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As you can buy a one ray lidar sensor for about a $100 for drones, with about 50m of range, I wonder why it can't be used in full scale airplanes? It could be u

by m3at 6y ago

As you can buy a one ray lidar sensor for about a $100 for drones, with about 50m of range, I wonder why it can't be used in full scale airplanes? It could be used to point down at the ground, and when the lidar is confident of the range and if the gear is up, then trigger an alarm. I get that there's more things involved for a practical implementation (weight, reliability, added complexity) but still... What am I missing?

barefoot 6y ago
There are similar (but more basic) systems built into some retractable gear aircraft. They generally provide an audible alert if the plane appears about to land but the gear is still up. Pilots still land gear up, even with the alarm sounding. There is (or at least was) even a public (YouTube) video of this happening from a passenger filming. Landing a plane is not difficult (source: I’m a pilot) but there’s a lot going on. This is clearly a UI/UX issue but innovation is relatively slow in the certified market.
- kitteh 6y ago
  The anecdote I've heard is that the gear up / low throttle alarm is usually the component to break and people fail to replace it, which leads to gear ups.
- Piskvorrr 6y ago
  Just search for "gear up landing"; this situation is...plentiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hMn7ZweF6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hMn7ZweF6s And yeah, before anyone says "but the beeping!" - yup, people are fallible. I've managed to scratch a car in a similar but far cheaper setting: start up...set navigation...go into reverse...think about the traffic announcement...think about garage keys...hear parking sensors beeping...beeping intensifies...CRUNCH...facepalm, dammit I was supposed to brake! In my case, this was a low-speed, low-energy collision, so just a tiny scratch on plastic, but I can definitely see how a minor distraction can turn into a major accident.
base698 6y ago
Task saturation. It's windy, turbulent, your wife is uncomfortable and giving you looks. Someone cuts you off as you are landing, you go around. The field is busy and as you come back around for landing you're focusing about being unable to get your radio calls in. You land to the sounds of grating metal... Just one of 1000 scenarios. As mentioned there are alarms already, but you can drown it out if sufficiently overloaded. Its best to recognize overload, take a deep breath and go back when calm.

by m3at 6y ago

barefoot 6y ago

There are similar (but more basic) systems built into some retractable gear aircraft. They generally provide an audible alert if the plane appears about to land but the gear is still up. Pilots still land gear up, even with the alarm sounding. There is (or at least was) even a public (YouTube) video of this happening from a passenger filming. Landing a plane is not difficult (source: I’m a pilot) but there’s a lot going on. This is clearly a UI/UX issue but innovation is relatively slow in the certified market.

kitteh 6y ago
The anecdote I've heard is that the gear up / low throttle alarm is usually the component to break and people fail to replace it, which leads to gear ups.
Piskvorrr 6y ago
Just search for "gear up landing"; this situation is...plentiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hMn7ZweF6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hMn7ZweF6s And yeah, before anyone says "but the beeping!" - yup, people are fallible. I've managed to scratch a car in a similar but far cheaper setting: start up...set navigation...go into reverse...think about the traffic announcement...think about garage keys...hear parking sensors beeping...beeping intensifies...CRUNCH...facepalm, dammit I was supposed to brake! In my case, this was a low-speed, low-energy collision, so just a tiny scratch on plastic, but I can definitely see how a minor distraction can turn into a major accident.

base698 6y ago

Task saturation. It's windy, turbulent, your wife is uncomfortable and giving you looks. Someone cuts you off as you are landing, you go around. The field is busy and as you come back around for landing you're focusing about being unable to get your radio calls in. You land to the sounds of grating metal... Just one of 1000 scenarios. As mentioned there are alarms already, but you can drown it out if sufficiently overloaded. Its best to recognize overload, take a deep breath and go back when calm.