There are places in the world where ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information System) is still the hard to understand analogue affair, suffering not only from poor voice quality but also the multitude of accents their operators will dish out for you. Of course, somebody somehow will have approved them for use, poor quality, accent and all.… Continue reading Will training finally meet the future?
Category: Viewpoint
Editorial view on topical subjects
Whatever happened to (the benefits of) Mode S Enhanced Surveillance (EHS)?
Though there are few who will not be familiar with the term Mode S Enhanced Surveillance, let me quickly recap. Mode S is a legacy, ground based surveillance system which has a rudimentary data link capability. It is this latter that was being pushed in the 90s as a solution to all ills of air… Continue reading Whatever happened to (the benefits of) Mode S Enhanced Surveillance (EHS)?
We need pro-active safety
After two aircraft collided over Zagreb on 10 September 1976, authorities in the region started to scramble, speeding up the introduction of more modern ATC equipment. The Uberlingen mid-air in 2002 highlighted several shortcomings in pilot training as well as ATC practices. Then we jump to 2009 and a crash near Buffalo in the US… Continue reading We need pro-active safety
High price to pay
Driving to Brussels airport is easy these days and parking is a cinch. The new parking garages are ready and even the ridiculously narrow space between the hotel and the terminal (where were the airport planners when that thing was put there?) has been rearranged to make better use of what is available. Conspicuously missing… Continue reading High price to pay
Space junk and global warming… Heads up!
An Air France jet falls out of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean, pitot-tubes are blamed but otherwise there is little clue as to the cause. Several passengers and crew are injured when aircraft in cruise encounter severe turbulence. Tennis-ball size hail demolishes part of the historic wine-growing region in Hungary. Tornados ravage villages in… Continue reading Space junk and global warming… Heads up!
Fast trains and airplanes in China
When we say High Speed Train, we tend to think of France and Japan first and foremost. We also know that there is a kind of love-hate relationship between those fast train companies and the airlines. Love is in the air, or rather on the tracks, when some Thalys trains run with an Air France… Continue reading Fast trains and airplanes in China
Is the training of air traffic controllers better?
One of the surprising and possibly unexpected early recommendations coming out of the investigation of the recent Air France Airbus 330 crash is that training in certain basic piloting skills and the handling of unusual situations must be strengthened and improved. Excuse me? Have we already reached the stage where the pilots of a sophisticated… Continue reading Is the training of air traffic controllers better?
Cost/benefit analysis in ATM – blessing or curse?
Many years ago we were enjoying the sun and a sandwich on Schiphol’s observation deck during lunch hour when news came that one of the major airlines there had a new top executive who was neither pilot, nor engineer. He was a bean-counter! I remember the initial feeling of horror and consternation at what back… Continue reading Cost/benefit analysis in ATM – blessing or curse?
Are we doing enough?
Aviation Week and Space Technology, in their August 3 issue’s Market Focus commentary painted a very bleak picture of the US and European aerospace industry’s future. Referring to developments in China, they postulated that the 2010s may well be the last decade of US and European pre-eminence in the sector. This came on top of… Continue reading Are we doing enough?
The CFMU – Valuable asset or problem for the future?
Few people remember the days of horrendous delays in Europe caused by the explosive growth of demand in the latter part of the 70s and early 80s. States tried to cope with the problem as best they could but the individual efforts made things worse as often as they helped in resolving the logjam