Few parts of aircraft have evolved as little as the communications capability. OK, we no longer use tubes in the radios but other than that, the VHF AM system is as legacy as they come. To add insult to injury, when the shortage of frequencies in the aviation band finally forced the industry to do… Continue reading Passengers are not the only ones who need good communications – pilots do too!
Category: Viewpoint
Editorial view on topical subjects
Air accident investigation – is Europe moving?
If you purchase a WiFi router or other WiFi piece of gear, you expect it to work anywhere in the world. After all, that is what standards are all about. Except for some channels not being available in the US for example, your expectation is correct. If you inspect the specs on the box however,… Continue reading Air accident investigation – is Europe moving?
Competence counts
Listening to the interview with Capt. Sully Sullenburger who successfully ditched his Airbus A320 in the Hudson River after multiple bird-strikes knocked out its engines, I was impressed by his calm, considered and authoritative manner. He is a first class ambassador for airmen throughout the industry. I think I might buy his book. While recognising… Continue reading Competence counts
Air traffic service provision – business logic in reverse?
The letter S in the abbreviation ATS stands for Services. Air traffic services are the essential commodity all but the simplest VFR flyers are obliged to purchase, at least for the foreseeable future. Air traffic control is one of these services. The price varies as does the value for money across the planet. What happens… Continue reading Air traffic service provision – business logic in reverse?
Delta 767 lands on taxiway in Atlanta
OK, so those Northwest pilots were having a heated argument about company policies (at least that was reported) and they overshot their destination Minneapolis by a cool 150 miles… But what was the crew of the Delta Airlines 767 coming from Rio doing in the early morning of 19 October when they landed on taxiway… Continue reading Delta 767 lands on taxiway in Atlanta
Missing its destination – not the first time
You have all seen the news; Northwest Airbus misses Minneapolis with crew preoccupied with whatever they were doing… But this is not such a big deal. Listen to the following story. In September 1995 I was out walking the dog (we had a wonderful Siberian Husky called Cyrano) when I noticed a DC-10-30 in Northwest… Continue reading Missing its destination – not the first time
What is common between SUVs and business jets?
Nothing you will say. But wait a second. These are not normal times… Some of the people with the environment close to their hearts take to the streets every now and then and stab the tires of big, ugly and expensive SUVs. They are sending a message to the owners of the offending vehicles to… Continue reading What is common between SUVs and business jets?
Put your 0.5 % where your mouth is
The next big event on the environmental Agenda is the UN’s climate change Summit in Copenhagen in December. Since tackling aviation is high on the Summit’s priorities, the aviation world has been working frantically to get ICAO to agree on a set of high level emission goals to be put forward at the conference. For… Continue reading Put your 0.5 % where your mouth is
Having fun with context sensitive ads
Editing a blog has many interesting aspects, not the least of which is wrestling with the technology we are using to bring you nice and interesting stuff. If a picture is sometimes temporarily misaligned or the text wraps in a funny way, well, it is not us trying to innovate… It is the undocumented features… Continue reading Having fun with context sensitive ads
What is nanotechnology’s equivalent in air traffic management?
It has been all over the trade press recently. 10 billion extra euros to go into French aeronautics research, the money coming from a planned public bond issue. Some of the fruits of this dough will come in the form of ground and flight demonstrations in the 2011-2014 time-frame and the primary aim of the… Continue reading What is nanotechnology’s equivalent in air traffic management?