IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019 - 76

Pilots trained with conventional
(analog) tools, are untrained in the
use of new (digital) technologies,
which are not generally certified by
aviation authorities.
rotorcraft, or glider. Thus, this discussion excludes
flights made for business. In Europe, the GA fleet primarily features fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters; however, gliders and microlights are also popular [3] due to
the continuous efforts to simplify regulations for GA at
the pan-European level, resulting in the reduction of
costs of training, ownership, and maintenance of
microlight aircraft.
GA pilots could be described as occasional flyers
(pilots that fly as little as 30 hours per year) as they
typically fly in good weather conditions and have

FIGURE 2. Analog instrument cockpit of a general aviation

aircraft.
76

relatively fewer flying hours compared to commercial
aviation pilots. In places with severe weather in winter,
such as Norway and Canada, pilots are less likely to
fly in winter and thus, they are inactive for this period
of time; they start flying in spring when daylight hours
are longer, temperatures are higher, and landscapes
are less covered in snow. As it is a recreational activity, GA pilots often fly on the weekends unless they use
their aircraft as they would a private car, a concept
that is more typical in North America than in other
countries [4]. Furthermore, GA pilots are cost-conscious, and so expensive, non-mandatory technologies tend to be avoided.

Technologies for Planning and Navigation
For a flight to safely reach its destination, the details of
the flight route are planned ahead to navigate along the
route and estimate fuel consumption. In flight planning,
pilots are meant to select distinctive landmarks across
the route, estimate expected arrival times, and make
corrections of the heading and altitude based on forecasted weather reports. In addition, pilots determine
the radio communication that they will need to establish in-flight and, among other tasks, study the departing and arrival runway features. This flight planning
can take a few hours, depending on the flight characteristics, e.g., length of flight, and the pilot's experience, e.g., if it is the first flight to the planned
destination. GA pilots are trained to use paper charts,
compasses, and calculators to complete flight plan
sheets (see p. 74) and thus, as far as training is concerned, satellites and software applications are
excluded. Using these resources, once pilots are up in
the air, the pilots monitor their aircraft's position by
observing the analog instruments of air speed and
heading, the distance and the time travelled, and the
selected landmarks.
Ongoing technological advancements in downstream space technologies, i.e., Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (GNSS) and portable computers,
have changed the scene in GA. In the 2000s, the use
of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers marked
the beginning of space-based navigation for GA [5].
The evolution of portable computers and software
development led to the emergence of flight planning
software applications in tablets that shrink all the
information printed on a paper into a small multifunctional device; a tablet with a touch display.
When connected to the Internet, the software applications can project the position of the aircraft on the
moving map using the GNSS receiver installed in the
tablet. Further advancements in the connectivity of
devices enable software applications to synchronize
w it h a n ex ter na l G N S S receiver i mprov i ng t he

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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SEPTEMBER 2019

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019

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