Delta Air Lines develops app for avoiding turbulence

Delta Air Lines pilots are using an in-house app to steer clear of rough air that can unsettle or injure passengers. The Flight Weather Viewer app puts real-time turbulence observations and forecasts in the cockpit, using sensors on more than 300 of the airline's aircraft to collect and share data over wireless internet to warn other pilots before they pass through an area where turbulence was recently reported. Select Delta pilots have been testing the app on Microsoft Surface tablets since January. The app rolled out to all pilots in April, and it's also used by Delta dispatchers and meteorologists to provide faster weather warnings. Delta has installed the turbulence-reporting algorithm on its fleet of Boeing 737 and 767 passenger jets and plans to soon put it on its larger Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 jets, which fly international routes. <br/>