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Aeronautical Data Systems has developed proprietary software which will lead to significant savings for ETOP’s operators. Aside from the safety aspect which applies to any high altitude jet, significant fuel savings are earned from ETOP’s flight that must add fuel to comply with the critical fuel scenario in the new ETOP’s rule. Depending on the size of your operation millions of pounds of fuel and millions of dollars in revenue can be gained by using this program. This program is in compliance with existing regulations and is available for immediate use.
Aeronautical Data Systems has developed software and hardware that converts pressure (psi) into duration (time remaining). This information is useful to assist in managing any energy resource that utilizes compressed gas. Pressure simply tells the consumer how full or empty the compressed bottle is. Not a very useful number in that pressure will vary based on consumption. What the consumer really needs or wants to know is how much time do I have before my resource is depleted. Time management now becomes the driver for this resource.
Many years ago Aeronautical Data Systems developed a program that would provide a pilot with the ability to view his oxygen quantity in time remaining instead of the traditional bottle pressure. This capability then allowed the pilot to trade his fuel remaining for his oxygen remaining by varying the altitude of the aircraft. Having this information is an invaluable safety tool for corporate flight departments, and for commercial air carriers this program represents significant fuel saving which adds annually to the company’s bottom line.
To date, using pressure (psi) as the sole indication of quantity is limiting. Pressure simply tells you how full or empty your bottle is but fails to tell you how long this source will last. In today’s world, time is key to efficiency and knowing how long you have before that resource is depleted is important information in managing your energy resources.
Aeronautical Data Systems was formed many years ago to develop and market an Oxygen Planning Product (OPP). The OPP is a unique program designed to assist the flight crew in determining whether their proposed flight across the oceanic areas or large precipitous landmasses could be safely flown. It would be disastrous to conduct a flight without due consideration of what the FAA defines as the “Worst Case Scenario”.
The worst case scenario as outlined by the FAA is an engine failure followed by a decompression at the equal time point. The flight descends to 10,000 feet where oxygen is not required for either crew or passengers. If there is an adequate fuel supply to allow the flight to continue to and safely land at the equal time alternate airport then the emergency is essentially over. If there is not an adequate amount of fuel on board to allow a safe landing flying at 10,000 feet now the aircraft must fly higher to a more fuel efficient altitude increasing the fuel range of the aircraft, or risk staying at a lower altitude and risk probable ditching.
The OPP addresses two critical pieces of information (fuel on board and Oxygen duration) that enable the flight crew to quickly and accurately assess the “Worst Case Scenario”, make their judgment and have the ability to continue monitoring the resources to bring the flight to a successful conclusion. By having such a system available, it is now possible to upload the necessary resources required prior to departure and by doing so ostensibly eliminate this “worst case” situation.
New developments have evolved from this research. Other areas of fuel efficiency are now being considered as part of the ADS energy efficiency umbrella. The technology employed in the aviation sector starts simply with replacing any compressed gas that uses a pressure gauge to determine quantity, and replaces that with a multi-function gauge which indicates pressure, time remaining (duration) and one additional variable such as liters or weight. This feature allows the consumer to understand the consequences of their energy requirements and how to better manage that energy resource.
We see this technology replacing the traditional pressure gauge and allowing our society to better manage and utilize our existing energy resources as well as improving our environment.