A Concept for Smartphone-Based Emergency Flight Data Indication Systems in Light Aircraft.

Area of Science:

• Aviation Safety
• Avionics Technology
• Mobile Sensing

Background:

• Analog and digital flight instruments can fail due to vacuum, gyroscope, or electrical issues.
• Such failures can lead to loss of critical flight data, increasing pilot workload and compromising safety.
• Existing backup systems may be limited or unavailable in light aircraft.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using smartphone sensors as an emergency flight data indication system.
• To assess the accuracy of smartphone-derived flight parameters in various flight conditions.
• To evaluate the potential of smartphones as a supplementary safety tool for pilots.

Main Methods:

• Development of a custom computational model for flight data simulation.
• Conducting experimental flight tests using an MP-02A "Czajka" aircraft.
• Recording smartphone sensor data (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, GPS) during diverse flight maneuvers.

Main Results:

• Smartphone sensor data accurately determined key flight parameters.
• Pitch angle calculations during stall maneuvers showed a deviation of less than 5° from reference values.
• The computational model, validated with real flight data, demonstrated high performance.

Conclusions:

• Smartphones show significant potential as a low-cost, supplementary emergency flight data system.
• The proposed system can assist pilots by providing essential information during avionics failures.
• Further development could lead to practical implementation, enhancing general aviation safety.