AeroTech Research has been selected by NASA to develop a system, which will detect and transmit reports of wake encounters from an aircraft to other aircraft and air traffic controllers thereby significantly increasing safety of operations around airports.
The system will be readily implemented on any modern commercial airliner to make these encounter reports in real-time. All aircraft in flight leave behind them a pair of strongly spinning wakes from their wing tips. If following aircraft encounter these wakes, it can lead to a loss of control. Therefore, for flight safety, aircraft are separated in distance based on specific FAA rules. If the spacing is too large, the capacity of the airport and the overall national airspace system is adversely affected -- too small and safety may be reduced. The goal of the two-year NASA program is to develop a real-time system to detect and report when aircraft encounter wakes, so as to maintain safe operations, while maximizing the arrival and departure rates. "This SBIR program leverages AeroTech's previous expertise in turbulence and wind shear detection and reporting for aircraft. We believe this system will provide important information for efficient airport operations," said Dr. Paul Robinson, president and CEO of AeroTech Research.