheaded moving maps in general aviation cockpit panels, Eventide — the manufacturer of the Eventide/Argus 5000/CE and 7000/CE — stepped out of the avionics market to focus its energy on the commercial audio/communications side.

Marine and aviation navigation share common desires, such as this one: to simplify chores inside their respective cockpits. Not a surprise then that in 1970 the son of a commercial fisherman founded Northstar. After introducing loran navigators for marine use, the company also entered the general aviation market and once absolutely dominated the panel-mount loran market. Northstar's approach-certificated M3 GPS held promise to make GPS approaches a cinch. In the end, the sea persevered and the company returned to its original charter.

GPS, here we come! 1994 was a good year. Why? The FAA decided to scrap the microwave landing system. This came as a welcome confirmation that AOPA had been effective in lobbying the government to bury this expensive dinosaur and support maturation of affordable, effective, and reliable navigation in the form of GPS.

From one-way gosport speaking tubes used by instructors in the early days of naval aviation to two-way built-in speaking tube "telephones," general aviation cockpits finally saw electronic intercoms make their debut in the 1970s. The intercom business boomed in the early 1980s, and offered many features, including battery-powered portable intercoms. Renters loved them as they moved from one aircraft to another. But aircraft owners were hip to panel-mount devices. Today, most aircraft are outfitted with headset outlets near each passenger seat and connected to the panel-mount intercom. No more untangling numerous wires connected to a box dangling somewhere in the cabin.— MAS

Integrated cockpits

A voice command secures cabin doors and arms the airframe's parachute system. Another voice command sets and activates avionics and aircraft systems — you are ready to conquer airspace. Farfetched? Not really. General aviation cockpits have come a long way — from needle, ball, and airspeed gauges to heads-up and multifunction displays. Let's up the ante a notch and immerse you in a command-center mecca. Attach a Bluetooth-enabled wireless earpiece, sit back, listen to favorite tunes, and muse which navaid to tap on the moving-map screen. Presto! One simple screen touch on the almighty integrated universal display automatically sets the nav and com radios and seamlessly couples the approach with the autopilot, never losing a musical beat. Air traffic control vectors and instant weather reports stream across the screen before your eyes while aural warning sensors and the superimposed enhanced vision system feed your ears and eyes with surrounding terrain and obstruction data — all to help you safely navigate weather, terrain, traffic, and airspace. No switch flipping, button pushing, or dial cranking to crack this integrated cockpit vault.— MAS

Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS)

The Internet is tailor-made for examining aviation weather. The National Weather Service's Aviation Weather Center (AWC) proves that point. Its Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) Web site is a great place to gather aviation weather information. And it's free. Its many ingenious applications — like its flight path, METAR, TAF, and NCWF (National Convective Weather Forecast) Java tools — let you quickly rubber-band a route's weather, look at an area's storm movement, or give mouse-over views of current and forecast weather. New products include current and forecast icing conditions, selectable by altitude; looped imagery of current and forecast thunderstorm movement; and single-site radar views that let you choose between base- and composite reflectivity images of storm-cell anatomy and rainfall rates. Look to ADDS for more products, as the AWC continues its efforts to make aviation weather more intuitive to grasp, and easier to apply to flight-planning tasks. Watch ADDS for more improvements, like its G-Airmet (graphical airmet) and GTG (Graphical Turbulence Guidance) products, now in the experimental phase.— TAH

Automated surface observation system (ASOS)/automated weather observation system (AWOS)

Time was, the latest airport weather reports consisted of a look at the windsock, and perhaps a message over unicom or a tower frequency. That all changed in the late 1980s, when the first automated weather observation system (AWOS) stations were built. These were state funded and broadcast limited, but contained critical weather information. Then came the National Weather Service's automated surface observation system (ASOS) instrument packages — complete with precipitation and lightning sensors — in the early 1990s. Now we can tune in well before approach and landing for very accurate automated surface observations — or listen in while flying en route and also telephone in. No doubt about it, automated surface reports have changed our weather awareness for the better. Because of ASOS, more airports now qualify for instrument approaches and scheduled service. At first, some grumbled about automation's perceived shortcomings in reporting weather, but today it's hard to think of doing without these reports. They come out 24 hours a day, never go on strike, and have an admirable service record.— TAH

Lightning detection

In the 1970s, inventor Paul Ryan inadvertently flew into a thunderstorm. From that experience, he was motivated to create the first Stormscope. Since then, lightning-detection equipment has come to the masses, and undergone many improvements in its accuracy and display technology. Before lightning detection came to general aviation, pilots flew blind; airborne radars were too big for most piston singles. Because of its relatively low price, lightning-detection gear evolved into many pilots' sole in-cockpit method of thunderstorm avoidance. Whether they're called Stormscopes or Strikefinders, lightning-detection units might as well be standard equipment in many complex GA airplanes — and they have even made their way into the largest, fastest corporate jets and airliners. Now lightning-detection is considered an essential complement to traditional airborne weather radars and datalink storm depictions.— TAH

Side-stick controllers

Most new general aviation airplanes designed within the past 10 years transmit pilot pitch and roll inputs to the appropriate control surfaces via controls to the side of the pilot. The benefits are obvious — an unobstructed view of the instrument panel, clear access to panel-mount buttons and knobs, better utilization of cabin space, and the end of the headache of having to fit the instrument panel around the cables, pulleys, and support structure that are part of every through-panel control wheel system. Transition to side- stick flying is surprisingly easy. Side sticks will increasingly replace control wheels in new airplanes.— SWE

The top 10, 10 years ago

Technology that was hot...then

A decade ago, general aviation technology's advancement was like a train that could not be stopped. So what was all the rage in the 1990s?

