In flight validation of a satellite based weather awareness and hazard avoidance system for general aviation

In the framework of the National program for improving Small and Medium Enterprises industrial competitiveness, the Italian Space Agency funded the project AIRONE aiming to demonstrate an innovative European satellite-based weather service and related pilot decision supporting tools, to be included in a Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) system tailored for the General Aviation market. The proposed system needs a weather ground-based processor and a satellite communication link for sending the weather and other information to the on-board avionics for local processing and visualization. Moreover, the on-board avionics can assist the pilot in adjusting the flight plan, by on-line suggesting modifications to the current route. This paper describes the objectives and the related development and testing activities carried out for the AIRONE project as well as the flying demonstration results obtained.