Aviation Safety and Security Commons^™

Smart Pireps: Leveraging Technology To Simplify Pilot Weather Reporting In General Aviation, Emma Hellwege

Honors Projects

This honors project examines how emerging aviation technologies can support or automate components of Pilot Weather Reports (PIREPs) to improve reporting accuracy, reduce pilot workload, and increase participation within the general aviation (GA) community. PIREPs provide essential real-time weather observations—such as turbulence, icing, and visibility—that supplement automated systems and enhance situational awareness for pilots, air traffic control, and meteorologists. However, reports are vastly underutilized due to workload constraints, inconsistent training, voice-only submission methods, and technological disparities across the GA fleet.

Through a structured analysis of federal aviation documentation, sensor capabilities, human factors research, and recent advancements in automation, this study …

Faa Medical Reform, Dana Rose

Honors Projects

This project investigates the challenges and implications of obtaining medical certification for pilots with a history of childhood misdiagnoses, focusing on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Misdiagnoses in childhood can lead to significant obstacles in the aviation industry's medical certification process, posing unique hurdles for aspiring pilots. The study examines the current FAA guidelines and procedures for medical certification, particularly the evaluation requirements for individuals with ADHD. It also explores common challenges faced by pilots, the effects of childhood misdiagnoses on their eligibility, and the impact of the FAA's ADHD evaluation process.

Through interviews with Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs), this project identifies …

Traffic Monitoring System, Elizabeth Suda

Honors Projects

The Traffic Monitoring System (TMS) was implemented at the Bowling Green Flight Center as a pre-planning traffic volume tool for flight instructors to utilize when deciding on a safe location for a training event. The TMS allows the instructor to pre-determine a location during the preflight planning stage that provides the best traffic separation, rather than finding out once airborne that an designated flight training area is overcrowded leading to greater collision hazards. The Traffic Management System has provided Bowling Green Flight Center pilots and instructors with greater situational awareness of traffic and increased safety margins in flight training.

Aviation English In A Bilingual Context: Bilingual Spanish-English Pilots, Seneca Doty

Honors Projects

The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of English and Spanish in the applied context of aviation by researching pilot experiences in the cockpit within the register of aviation English. This study investigates pilot’s in-flight experiences in relation to language proficiency in the hopes of improving future standards of communication. Expounding on previous research with a focus on native Spanish speaking pilots, this research utilizes a Likert scale survey and demographic assessment to evaluate proficiencies inside the cockpit of bilingual Spanish-English participants. By determining each pilot´s use of English outside of the workplace as well as how …