ICARUS Device To Help Train Purdue, Ohio State Pilots

Flight students from Purdue and Ohio State will be the first pilots in to train with the ICARUS Device, which uses “Smart Glass” technology to electronically switch the users lens between opaque and clear.

Oshkosh, WI - Flight students from Purdue and Ohio State will be the first pilots in to train with the ICARUS Device, which uses "Smart Glass" technology to electronically switch the users lens between opaque and clear. This allows instructors to prepare students for the challenge of flight in instrument flying conditions in a way previously unavailable.

The student can now be put into a wide variety of weather scenarios at the flick of a switch. The biggest breakthrough is the ability to simulate visual flight into instrument conditions, which causes horrific crashes that continue to plague aviation. The hoods that have been around since 1929 can't simulate the surprise of entry which is so deadly because they must be taken on or off to achieve effects, while ICARUS can be instantly changed from clear to opaque by the instructor.

ICARUS can simulate a range of conditions, like breaking out into poor visibility, such as 1 mile, at the end of an instrument approach. This increases training value and negates the need for an awkward exchange of control. The device is a clean sheet design that will be comfortable and functional. Feedback has already shown a contrast between usage in Purdue's Cirrus' and Ohio State's Cessnas, validating the company's theory that view limiting devices should be cockpit specific. Here are some visual flight into instrument conditions (VFR into IMC) facts:

- Responsible for 52 crashes in 2011, 45 of them fatal

- Responsible for about one in eight fatal accidents in GA

-750% of all fixed-wing VFR-into-IMC accidents are fatal

- Roughly 40% of accident pilots are instrument rated.

ICARUS Devices was founded in 2015 by Nick Sinopoli, a 2012 Graduate of Purdue with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. The inspiration came after his own flight training experiences in the Navy and losing a friend to a VFR into IMC helicopter crash in 2012.In August of 2016 a patent was issued and the next version will be a visor specifically for military and helicopter pilots. ICARUS Devices is extremely excited to have the support of EAA's IMC Club for testing and implementation.

The IMC Club's diverse group of pilots are already dedicated to IFR proficiency and are an invaluable resource to help write the manual for ICARUS. "I'm extremely excited about ICARUS giving flight instructors a tremendous tool to teach new pilots the Instrument flying. Whether they are training for their private pilot and need to know what to do if they find themselves in instrument conditions, or aspiring commercial pilots practicing breaking out at minimums ICARUS is going to better prepare them for real weather conditions," said Radek Wyrzykowski, Manager of Flight Proficiency for the Experimental Aircraft Association and founder of The IMC Club.