A Market Research Study for Future Weather Information Systems

NASA’s Aviation Safety Program involves investigation of the feasibility of advanced aviation weather information systems to reduce accident rates. Under this program, integrating weather information systems into the cockpit for General Aviation aircraft is being considered. A market research study was needed to identify the match of technologies and features for a successful cockpit weather system in this market. For this reason, a survey was conducted at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with General Aviation pilots as participants. This study analyzes the results of this survey and identifies the desired characteristics of the future weather information systems. Introduction The goal of the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is to develop and demonstrate technologies that contribute to a reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate by a factor of 5 by year 2007 and by a factor of 10 by year 2022 (Huettner, 1997). The ambitious program is a partnership that includes NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aviation industry and the Department of Defense. NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, is leading the safety program. The Aviation Weather Information (AWIN) project is a sub-group under this program, and works on weather issues. The goal of the AWIN program is to provide improved weather information to users in the National Airspace System, and to foster the improved usage of this information by applying information technology to build a safer aviation system to support pilots (Stough, 1998). Integrating weather information systems into the cockpit for General Aviation (GA) is viewed as an important goal for AWIN. This requires research on new information technologies that provide improved weather information systems into the GA cockpit. In order to determine the likelihood of market acceptance (feasibility) of these new systems, it is necessary to identify the user requirements and the costs they are willing to pay for their needs to be met. A market research study was needed to identify the match of technologies and features for a successful cockpit weather system in the GA market. For this reason, a survey was conducted at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which includes inputs from 139 GA pilots. This study analyzes the results of this survey and identifies the desired characteristics of the future weather information systems in GA market. Methodology Identification of a feasible product is the pivotal step in product development (Kauffmann, 1997), and effective product development must be market driven (Roussell, 1991, Matheson, 1994, Ransley et al., 1994). In advanced technology planning, market analysis is even more critical since considerable resources and time can be wasted. In this study, the five marketing research process steps presented in Exhibit 1 are followed (Kotler, 2000). Exhibit 1. Marketing research process. The problem was defined as determination of market acceptance of future weather information systems in GA market. The research objective is to identify the desired characteristics of these systems. Survey research was selected as the plan since surveys are best suited for descriptive research and allowed inexpensive access to a large market group (Kotler, 2000). Marketing plans are becoming more customeroriented, better reasoned and more realistic than in the past, and survey research provides direct customer input. Data from the GA pilots was gathered by means of questionnaires prepared by the research team, Define the problem and research objectives Develop the research plan Present the findings Collect the information Analyze the information based on previous research on weather information systems in GA and possible future developments in this area. Future product features presented in the survey were determined according to this information. This study analyzes the data obtained from the participants, and presents the initial findings. Survey Results The survey was conducted at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, between July 26 and August 1, 2000. EAA is an organization of members with a wide range of aviation interests and backgrounds. Among its members, there are a large number of pilots (from recreational to commercial), who fly a wide range of different aircraft. Survey questionnaires were taken to the convention and presented to pilots only, to be filled out. There were 139 total participants, with 6 recreational, 58 private, 14 instrument rated, 28 commercial, and 12 air transport pilots. The remaining 21 did not specify a particular pilot category. The survey questions were selected based on current research on existing weather information systems in the GA market. Also, questions addressed possible information system developments identified during additional research on parallel technologies used in the automotive and trucking industry (Sireli et al., 2001). The survey consisted of five main sections with several feature options in each. These sections requested data about existing weather information systems that participants currently have, difficulties in using current systems, desired weather information update frequencies, features participants would like to have in the future, and costs that they are willing to pay to have these future systems. Most of the options require the usage of 1 – 5 scale to determine the level of preference or importance, 1 being least preferred or important, 5 being most preferred or important. The results of the main sections of the survey are summarized in the following subsections. Current weather information systems. Pilots were asked the questions below regarding current equipment in use, and common problems with these systems: • Describe your current communication method to obtain weather information during flight. • What are the difficulties in using your weather related equipment (please note all that apply)? How critical are they? (Please use 1 to 5 scale, 5 being most critical, 1 being least critical). • How often do you currently get in flight weather updates and how often would you like them in the future? Exhibit 2 summarizes the results of this section. Exhibit 2. Summary of current weather information systems. Current information Percentage of entries C ur re nt c om m un ic at io n m et ho d (T ot al e nt ri es : 1 57 ) Radio 78.4% Other (Airborne Cellular, ground based VHF, satellite LEO/MEO, satellite geosynchronous) 21.6% M os t i m po rt an t d iff ic ul tie s i n us in g cu rr en t s ys te m (T ot al e nt ri es : 1 68 ) Communication loss 28.6%