Safe and Legal GA Flying

Private pilots rely on information about the weather and other possible hazards to fly safely. In recognition of the importance of pre-flight briefing, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) commissioned RED to assess ways of improving the availability and usability of this information.

Previous research by the Safety and Reliability Group (SRG) of the CAA has shown that the quality and availability of pre-flight briefing information is important to ensure the safety of "General Aviation" (GA) flying.

This information includes meteorological forecasts, news of potential hazards and updates on regulations, which are all used to help in the planning of flights. One of the problems is that this information is available from different sources, and in a variety of formats, such as hard copy and on-line data through the Internet.

The study undertaken by RED went to the heart of the problem by conducting a number of surveys of private pilots and flying schools. This served to identify the shortcomings of the present information sources, as well as canvassing the flying community on their views on the best way to make improvements, taking account of cost as well as capability.

A number of questionnaires were used to amass statistical information, followed by a series of structured interviews to explore attitudes and opinions in greater depth. These surveys were complemented by an investigation into approaches taken in other countries, to look for potential solutions to problems in the UK, as well as discussions with regulators and manufacturers.

This research study therefore brought together RED's skills in surveys and analysis with the Company's history of involvement in civil aviation studies.