Investment
Opportunity
History
The worst threat to passengers
and flight crew regarding fatal accidents is CFIT, Controlled
Flight Into Terrain. Forty percent of all aircraft accidents
are CFIT, and they cause over one-half of all fatalities!
In 1974, a TWA Boeing 727
aircraft was cleared for an approach to Dulles International
Airport after diverting from Washington National Airport. As
the aircraft approached from the west, it crashed into a
Virginia mountainside just short of clearing the top of the
mountain in obscured weather.
At that time, a few
manufacturers had on the shelf a device called ground
proximity warning system (GPWS). Within a very short time,
these manufacturers had lobbied the FAA to pass a law that
required all commercial aircraft to have this device on
board. During the next two years, all of the U.S. airlines
complied, and the GPWS (ground proximity warning system) was
in place. GPWS was considered to be the final needed fix to
prevent aircraft descending into the ground unexpectedly.
Additionally, the FAA
installed software into the air traffic computers called
MINSAW (minimum safe altitude warning). This system was to
help the air traffic controller monitor each aircraft's
altitude in regard to the MSA. If the system detects that an aircraft is about to descend below the MSA, the air traffic
controller is given an aural warning and display indication.
The controller is then responsible for giving a verbal
warning to the pilot to check the aircraft's altitude.
One drawback to the MINSAW
system is that the air traffic controller must give immediate
warning to the pilot when the controller has detected an
altitude deviation. If the radio frequency is in use by
another aircraft, or the pilot is not on the designated
frequency, then the warning will be late. The pilot is the
last to know that an altitude deviation problem may be
looming. The MINSAW system was only installed in the United
States and not in foreign countries air traffic control
centers. Since that time, a few other countries have adapted
the MINSAW system into their air traffic control systems.
Since the inception of GPWS to the present,
there has been numerous
deviations that have caused fatal airline and private crashes. Hundreds
of lives have been lost. It is a statistical fact that the GPWS system has proven to be inadequate and has only had a
nominal effect on flight into the terrain. There have been over one hundred
(100) near misses since GPWS.
There are many reasons why
GPWS has failed in its design. If the pilot has inadvertently
placed the aircraft in a position from which it is impossible
to recover due to rapidly rising terrain, the GPWS gives the
warning much too late because of pilot technique. Also, many pilots do not respond
instantly to the GPWS warning because of disbelief in the
warning. Another factor is aircraft performance. If the
terrain rises steeply, the aircraft may not be able to climb
over the terrain in time to avoid collision with the ground.
Both GPWS and MINSAW have not been a deterrent to CFIT
(controlled flight into terrain).
Both GPWS and MINSAW are warning
systems given to the pilot only after the pilot is in
eminent danger of impacting the ground, mountain, or other
obstacle. What about preventing the problem instead of trying
to find the cure? Why should the pilot get into this position
in the first place? The preventive solution is the logical
approach, rather then the cure.
Many ideas have been studied
and proposed to give the pilot the required information about
minimum safe altitude. In addition to the already crowded
charts that have numerous printed details, one proposal was
to add MSA information to enroute, terminal, and approach
charts, This would require the pilot to constantly monitor
the chart by cross checking the aircraft's position while
trying to complete flying duties. Additionally, the pilot
would have to interpret the relative position of the aircraft
and determine if the aircraft would be entering a higher MSA.
The AMSADD System:
The AMSADD system is designed
to be pilot friendly in that, the MSA number and MSA areas are constantly
displayed on the i-Phone. All the pilot has to do, is
compare the two numbers on the altimeter and the i-Phone to determine if aircraft
in in a
safe condition!
Why the AMSADD system is
better than GPWS or EGPWS.
The modern flying realm is an
abundance of numbers. In order to fly a given route, the
course, distance, fuel required, radio frequencies, and
altitudes must be known. This information is given as
numbers. This is also true for MSA's. The big concern for the pilot
regarding MSA is, what is the number? In other words, how low can the pilot
descend safely? Obviously, during good visibility, the pilot can visually
proceed without concern for the MSA. However, during low visibility or at
night over mountainous terrain, the pilot must know the minimum safe
altitude. The faster this number can be obtained, the quicker the pilot can
react to make a correct decision.
Development
The AMSADD project has been designed and prototypes have been
manufactured by Gnostech, Inc., of Warminster, Pennsylvania.
Gnostech is one of the leading computer engineering and
advanced GPS software designers in the industry. Limited
flight testing was accomplished on board a Boeing 747 in the
Pacific rim. Additional flight tests were completed with both
the FAA and AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association).
All preliminary tests results were positive.
Competition
At the present time there are
many systems and theories for devices to solve the CFIT problem. The present
system mandated by the FAA for airliners has been installed on many
commercial aircraft. This system costs over $200,000 installed. The
AMSADD
system can now be downloaded to an i-Phone for just $79
per year. The AMSADD
system has many more features and monitors the
aircraft on final approach for landing. New feature that no other system has
is verbal and visual instructions for a missed approach go around.
Present Status
of AMSADD
The AMSADD project has been developed with the time, effort, and capital
provided by Gnostech Corporation. A few Venture
Capitalists have looked at the project, but were involved with many other
costly investments. The
AMSADD project
investment would be very nominal with the potential return unlimited. Only
the software would have to be designed and not the existing hardware, which
is the i-Phone. AMSADD is the only system that outperforms the
more costly terrain systems with greater enhancements.
The world wide potential for
AMSADD is needed in every country on every
aircraft that flies under instrument conditions.
Investment
Opportunity
AMSADD
will
entertain any and all proposals from potential partners. Our
only requirements are that the investors be far sighted and
visionary.
Contact:
Terry Higgins,
406-563-8107
234 Yankee Flats Road
Anaconda MT 59711
E-mail:
amsadd2@aol.com
or
Alan Fesnak,
215-443-8660, fax 215-443-9192
Gnostech, Inc., Suite 190, 650 Louis Drive, Warminster PA
18974
E-mail:
afesnak@gnostech.com
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