Pilot safety enhancement for on‐board ground collision avoidance systems

The goal of the paper is to present an enhancement of the existing on‐board ground collision avoidance system (GCAS) that is designed to increase pilot safety in USAF A‐10 aircraft. The A‐10 is a single‐seat, twin‐engine aircraft with a 30mm, seven‐barreled Gatling gun and 11 weapon pylons designed to fly at low level in close air support missions. The GCAS system provides both visual and aural cues for a pilot‐initiated recovery. The proposed algorithm of GCAS enhancement is built on a simple linear regression model that predicts the recovery height of the aircraft following a warning call and allows pilots to compare their own training events with flight test standards. This paper presents a discussion of model development, validation and comparison of the model predictions with actual flight test events. A comparison of recovery techniques and pilot options is included. A series of recommendations and possible usage for Air Force pilot training are also discussed.