Eventide's 1980s moving maps in general aviation cockpit panels were wonderful, but in the 1990s monochrome green was so passé. The trick to continued success? Adding some color to Eventide/Argus 5000/CE and 7000/CE units.
It's the early 1990s: a moving map? Class B, Class C, and special-use airspace depictions? It must be the Garmin 95XL VFR GPS receiver. This great concept, introduced in 1994, inspired the GPS units of the 1990s and today.
The FAA did something terrific on February 17, 1994: It certified the first GPS unit for nonprecision approaches under instrument flight rules. Congratulations to the Garmin GPS 155, the first panel-mount receiver to earn IFR approach approval. This breakthrough paved the way for IFR-certified GPS panel-mount receivers.
More pixels to go: With the II Morrow (née UPS, née Garmin) Apollo Precedus handheld GPS, the company introduced smart improvements to its existing navigator, such as user-friendly map-declutter options and better panning functions to decipher data on special-use airspace boundaries, airports, and navaids.
Aviators of yore yelled across noisy cockpits or through speaking tubes to be heard. Active noise reduction (ANR) technology, conceived during the 1930s, finally became a welcome reality for general aviation pilots in the 1990s. Enter ANR headsets — especially effective at reducing the low-frequency racket generated by engine and propeller noise, saving you from hearing loss.
Lightning can be frightening, especially when you're bouncing along the airways. In the late 1970s, a lightning-detection device — the first Stormscope — was introduced to general aviation cockpits and really came into its own in the 1990s. Invented by Paul Ryan, it continues to be hot when sparks fly, saving many hides from inadvertently penetrating a thunderstorm.
Who else but the inventor of Stormscope would come up with yet another techno device, the Ryan TCAD, to help you avoid that which you'd rather not bump into? And so the traffic alert and collision avoidance device was born.
An engine hiccup gets your attention fast. A quick way of knowing what's going on under that cowling would help. The J.P. Instruments EDM-700, an electronic engine analyzer, proved to be a great diagnostic tool to keep the engine beat and your heartbeat in check. Thanks to JPI, everything you ever wanted to know about exhaust gas temperature, cylinder head temperature, and fuel flow is presented in one tidy box.
Personal Computer-Based Aviation Training Devices (PCATDs), certified to log certain IFR training, have drastically improved general aviation pilots' instrument training. What better way to build and hone IFR skills than to practice approaches on your desktop PC under the guidance of your CFII until you fly them flawlessly? PCATDs became a reality in the 1990s.
The late 1950s saw composite sailplane certification in Germany. Recreational boat hulls and homebuilt-aircraft structures made of composite materials followed globally. Eureka! The mid-1990s finally witnessed the acceptance of composite technologies used in construction of general aviation production aircraft. It took a while to get here, but composite's here to stay.— MAS

Bluetooth

With more than 5 million Bluetooth-enabled devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants, and laptops shipping each week, it was only a matter of time before this short-range networking technology found its way into the general aviation cockpit. Manufacturers of portable devices such as electronic flight bags already have cut the cords from GPS antenna/receiver units and XM satellite receivers using Bluetooth, and a small avionics company recently introduced a wireless aviation headset using the technology. Despite some issues with reliability and driver compatibility, Bluetooth in the cockpit is a trend that is likely to grow. Incidentally, the name Bluetooth is from a tenth-century Danish King — Harald Blatand, or Harold Bluetooth in English. Blatand apparently was successful at uniting warring factions, and Bluetooth developers thought it was an appropriate code name for a technology designed to make electronics talk with each other. The name stuck and the Bluetooth logo now incorporates the letters H and B.— DWR

Satellite communications

Usage and equipage costs for airborne satellite communications have generally limited this particular form of aviation communications to those flying in the back of an executive jet and not the front of a single-engine bug smasher. And that doesn't seem likely to change in the near term. Firms offering satcom using the Iridium satellite constellation are finding traction in GA lately with satellite-based tracking services, such as for helicopter operators that fly to offshore oil platforms or support emergency medical services. In a high-profile example of such services, Steve Fossett employed a satellite-based tracking service as he circumnavigated the globe in his latest record-setting flight.— DWR

Intracabin broadband access

Although satellite links provide a relatively expensive method of airborne broadband access, the goal of providing affordable high-speed wireless Internet access took a huge step forward recently. Aircell, based in Colorado, just won the right to use its ground-based cellular telephone network to provide broadband Internet access to airline passengers and corporate aircraft. Beginning as early as next year, passengers could begin to see intracabin wireless networks that will allow them to use Wi-Fi devices such as laptops and PDAs to browse the Internet or catch up on e-mail from 30,000 feet as if they were sitting at their desk at home or in the office.— DWR

