PEGASAS

PEGASAS, which stands for Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability, is the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Center of Excellence (CoE) for General Aviation.

Led by Purdue, PEGASAS is a partnership of six core universities, along with other university affiliates and industry collaborators, that supports FAA research needs related to general aviation. The combined capabilities of PEGASAS span a broad spectrum of lab facilities, expertise, three airports, and a fleet of more than 90 aircraft.

Since it was announced in 2012, PEGASAS has been awarded $40.4 million in a combination of FAA funds and matching support for 34 projects; Purdue is responsible for $13.7 million of this support and has participated in 22 of the projects. These projects drive research related to reduction in risk of injury or death to general aviation pilots, passengers, and property; accessibility to versatile and usable general aviation system access for corporate, fractional, and light-sport aircraft operators; and sustainability of general aviation in serving the needs of future stakeholders in providing societal benefits.

At Purdue, PEGASAS projects have involved faculty and students from the College of Engineering and the Polytechnic Institute, from Aeronautics and Astronautics, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aviation and Transportation Technology, and Engineering Technology. Currently active Purdue projects focus on general aviation safety and augmented weather information for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Here are some highlights:

The project on Safety Analysis for General Aviation is investigating loss of control accidents — one of the leading causes of fatal accidents in general aviation — and how best to train general aviation pilots to avoid them. The work has resulted in the development and recommendation of training maneuvers that help pilots avoid loss of control accidents.

The Augmented Weather Information Project identifies new techniques to help pilots submit Pilot Reports (PIREPs) in a “hands-minimized” way. The work explores augmented reality (AR) technology that allows for easy 3D visualization of cloud formation and air movement in convective environments to help pilots better understand these phenomena. The Purdue-led research team, directed by Barrett Caldwell, professor of industrial engineering and aeronautics and astronautics (by courtesy), has identified key challenges in speech recognition technology to be addressed to enable effective PIREP encoding. In addition, the team is developing a PIREP lexicon based on pilot reporting patterns to overcome some of these issues.

The project on Helicopter Operations Weather Information (HOWI) explores weather information technology and information presentation approaches to rotary-wing pilots. Rotorcraft pilots need access to weather information relevant to their flight profiles, which are at slower speeds and lower altitudes than fixed-wing profiles. The research is identifying safety gaps based on weather information technology and presentation, laying the foundation for developing solutions that can mitigate the weather-related risks to rotary aircraft operations.

More information:

• Weather … Or Not? Weather Technology in the Cockpit
• What is WTIC?
• Partnering with PEGASAS: FAA’s Center of Excellence for General Aviation
• Making It Count: How Aircraft Transponder Signals Take the Guesswork Out of Counting Non-Towered Airport Operations
• AVIATIONxWebinar: General Aviation Post Pandemic — An Opportunity to Provide Alternative Air Transportation
• New Technologies for Pilots, Planes, and ’Ports
• Urban Air Mobility: Welcome to the ‘Third Era of Aviation’