PilotAware
British Forum => Technical Support => Topic started by: applebyca on November 25, 2019, 10:11:03 pm
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Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere. I’ve recently installed PAW and have been trying to get some answers to what I assumed would be simple questions. We have contacted PilotAware and SkyDemon and neither appears to want to take responsibility to answer. We’ve consulted the various manuals and whilst they provide an excellent resource, they don’t appear to cover basic details.
Can anybody provide a simple list of the traffic icons and what they resemble when viewing the Pilot Aware traffic on the latest version of SkyDemon for iPad?
Yes, we could probably guess the basic ones but a simple list would serve us well.
Thanking you in advance
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We have contacted PilotAware and SkyDemon and neither appears to want to take responsibility to answer
I have checked my emails snd can find no request for information relating to this
Can you double check you tried to contact us, and how ?
To answer the question
We provide two interfaces to SkyDemon
- gdl90
https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/archival/media/gdl90_public_icd_reva.pdf
- flarm dataport protocol
http://delta-omega.com/download/EDIA/FLARM_DataportManual_v3.02E.pdf
Encoded within these protocols is information pertaining to aircraft weight (gdl90), or type (flarm)
It is then upto the EFB software to determine the graphical representation
For our own RADAR viewer which we do control, we use the standard TAS symbology
Thx
Lee
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Hi applebyca,
Welcome to the PilotAware Forum.
I read your post late last night, but was a bit confused by your meaning because - as you yourself say - the symbols are pretty self explanatory. Unfortunately I know of no definitive list, despite having trawled back through SkyDemon’s Newsletters and my own documentation. Can you give us a bit more of a steer as to what specifically you are having difficulties with?
As Lee has advised, PilotAware simply passes traffic information to whatever device/app you are using, which then depicts this in whatever way the app developer decides. This will range from simple ‘Dart shapes in for example Runway HD, through to the comprehensive set of symbols which SkyDemon now uses.
In the early days, SkyDemon simply denoted traffic by a basic ‘single engined light aircraft’ symbol - which is still used as their ‘base symbol’. This made sense as the product was intended predominantly for use by G.A. and up to that point, the only traffic awareness systems available to G.A. were FLARM and PilotAware (which was still in its relative infancy). As PilotAware became more established however, SkyDemon realised that the depiction of traffic could be improved and after considerable work by both teams, SkyDemon introduced a comprehensive range of symbols, from balloons to jet airliners, back in October 2016. As a result, the identification of traffic type was considerably improved.
From memory, the list includes...
Hot air balloon
Glider
Simple single-engined aircraft
Helicopter
Twin-engined Aircraft (also used for light commercial)
Jet Airliner
(and probably others)
This is, however not an exact science as it depends on the data being broadcast by each individual aircraft and the relevant databases used to deduce aircraft type being kept up to date. There is also considerable overlap - particularly for example with FLARM traffic and also with aircraft in the ‘mid-weight’ range. I’m guessing this may be what is causing your confusion.
In particular, you need to be aware that...
The system is unable to distinguish between, for example, flexwing and fixed wing Microlights and light G.A. aircraft - so all are depicted using the ‘SSEA’ symbol.
Commercial Air Traffic is ‘generally’ depicted as a jet airliner symbol, though the ‘lighter end’ may be depicted as a ‘twin’.
FLARM traffic uplinked from an OGN-R Ground Station is depicted by the standard (SSEA) symbol with the index ‘G-‘ - though this traffic can potentially be a powered GA aircraft and can include RAF trainers (e.g. Grobs and Tucanos/Texans) and others.
Oh, and also (unfortunately) SkyDemon insists on depicting fixed Ground Stations as aircraft. We have tried, unsuccessfully, on several occasions to get them to change this, but they refuse to do so (though you now have the option in PilotAware/Configure to decide whether or not to display them).
Hope this helps. If not, please come back to us with more specific information.
Remember this is a ‘designed to be inexpensive’ traffic awareness system. Perfection would require a significantly higher expenditure.
Best Regards
Peter
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Both,
Thank you kindly for the rapid response and greater detail.
Our initial enquiries were raised on email by our Group Treasurer Mr Robinson. For sensitivity reasons, I don’t wish to publish personal details, but you may find email correspondence from the above gentleman.
Whilst I digest the feedback and accompanying technical references, please could you advise on the next question.
What are the criteria for the colours white/green/amber/red in terms of vertical and horizontal separation?
Kind regards
C.
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What are the criteria for the colours white/green/amber/red in terms of vertical and horizontal separation?
Kind regards
C.
Hi ‘C’,
That’s a bit more difficult to answer as it depends on several different things.
If, as you say, you have read the PilotAware Manual, you will be aware that there are two types of notifications - for ‘Known Position’ and ‘Bearingless’ Targets and traffic data is sent to the Nav System accordingly. The first point I would make is that the Relative Altitude of the other aircraft (in relation to your own) is always reported - both in the audio alerts and on-screen - next to the aircraft symbol for ‘Known Position’ aircraft, and at the 12 o’clock position on the ‘Ring’ for ‘Bearingless’ targets.
If you are referring to the coloured rings for ‘Bearingless’ targets, these do not denote distance (either vertical or horizontal), but are an indication of ‘Degree of potential danger’ based primarily on strength of received signal from the target aircraft’s transponder. This in turn will be influenced by the output power of the transponder and will also be affected to a varying degree by the antenna installations in both aircraft and the relative orientation of those aircraft to each other. The ‘distance’ at which these warnings are triggered is also governed by your chosen Mode CS Horizontal ‘Range’ setting in PilotAware/Configure. You should also be aware that high power (CAT) transponders can transmit Mode-S at up to 500 watts, which will over-ride the preselected range selection and can cause the rings to go rapidly through green/amber/red - or straight to red, often when still outside visible range - unless you have ‘Ultra-Short Range’ selected. There is no easy solution to this problem, but you will soon get to recognise the distinctive ‘signature’ of this type of traffic.
In practice, it is a case of preselecting a range setting (I usually suggest Medium Range) and getting a feel for the distances reported in your aircraft. Users will often then opt for a shorter reporting range.
For a number of reasons, PilotAware has always been against trying to provide ‘anti-collision’ warnings, preferring instead to provide information to the Pilot, who can then make their own decisions. SkyDemon, however, has developed their own ‘anti-collision warning’ algorithms, for ‘Known Position Aircraft’ by calculating danger of collision from the position and direction of both aircraft. This triggers the colour changes for visible (on screen), moving, ‘Known Position’ Aircraft and associated visual ‘Banner’ alerts when using their system. White aircraft represent ‘No Perceived Risk’. The aircraft then changes through Green/Amber/Red if a ‘potential’ collision risk is identified and increases. I can’t however provide any other info on the specifics, and suspect that SkyDemon won’t divulge details for reasons of commercial confidentiality. With experience, however, you can probably work out approximate ranges and bearings for yourself. Suffice to say that in my experience over several years of use, both sets of ‘warnings’ are pretty reliable.
Hopefully this helps clarify things.
Best Regards
Peter