Tag: FAA

What a way to run a railroad – the FAA is shutting down!

The writing has been on the wall for some time. Approval of the reauthorization bill (the all important act of Congress that ensures funding to the FAA) has been a convoluted process year after year and there have been a few near misses already. But this time they have done it! The FAA went into… Continue reading What a way to run a railroad – the FAA is shutting down!

Meet EDA – The Efficient Descent Advisor

You will have heard of Tailored Arrivals… they are nice and work well but they often also need to be broken off prematurely when conflicts between aircraft arise. Now here is a tool that pre-empts the conflicts and releases the full power of tailored arrivals. Meet EDA, the Efficient Descent Advisor being developed by NASA.… Continue reading Meet EDA – The Efficient Descent Advisor

6 July 2011 – 75 years of ATC in the US

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration  marked the 75th anniversary of federal air traffic control ON 6 July as American aviation experiences its safest period ever. Since its inception with 15 workers operating in just three control centers in 1936, the agency has become a world leader, pioneering safety improvements and developing new technology to… Continue reading 6 July 2011 – 75 years of ATC in the US

FAA AC 120-76B – DRAFT – Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Use of Electronic Flight Bags (EFB)

The FAA recently released for comment a draft Advisory Circular 120-76B, “Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Use of Electronic Flight Bags (EFB)”. This is the third revision of the AC 120-76 series and provides guidance for operational approval and installation of Electronic Flight Bags. While previous versions of this AC were applicable primarily… Continue reading FAA AC 120-76B – DRAFT – Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Use of Electronic Flight Bags (EFB)

BluSky Services and Holland Aviation Consultancy & Engineering (HACE) team up to develop advanced e-training courses

The importance of training in aviation cannot be over emphasized. This has been amply demonstrated by recent events, including the Air France A330 crash and the A380 taxi incident, in both of which pilot training issues have been identified as important contributory factors. But the need for quality training extends way beyond pilots and air… Continue reading BluSky Services and Holland Aviation Consultancy & Engineering (HACE) team up to develop advanced e-training courses

When Titans speak

Mid-March Aviation Week published a double interview in which Canso director general Graham Lake and Air Traffic Control Association president/CEO Peter F. Dumont spoke their minds about air traffic management developments on both sides of the Atlantic. The interviews were refreshing and revealing. They both spoke about the prospects of SESAR and NextGen frankly and… Continue reading When Titans speak

Big brother in the sky

Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) is only now starting to make inroads as a surveillance means more accurate and cost-effective than traditional radar. With the ground infrastructure slowly being built, someone has already come up with a new idea: why not put the ADS-B receivers on satellites and start a surveillance service that covers… Continue reading Big brother in the sky

Margaret Sanders, ATCO – An example to follow

When I first embarked on our project to collect information about women in air traffic control in general and then about the first women air traffic controllers in the US, I did not think about a fact of life that is the other inevitable thing besides taxes… Many of those first pioneering ladies have flown… Continue reading Margaret Sanders, ATCO – An example to follow