Students Enhancing Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability through PEGASAS

“In graduate school, research is a part of the experience, but through PEGASAS, faculty and students can see their research actually affect the area they are studying,” says Katie Reid, Aviation Human Factors, M.S. ‘15

PEGASAS, the Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability, brings together the top universities in aviation research to help the Federal Aviation Administration improve the field. Florida Tech has been assigned to work on two projects:

Angle of Attack Equipment for General Aviation Operations research looks at installing an instrument in the cockpit that will provide information to pilots about a specific aircraft’s angle of attack. It is crucial to maintain an optimal angle of attack to maintain lift for the plane.  As part of the project, a Florida Tech test airplane will be retrofitted with this instrument to determine its effect.

Rotorcraft Flight Data Monitoring focuses on helicopters and the study of Flight Data Management systems to increase safety in the rotorcraft community. Researchers will implement a system for collecting data on FDM products and help identify ways they can be improved to impact safe operation of rotorcraft.