Key points:
Pilot monitoring system integrated in STOL aircraft
Autoland the ultimate goal
Your next airplane may be keeping an eye on you to make sure you’re fit to fly. Polish startup Draco Aircraft has signed a deal with Mindset Technologies that will incorporate Mindset’s pilot surveillance equipment into the sport new STOL aircraft Draco is developing. At first, the tech “will warn pilots about signs of fatigue, leveraging intelligent sensors to measure e. g. eye movements or in-cockpit behavior,” Draco said in a news release. “This information makes it easier for pilots to take necessary action, on time.” Ultimately, the gear will allow an autoland system to take over entirely and put the aircraft down.
“Mindset Technologies will add a revolutionary new element to flying: Knowing that you are safe, whatever might happen,” said Draco CEO Johannes von Thadden. Draco is a high-performance STOL aircraft based on Mike Patey’s adaptation of a Polish Wilga trainer. That plane was destroyed in an accident in 2019, but the Polish startup hopes to get a souped-up version of the radical bush plane into production. The new Draco will have a 750-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 up front, take off in 100 feet and climb at 4,000 feet per minute.
I don’t think a 2? place STOL bush plane really needs 750 H.P. unless it’s taking off inside a crater with 30 degree sloped walls. Software these days watches and keeps track of us everywhere we go. Do we need our planes telling us that we’re poor or decrepit pilots as well? I suppose there may be an avenue where some or this makes sense but it’s not front and centre for me.
The future looks pretty amazing. But, we wanted it this way and should not complain. Intelligent Pilot: Optional.
Original Draco was a 4-place, I believe.
For the 9 people interested, “Call for price”
or
How to crochet on auto- landing thanks to signs of a bit of fatigue. Or that pesky eye twitch…
This airplane is already one of the ugliest ever. With a more pointy nose to accommodate a PT-6, it’ll become THE ugliest airplane to ever land at every airport it shows up at. When the 9 interested people see it, they’ll run away from it. The whole notion is ridiculous and the price will frighten most people away anyways.
I will be one of the 9… I’m old enough to have flown many ugly ducklings, but almost all become swans in the air. This one will be loud and climb like scalded cat… can’t wait to see it!
We had a Wilga on the airport. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. In time , I began to think she was very attractive.
I don’t know if it’s funny or depressing that someone thought AvWeb readers needed “Key Points” for a 200-word article.
From Russ:
The method to the madness is that little things like that help our SEO scores and help the story get more prominence and eyeballs in search engines. It’s a different world in publishing and we’re trying to keep up:)
Pilot monitoring systems are needed in every modern commercial jet before in a single engine run about.
I am thinking the Air India 787 crash and how that information would help an instructor during training in a sim and perhaps in an accident investigation.
I do fear the 787 crash investigation will uncover a heap of human factors issues in the flight deck, a pilot monitoring system would be of great help as would a CCTV camera in the flight deck recorded in one of the orange boxes.
Right you are. The owner was piloting, his manager or agent or friend was in the back, and his wife was in the right seat - and she suffered the worst of the injuries.
She broke a fingernail.
Thank God for inventors. Thank God for Thomas Edison, Kelly Johnson, Ben Rich and all of the others that dared to put their dreams into action. Thank God for Draco.