Development and Flight evaluation of Airborne Weather Information System

This paper describes the development of a prototype Airborne Weather Information System (AWIS) which uses a low-speed datalink, and the evaluation of its functionality and effectiveness. The AWIS is intended to provide pilots operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with strategic weather information in real-time so as to be used as a decision-support tool for in-flight route planning and to improve flight safety. A series of flight evaluations was carried out to validate the effectiveness of the system from various human factors viewpoints. Based on the results, design guidelines for the “AWIS” were produced including communication method, system functions and display specifications, particularly considering the requirements of VFR pilots and the limitations of low-speed datalinks. Further topics of research to support weather situation awareness and in-flight decision making for VFR pilots are identified.