Enhancing Flight Preparedness: The Journey to Safer Skies Begins on the Ground

Think about the first time you were at a brand-new airport as a solo student. Were you nervous or overwhelmed? If you’re not a pilot, imagine being in a new place for the first time, a place where it is vital to do everything perfectly. Would you feel stressed out? As student pilots, we’ve all had similar experiences, arriving at an airport having no idea where to park, get fuel or get your much desired logbook stamp. To support our peers and avoid these issues in the future, a group of student pilots are creating a new initiative. 

I and six other student pilots from the University of Waterloo are developing a tool to help pilots get ready for their next flight. 

While we’re all at different stages in our flight training, we first met each other taking AVIA 417: Aviation Safety this past term. As part of this course, we were tasked with creating an innovative solution to an aviation safety issue: minimizing runway incursions by student pilots at flight schools.    

For this, we were partnered with Anthony MacKay, the Vice President, and Chief Safety Officer at NAV Canada. While we were initially intimidated by his title, Anthony turned out to be personable and a great mentor for this project. He had valuable insights into the needs of commercial pilots and started our project in the right direction.  

With his support we developed Google Street View for Airports

Using 360-degree footage of the airport, pilots would be given the chance to familiarize themselves with the runways, taxiways, and aprons ahead of time. Adding this step to a pilot’s pre-flight planning would give them an interactive, first-person perspective to familiarize themselves to their destination.  

We are now entering the most exciting part of our idea: making it come to life! Partnering with the Waterloo International Airport to gather the footage and with support from NAV Canada, our Street View should be up and running soon! 

Throughout the project, we are continuously pushed to make new connections, discover new ideas, and push the boundaries of what the aviation industry might become. We look forward to seeing where this project can take us! 

Elevate your skills and embrace the journey!