Sleep Alarm - Feature Request.

[sunfish]

Airbus allegedly has an alarm function that plays a wake up call if there is no detectable cockpit activity after fifteen minutes. I wonder if Dynon could add this feature.

 

[CanardMulti]

Boeing has them, though I can't recall the time interval. It would not surprise me if it was a certification requirement for all long haul capable airplanes.
The Avidyne IFR navigators have the ability to set up an alarm to switch fuel tanks at a selectable time interval that can serve a similar function. I've got mine set up for 30 minutes, even though each engine only has one tank. Keeps me aware of the time and reminds me to double check expected fuel burn against actual.

Ken

 

[RV6-KPTW]

Dynon’s switch fuel tank reminder can be used as well. Might be easier to enable than the Avidyne.

 

[airguy]

If you're looking for something to keep you awake because you are too tired in the cockpit - I'm going to politely suggest you shouldn't be in the cockpit in the first place. This is a solution to a problem that should not exist.

 

[CanardMulti]

If you're looking for something to keep you awake because you are too tired in the cockpit - I'm going to politely suggest you shouldn't be in the cockpit in the first place. This is a solution to a problem that should not exist.

Well…..

Good night's rest. "O-dark thirty" get up. Hearty breakfast. Skimp on coffee (for obvious reasons). Trouble free launch. Smooth cruise air. Familiar lengthy route with no surprises. Long time between check points. Steady monotone drone of smooth running engines. Pleasantly warm sunshine. Quiet ATC frequency. Mind begins to wander a bit. Ooops…..

Organic fertilizer and unplanned naps. Both DO happen. Fly long enough and like many other things in life, there will only be those who have experienced it and those who pretend it never happened. A back up safety net is a cost free investment to avoid at the very least embarrassment and potentially much worse.

Ken

 

[Rhino]

After so many years flying in the Air Force, I can readily attest that rest does not automatically occur during crew rest periods. You're also still subject to drowsiness even when you've had plenty of rest. And don't even get me started on all the problems in this world that should not exist. There's an endless number of them. If inactivity alarms were such a bad idea, professional cockpits wouldn't have them.

 

[sunfish]

AIrguy, usually I am in perpetual motion in the cockpit - aviate, navigate, communicate in an endless loop is how I roll. However, I sometimes fly over uninhabited desert for up to four hours in an LSA with no one to talk to and hear no one except the jets thirty thousand feet above me. Now lose your routine by troubleshooting a problem, add in some warmth and smooth air, maybe try some background music on the intercom and start dreaming Walter Mitty day dreams and........ it could be very embarrassing and it does happen regularly - to commercial pilots even.