Researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will soon put out a call for instrument-rated pilots with small aircraft experience to participate in a simulator study in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The university has been awarded an FAA grant and sponsorship from MITRE Corp., a not-for-profit organization that supplies research and engineering support to the government. While the press-release stated the study aims to “shed light on the feasibility of letting small aircraft use GPS-aided approaches for small airports,” an FAA spokesman clarified that the same GPS approaches already in widespread use will be tested, but to lower minimums—200 feet, for example, for approaches that currently have a 400-foot minimum.
The research team hopes to attract a representative cross-section of instrument-rated GA pilots, and will extend its recruiting effort beyond the university community.
The research team plans to start recruiting in the spring of 2013 for test flights in a Cessna simulator that will begin in the summer.
