Directional traffic audio alerts

[lgabriel]

It would be awesome if SV would use standard "BRA" (Bearing, Range, Altitude) terminology when calling out traffic alerts. Something like:

"Traffic, left ten o'clock, one mile, level"
"Traffic, right three o'clock, half mile, high"

As it stands, when the Dynon simply says "TRAFFIC", my instinct is to immediately look inside the cockpit to see what it's talking about. This is the exact opposite of what I should be doing, and even something as simple as "Traffic left/right/ahead/behind" would make things safer.

Thanks!

 

[dynonsupport]

Louis,
Thanks for the input. We'll add it to the list.

As a note, the TRAFFIC alert is given at least 20 seconds before a collision is possible, so you do have quite a bit of time to resolve it.

 

[lgabriel]

Awesome, and thanks!

20 seconds is perfect in combination with a BRA callout--that gives you enough time to react, get your eyes talked onto the target, discovery what he's up to, and develop and act on an evasive plan.

However, if you're like me, half of that time could easily be eaten up by fumbling around to get out of whatever random submenu I'm in, getting the map screen up, and zooming to an appropriate range to see what's going on.

Also, no knock intended--I absolutely love having traffic information in the cockpit, especially when it's displayed on the map and PFD. Dynon's intelligent annunciation algorithm is icing on the cake, too. BRA callouts would only serve as an improvement to an already awesome system.

 

[William_Ince]

What you are describing are aural "traffic advisories."
And . . . the appropriate follow-on to that would be aural "resolution advisories."
i.e. "climb . . climb now!" or "descend . . descend now!"
Sets up a system just like TCAS.

 

[lgabriel]

I think the FAA really missed the boat by not incorporating TCAS-type RAs into ADS-B.

If you're going to mandate a fleet-wide equipment change associated with traffic, it's frankly ridiculous to not include a next-gen type of TCAS.

...as much as I would love to have RAs from my SkyView, I think asking a single manufacture to invent a method is a recipe for trouble. TCAS works extremely well because it's a global standard.

As a result, I think the best thing we can expect from ADS-B is an extremely accurate depiction of where the traffic is (in this case, a real-time, GPS-based TA)...and the best way to leverage that is with an aural alert.

I'm absolutely on board with your intent, though--maybe in this instance, we should make a separate request for Dynon to apply pressure to the regulators about adding RAs to the ADS-B standard.

 

[GalinHdz]

It would be awesome if SV would use standard "BRA" (Bearing, Range, Altitude) terminology when calling out traffic alerts.  Something like:

"Traffic, left ten o'clock, one mile, level"
"Traffic, right three o'clock, half mile, high"

As it stands, when the Dynon simply says "TRAFFIC", my instinct is to immediately look inside the cockpit to see what it's talking about.  This is the exact opposite of what I should be doing, and even something as simple as "Traffic left/right/ahead/behind" would make things safer.

Thanks!

This gets my vote as a great idea for a new feature.

 

[ed.meyer]

For me, not so much. I have seen false alarm TCAS RAs cause inappriate action for pilots especially when the aircraft recieving the RA is in a turn. The TCAS does not seem to project the flight path very well in turns.

 

[n456ts]

"Traffic, left ten o'clock, one mile, level"
"Traffic, right three o'clock, half mile, high"

Great idea!

 

[mikeschumann]

Any idea when this enhancement will be available? Having detailed audio traffic warnings is my #1 want in the next Skyview software update. Many, if not most competitive systems already have this capability. This is one of the few areas where Dynon is behind the curve.

 

[RV8JD]

Just wanted to add my voice to the request to improve Traffic Alerts that would enhance safety.

The aural alert only says “Traffic”, with no direction, distance, or altitude given.  This requires the pilot to look at the EFIS first to locate approximately where the traffic is, then look out the windscreen to spot the traffic.  This is not good, and it’s a PITA.

A better way is what ForeFlight does when connected to a Stratus ADS-B IN receiver.  An example aural traffic alert is something like, “Traffic, 9 o’clock, 2 miles, 200 feet below”.  The pilot can then immediately start looking out the windscreen toward the approximate location of the traffic.  Much easier and safer.