You Can Help Improve Piper PA-46 Flight Safety: Participate in PMOPA’s Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) Pilot Program
Introduction
Data is the new gold. Help PMOPA turn your flight operational data into a safety goldmine. By participating in PMOPA’s Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) Program, you can help PMOPA identify potential safety issues before they become a problem which, in turn, advances our efforts in reducing the likelihood of future accidents and incidents. Fewer accidents and incidents result in fewer insurance claims, leading to lower insurance premiums. PMOPA is launching a pilot program to test and fully develop a robust FDM program for the PMOPA community.
Advanced avionics capture dozens of data parameters of routine operational flight and engine data that can be analyzed and measured against standard parameters, and then tell a story of what happened on a particular flight. This can benefit the entire PA-46 community.
Avionics known to be capable of capturing required data for the FDM Program include, but may not be limited to: Garmin G500TXi; Garmin G1000; Garmin G1000 NXi; Garmin 3000; Garmin G3000 NXi.
Who Benefits?
This data is useful for individual pilots to gauge their individual performance, via a Post Flight Report, and identify opportunities to improve safety performance on future flights. Additionally, by analyzing their own flight data, pilots can identify ways to operate their aircraft more efficiently, which can result in cost savings. The Post-Flight Report allows you to immediately receive a debrief directly to a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, after every flight. If you already use another service for this (e.g., Cloud Ahoy; FlySto) you may continue to do so - participating in the PMOPA FDM Program does not preclude you from participating in the programs of other service providers.
Working together, as the PA-46 community, your data can be collected in an anonymized manner and analyzed together with data from other PMOPA FDM participants. The Aggregate Data Analysis can reveal a bigger story by identifying (a) trends and risks across the fleet; and (b) what we do well as a group and where we need improvement. Acting on those trends will positively influence safety initiatives, training programs, and reduce the number of incidents and accidents. The more data collected and analyzed, the higher quality the insights will be. PMOPA’s Safety Committee will share identified trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement with the PA-46 community via the PMOPA Magazine and education session presentations at PMOPA events. We will also post these analyses for all members to view on the website.
FDM has been used by airlines for decades and has been a huge factor in their unparalleled safety record. The power of data analysis to proactively identify risks before they become accidents has been so effective that it is now mandated for all US airlines to have FDM or FOQA programs, as well as many international airlines. Many corporate operators have already voluntarily adopted FDM and have benefited from it for years. The US military uses FDM to manage their risk. The FAA is looking to extend this mandate to charter companies, commuter and air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers (including Piper!) by requiring an SMS. By joining our proactive effort, you will help bring the PA-46 to a new level of safety at the cutting edge in the world of general aviation. Other Owner Pilot Associations also have experienced the advantages of FDM, including the TBM Owners & Pilots Association and the Citation Jet Pilots.
Participants in the FDM Program may be eligible for a $400 PMOPA Rebate from the PMOPA Safety & Education Foundation. This can be used to offset costs incurred for equipment or subscription services required for you to participate (e.g., procuring an AirSync box or subscribing to their Professional Tier service).
How Does It Work?
OPTION A: If you would like to see your individual flight data through the Fuzion Safety system (in addition to providing your data for PA-46 variant aggregated analysis).
You will upload data from your aircraft to Flight Dynamics, the flight data analysis system provided by Fuzion Safety, PMOPA’s partner in the FDM Program, via one of the following means:
a) manually from your aircraft avionics SD card through a secure web portal, or
b) automated, if you are using an AirSync box
Fees: Receiving your individual data / reports from Fuzion Safety has a subscription fee of $10 per month, or $105 for one year. This may be eligible for reimbursement through a stipend program created by the PMOPA Safety & Education Foundation.
OPTION B: If you wish to participate in the PMOPA PA-46 Variant fleet analysis, but do not wish to receive individual data via from Fuzion Safety.
a) PMOPA will set up a secure Dropbox specific to your tail number; only PMOPA management and the participating pilot will have access to this Dropbox. PMOPA management will upload your data on your behalf. You will not receive individualized reports from Fuzion Safety with respect to your flights; however, your data will be incredibly valuable to the success of this program.
Fees: There is zero cost to PMOPA members who select this option to participate in our FDM program.
About Fuzion Safety
Fuzion Safety (formerly WBAT) is a division of Universal Technical Resource Services (UTRS), one of the foremost experts in the aviation safety software industry, with over two decades of experience supporting the military, airlines, and general aviation.
Data sharing through PMOPA’s FDM Program is confidential. You will be the sole owner of your stored individual data and it will be stored on a secure cloud-based web server with Department of Defense level encryption and data security. PMOPA will not have access to your individual data. Fuzion Safety’s role in this process will be to aggregate all of the flight data submitted by participants and to assist PMOPA with aggregated safety analysis. By uploading your flight data, you will be contributing to a larger effort to improve aviation safety.
Example of aggregate analysis; trend
Your participation in PMOPA’s FDM program is completely voluntary. However, we believe that it's the much needed critical step towards improving your individual safety and the safety record of the PA-46 fleet, the result of which will be more favorable treatment from the insurance market. So, what are you waiting for? Join the FOQA program today and help us make flying safer for everyone!
What If I Am Using CloudAhoy or FlySto to See My Individual Flight Data?
Fantastic! And thank you for being an early adopter of this technology to improve your individual flying performance. PMOPA is agnostic with respect to which provider you use to see your own flight data. We encourage you to continue to use the platform/service that is best for you - in addition to signing up to participate in our PA-46 fleet program. You can upload your data to multiple sources (either manually, or automatically if you have an AirSync box or similar technology). And you can see your individual reports via the platform that works best for you.
Who Is Eligible for the $400 Stipend from the PMOPA SEF?
A Piper PA-46 owner pilot who meets the following requirements will be eligible for a rebate/stipend from the PMOPA Safety and Education Foundation:
Your PA-46 must avionics must be able to capture required flight data and you must have the ability to transmit the data to FuzionSafety. The following compatible avionics packages are known to meet the required data specifications: Garmin G500TXi; Garmin G1000; Garmin G1000 NXi; Garmin G3000; Garmin G3000 NXi
Inform PMOPA SEF of your intent to participate in the program (the stipend may be capped at 100 participants) by Signing Up to participate on the link provided by PMOPA;
Subscribe to any required services: (e.g., AirSync; FuzionSafety);
Participate for the duration of the pilot program;
Submit/upload data from at least 90% of your flights during the pilot program;
Submit the stipend request form to the PMOPA SEF within 90 days after the conclusion of the pilot program.
Automated uploads of your data (e.g., through AirSync) is the preferred method for participants in this program to transmit their data. Manual uploads are possible and permitted; we ask that participants set a routine schedule to upload data throughout the pilot program (i.e., after each flight, or weekly) to benefit the program.
More on Flight Data Monitoring - 2022 Convention Presentations
