Let's analyze our flights
After my last PPL training flight (in french), I wanted to understand what we did during the flight. I record each flight with my GPS, so it must be possible to use the data.
After this work, I propose an online version of the analyzer. For now, it covers 360° turns and touch-and-go landings.
I have always learned from my tracks, for sport or for leisure. They help me remember a section, a mountain bike ride or, here, a flight. For the PPL, we mostly do handling flights at the moment. It takes practice.
The tracks contain data that we can analyze. Most of it is position: coordinates and altitude. My GPS watch also records the distance traveled and the speed in m/s.
The first task was to analyze the landings. The goal is to find the landings that were not complete (the touch-and-go landings). The track has too few points to find go-arounds at very low height. Maybe we can do better later. The landing analysis uses these inputs:
- the height above the airfields known by the system,
- the descent slope,
- the climbs after a touchdown.
I calibrated the detection with my last 5 flights. It is correct for touch-and-go and for full-stop landings. I have also made some analysis from recording made on the simulator (X-Plane 12 + SD-VFR), and the results are good.
From here, I added a simple feature: the system reads the points from a VAC (Visual Approach Chart) around the airfield (here Tours). It checks if the flight used one of them to join the traffic pattern. In my flights, we sometimes join through point Echo (E). When the system finds such a point, the report gives the altitude at the point and the time before landing.
The second part is the detection of 360° turns. The system finds the direction, the radius and the approximate angle of each turn. We must fly turns at 15°, 30° or 45° of bank. The analysis shows how close we were.
The last part was to translate the Python process to a web page. The analyzer is now in JavaScript and runs fully in your browser. Your data does not leave your computer. You can use the first version here or in the left menu of the home page.
The online analyzer is simple. You load a track from your GPS. It shows the results for landings and for 360° turns. It also shows a small map of your track with the points found and the few airfields that the system knows.
Tell me what you think. If you find errors or have ideas to improve it, please write to me. I also want new tracks to calibrate the system. I added the analysis to my 5 posts about my first flights (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). It is more factual than the feelings alone.
Photo from jesse orrico