Desktop flight simulation

Desktop simulators once meant practicing approaches on your home computer using keys, a mouse, or add-on flight controls. Or you went to your FBO and practiced with an instructor on a model-specific tabletop aircraft panel with controls. Now five of the companies making home software have ceased publication while those remaining offer greatly improved graphics and interactive features. Home software sales are diminishing more slowly than predicted by the industry five years ago, but those companies now target small flight schools that need fixed-position simulators costing $3,000 to $6,000 that link directly to actual handheld or panel-mount GPS receivers.— AKM

Online training

Online training includes voice over text, simple animations, brief video clips, and interactive quizzes. Right answers bring a satisfying "bing." Wrong answers elicit a shameful red X and a "buzz." You can learn aviation safety topics, renew a flight instructor certificate, and get training on that new panel-mount GPS receiver. But you ain't seen nothing yet. One of the largest aviation training schools in the nation says that one day you will be able to take ground schools over the Internet. But for the moment that school is sticking to CDs and DVDs, waiting for the development of greater Internet bandwidth, because it considers full-length high-quality videos a critical aspect of training.— AKM

Affordable motion simulators

Full-motion simulators tilt and rock, spin and pitch, and have come down in price so much that it is possible to attach the word affordable to them with a straight face. But they still cost more than $150,000 for FAA Level-two and -three devices. The very next level costs $2 million. The avionics to go in them get more expensive, and offset the constantly descending price of computer power and displays. The gamers are feeding technological gains into simulators with better displays and more capable computers. They will be more effective, but no more "affordable" than now.— AKM

Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS)

The high-flying goal of SATS (NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation System) was to use light aircraft and the thousands of underutilized general aviation airports in the United States to increase air transportation efficiency, reliability, and safety. SATS sprung from a collaboration between NASA, the FAA, and NCAM (National Consortium for Aviation Mobility), and industry partners. The four-prong SATS attack? High-volume operations, lower landing minimums, single-pilot operations, and enhanced National Airspace System utilization.

In fact, smoothly integrating highly capable light aircraft, such as very light jets, into the NAS may be the program's most immediately important goal, as the development of the next generation of air-taxi operations hits its stride. However, uncertainty about funding has eroded the leadership to continue SATS beyond its initial five-year plan, which was demonstrated at an event in Danville, Virginia, in June 2005. Industry partners continue to bring technologies developed by SATS to market, absent any overseeing program.— JKB

Autoland system

The development of autoland systems for commercial aircraft occurred with the desire to increase capacity at busy hub airports — a system that helped the pilot land the airplane at a specific point on the runway every time and allowed for a predictable slowdown in time to make a high-speed taxiway.

Are autoland systems a future reality for general aviation? As a way to bring more people to the cockpit, certainly. They increase predictability and safety when used properly — otherwise, the airlines would have tossed them aside. And there's always the option to turn the function off and enjoy landing the airplane yourself.— JKB

Virtual copilot

Think OnStar for aviation. Imagine an experienced pilot only a button-push away who has displayed before him on a computer screen everything you're seeing in the cockpit. He knows your route because he helped you flight plan it. He can advise you of any air traffic issues ahead, give you suggestions for dealing with system anomalies, and urge you to go elsewhere if the destination weather is below your personal minimums. Meanwhile, he will have arranged for ground transportation to pick you up. It's all possible through a satellite phone link patched into your digital avionics suite. Several companies are working on such concepts.— TBH

Reusable rocket engines

Today, reusable rocket engines, including the hybrid engine used on SpaceShipOne, bring the promise of lower-cost space travel, entertainment, and possibly even routine flights. Using laughing gas to oxidize rubber, the SpaceShipOne engine was simple and mostly reusable. The new Rocket Racing League (RRL) plans to use liquid oxygen to oxidize kerosene, producing 1,500 pounds of thrust on a 1,000-pound Xracer airplane; you can imagine the results. The RRL Xracer engines will burn for about four minutes, allowing the airplane to glide through the rest of its flight, but the engines will be reusable after a 10-minute refueling. How long could it be before simple low-cost rockets help propel general aviation airplanes to high altitudes for cruising?— TBH

Oxygen conservers

Oxygen delivery seems like a dry subject — until you need it. Oxygen conservers deliver oxygen to the pilot only on the inhalation, rather than continuous flow, reducing the amount of oxygen needed at a given altitude, stretching the range of a bottle. The pilot can choose to use oxygen at a lower altitude or earlier in the flight — preserving performance and increasing safety. The first oxygen-conserving device came on the medical market in 1986; today, several providers offer various electronic and mechanical devices and specialized cannulas for pilots. Pulse oximeters allow pilots to closely monitor the oxygen saturation in their blood.— JKB

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AOPA Communications staff

AOPA Communications Staff are communicators who specialize in making aerospace, aviation and advocacy information relatable for all.

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