A Flight Data And Cockpit Voice Recorder System For GA Airplanes

The idea for Wi-Flight, a flight data and cockpit voice recorder system for GA airplanes, was the result of a double-fatal accident involving a flight school airplane that flew too low and hit some wires. The school approached Canada-based  Aero Teknic Inc., looking for a way to track their flight training airplanes.

The solution became Wi-Flight, a cell-phone sized combination FDR/CVR system that uses GPS data and built-in accelerometers to keep track of speed, altitude, heading, and other flight parameters, as well as an audio input allowing the device to record all communications between the occupants of the airplane as well as between the pilot and ATC.

After a flight, the data is transmitted via the internet to the Wi-Flight server, where the flight can be watched using Google Earth. Flight schools can see exactly where their airplanes have been, along with an accurate record of the flight data.

While the service currently requires a proprietary device, Aero Teknic tells ANN that they are developing an app to turn an iPhone into a FDR/CVR device, using the phone's internal GPS, accelerometer, and audio recording capabilities. Best of all, the service will be free for private pilots. Commercial users and flight schools will be charged a monthly subscription for the data services associated with the device.

FMI: www.wi-flight.net, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews