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Flight Data Monitoring for Pilots

Flight data monitoring systems allow pilots to collect and review flight information to improve piloting skills and monitor aircraft health. Pilots can overlay flight data on charts to assess precision in following flight plans or instrument approaches. Examining various readings over multiple flights can help identify issues and lower maintenance costs. FDM is a powerful tool for pilots to identify ways to improve skills and aircraft condition.

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180 views1 page

Flight Data Monitoring for Pilots

Flight data monitoring systems allow pilots to collect and review flight information to improve piloting skills and monitor aircraft health. Pilots can overlay flight data on charts to assess precision in following flight plans or instrument approaches. Examining various readings over multiple flights can help identify issues and lower maintenance costs. FDM is a powerful tool for pilots to identify ways to improve skills and aircraft condition.

Uploaded by

elaboratesolver
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FAASafety The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee

BRIEFING Safety Enhancement Topic of the Month

Flight Data Monitoring


One of the benefits of so-called glass cockpit avionics is that a tremendous amount of the informa-
tion we generate can be digitally captured and recorded. Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) systems make
it infinitely easy to collect and allow both you and the computer to monitor information in real time and
review it more carefully after the fact.
The FDM dataset can include anything from a simple smartphone-generated flight track to a complete
avionics record that provides everything from engine parameters to control surface deflections. While
GA aircraft don’t use the same sophisticated data recorders most air carriers have, many modern

avionics systems can offer something pretty close for our the health and well-being of your aircraft. With FDM you
purposes. This capability can be really useful both for piloting can see what every parameter is doing, and see how it
and for monitoring the health and well-being of your aircraft. compares with other parameters throughout the flight.
Here’s how. You can analyze the meaning of the various readings and
trends, and plot key parameters in a time series over
Pilots can use online programs, apps, and tools that allow multiple flights or years. This kind of information can save
you to overlay your personal flight data on a sectional, instru- you a lot of money, and it can give your AMT a head start
ment, or approach chart. This technique provides a clear pic- on identifying and fixing the real issue. Less trial-and-error
ture of how precisely you flew the planned track, or how well translates pretty quickly to lower shop bills.
you tracked the localizer and/or glideslope on an instrument
approach. It also lets you see how well you did during the Here’s the bottom line: Information is a powerful tool. FDM
en route phase with such tasks as holding altitude or head- can help you identify ways to be a better pilot, and show
ing, following noise abatement procedures, proficiency work you ways to improve the mechanical condition of your
(e.g., stall recovery practice), or flying a proper traffic pattern. airplane. Use it!
By comparing your actual performance with the ideal values
depicted on the chart or flight plan, you can pinpoint specific
areas for improvement in your practice sessions, both with
and without an instructor. In training, a CFI can use FDM
readouts to make debriefs more interactive and more ac-
curate, as well as to identify areas for additional explanation,
practice, or emphasis.

As noted, FDM can also provide extremely helpful data on

January 2014

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