Istvan Bozsa – forever controller What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid? We lived near the airport and I was dreaming of becoming a pilot from very early on. I remember how we took the bike to ride all the way to the perimeter fence and watch the planes for hours… Continue reading Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
Visiting Djibouti… 2
Arrival in Addis Come the morning of the next day, we call ahead of our arrival to be sure that our passports were ready. The lady we spoke to yesterday answers the phone and advises us to call back a bit later as the consul had not yet arrived at the Embassy and she had… Continue reading Visiting Djibouti… 2
Split second decisions… nanosecond pictures
Pilots and controllers are regularly called upon to make split-second decisions. That is a pretty damn short time to make up your mind… Nanoseconds are even shorter. Check out these slides to see what happens in a nanosecond.
20 October – ATCO day
Air traffic control centers are often far away from the airports and the sunscreen glass of the control towers (which for the time being at least tend to be on the airport…) prevents people from getting a glimpse of those inside. To pilots and vehicle drivers on the airport surface, the voices may be familiar,… Continue reading 20 October – ATCO day
Free flight
Birds are not subject to air traffic management… May be that is why they are a smile in the sky.
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
System Wide Information Management (SWIM) – Here and now
That in ATM we are only now taking the first tentative steps to set the scene for the implementation of System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is not due in any way to SWIM being so complicated, it needing rocket science or yet to be invented technologies. Many an “expert” would make you believe this to… Continue reading System Wide Information Management (SWIM) – Here and now
A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 2
The clash of VDL Mode 4 and VDL Mode 2 Following years of testing and discussions on countless forums, VDL Mode 2 was emerging as the solution that, combined with the ATN protocol, could support the initial implementation of Controller Pilot Digital Link Communications. There was nothing else it could do but it had a… Continue reading A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 2
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?
Show me your tower, I tell you who you are
Show a pilot or air traffic controller a photo of a control tower with nothing else visible on the picture and they will say the name of the airport almost without thinking. This happens every time, no matter how little known or exotic the airport may be. This is no accident. The tower is the… Continue reading Show me your tower, I tell you who you are