Train them well… but watch your step!

During my ATC years and also after, I did a fair amount of training that ranged from ICAO Annex 14 (Airports), radio telephony procedures and ATC automation to HMI design and airspace user requirements in the future ATM system. The students represented a similarly broad spectrum from ab-initio controller trainees to ATC supervisors, engineers and… Continue reading Train them well… but watch your step!

Conversion course – Does anyone understand the airlines?

My fascination with aircraft started at about age 5 and I first heard about air traffic control when I was 16. Gabi Nemeth who made music besides being an air traffic controller was on a TV talk show and he made a gallant effort to explain what ATC was all about… He must have done… Continue reading Conversion course – Does anyone understand the airlines?

Call sign similarity rules

News from EUROCONTROL’s aviation safety knowledge base SKYbrary One key element in reducing the number of call sign Confusion events is an agreed set of Call Sign Similarity Rules i.e. agreed definitions of what constitutes ‘a similarity’. These Rules have been identified by analysis of safety reports concerning call sign confusion and published by the… Continue reading Call sign similarity rules

The communications related aspects of runway incursions

More than two incursions a day… Few other incidents return with the grim and persistent regularity of runway incursions. A lot of effort by all concerned has resulted in a reduction of the total number of incidents but there are still, on average, more than two runway incursions in Europe per day. Clearly, there remains… Continue reading The communications related aspects of runway incursions

Is an aircraft an aeroplane or the other way round? The importance of proper terminology.

The word game A lot of air traffic management related material passes through our hands, usually to be checked with a view to ensuring quality of content and consistency of the terminology. There is a disturbing trend that is becoming more and more evident with the passage of time. The documents show a deteriorating level… Continue reading Is an aircraft an aeroplane or the other way round? The importance of proper terminology.

8.33 kHz Channel spacing – what is this?

The radio spectrum, a scarce resort One of the most basic activities in a cockpit is tuning the radio to the assigned frequency of whoever we want to talk to. Contacting ground control, the tower or one’s own company is done by turning a few knobs until the right numbers show in the radio control… Continue reading 8.33 kHz Channel spacing – what is this?

Interesting people, unusual flight plans…

Mike Russo – Looking back on a lifetime in aviation Mike, lead principal engineer and Executive Secretary of the AEEC has recently retired from Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC). What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid? I grew up in a rural family with limited means and there were not that many… Continue reading Interesting people, unusual flight plans…

KLM and Aeroflot take-off from taxi-ways

Strange as it may seem one of the more difficult things that pilots have to deal with is finding their way around airports. Despite ICAO standardisation many obvious things like airport signage are not always the same at every airport, and even if they were, airport layouts will always differ. Surprisingly, navigating the aircraft down… Continue reading KLM and Aeroflot take-off from taxi-ways

Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) Manual from ICAO now available

ICAO has made available an unedited, advance version of the Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) Manual as approved, in principle, by the Secretary General. Although the final, edited version may still undergo editorial alterations, the substance should stay the same. The purpose of this Manual is to provide guidance and harmonize the development and implementation of… Continue reading Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) Manual from ICAO now available

Beyond the runway end safety area

News from EUROCONTROL’s aviation safety knowledge base SKYbrary The consequences of many runway excursions, especially overruns, are made much more serious because the aircraft end up beyond the actual or nominal confines of the ICAO-defined Runway End Safety Area (RESA) and is catastrophically damaged because of major obstructions or terrain changes encountered soon after this… Continue reading Beyond the runway end safety area