GA Pilots come together to help Grounded Pilots with new AOG Alerting system
HOUSTON, TX, USA: With the pandemic, General Aviation is seeing an increase in pilots choosing to utilize their small aircraft to travel around the country, avoiding the hardships and unreliability associated with commercial aviation. For those who use GA aircraft (either owned or rented), the possibility of getting unintentionally grounded, known as an Aircraft On Ground (AOG) situation, is one of the major concerns.
Without the traditional infrastructure that commercial airlines have in place to handle AOG situations, General Aviation pilots have to rely on each other for support, whether for mechanical breakdown or other reasons. That’s where having another pilot on demand to voluntarily assist can be crucial. Assistance may come in the form of anything from transportation or lodging at a remote airport, or providing the right contacts for finding parts and mechanics who can solve the technical issues they face.
Building an on demand solution for pilots has led to the creation of AOG Alerts App to assist General Aviation pilots find the help they need.
AOG Alerts is available for free for any pilot who wishes to join, and allows pilots to receive a helping hand or extend one when another pilot faces an AOG situation. Pilots who join the AOG Alerts app can choose up to two aircraft type groups in which they want to participate, thus are able to limit their involvement to only those aircraft types that are familiar to them. In addition, a pilot can also specify their home airport, which is in turn used to ensure they receive alerts only from pilots within a specific distance of the users preference.
In addition to alerting nearby pilots of AOG situations, the AOG Alerts app also allows pilots to send less urgent social messages within their own aircraft type group. With the ability to block and report non-aviation related topics, AOG Alerts App is intended to allow pilots to alert each other of topics ranging from upcoming get-togethers and 100$ hamburger flights to ideas on upgrades and accessories for their aircraft.
AOG Alerts is available on the iOS AppStore and Android Play Store as a free download.
