Business Aviation Pilots Needed for New Technology Study

July 24, 2014

MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), the FAA’s federally funded research and development center, is soliciting the help of business aviation pilots to assess new technology and flight-deck procedures, along with pilot roles and responsibilities during various research simulations.

The research being conducted generally involves concepts that are in the early stages of development, and pilot input is needed to help fully develop these new concepts. The data collected during these studies is held in confidence and is de-identified prior to analysis, noted CAASD.

“As the ultimate end users of this technology, it is important to have pilot participation and input early in the concept development process to help identify any issues and develop solutions to complex problems,” according to the center.

The typical simulation requires about four hours to complete, but some research may require longer or shorter time commitments. Pilots who are not currently employed by the federal government will be compensated monetarily for their time. CAASD’s primary simulation facility is located in McLean, VA.

Interested pilots can provide their contact information, ratings, and qualifications via the online CAASD pilot questionnaire. This information will be used to notify pilots of opportunities to participate in relevant studies as they arise.

“MITRE’s CAASD assists the FAA in developing new technologies and flight-deck procedures for use in the U.S. National Airspace System. It is important that they understand the unique challenges faced by business aviation pilots,” noted NBAA Access Committee member Richard Boll. “Business aviation participation with CAASD’s research and development permits us to influence changes in U.S. National Airspace System proactively, as opposed to offering our needed corrections after deployment.

“Our participation will allow technologies and procedure to be reflective of all users in the NAS as opposed to being focused on the capabilities of a single segment of users,” he added.