Whenever a discussion is started about whether or not we should entrust aircraft navigation to GPS, there will be at least one person raising the issue of jamming. This is the specter of a single bad guy with a little black box purchased on eBay for a few bucks creating havoc in air navigation by… Continue reading Jamming GPS – No bad guys needed, the FCC will do it for you!
Tag: ILS
Aerodrome control towers of the world – Honolulu International, Honolulu, Hawai’i
Hawai’i is the most remote location on Earth. No other place on earth is so far away from its neighbor landmass as the Hawaiian Islands are. Honolulu, which means Quiet Harbor, is on the Island of O’ahu and next to the famous holiday resort of Waikiki. The airport is right next to the city and… Continue reading Aerodrome control towers of the world – Honolulu International, Honolulu, Hawai’i
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
British Airways Boeing 777 Heathrow accident final report issued
G-YMMM was executing British Airways Flight 38 Beijing-London Heathrow on 17 January 2008 when it crash landed just short of the runway at its destination airport. Several people were injured but there were no fatalities. The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has now released its final report on the accident. The 777 was 720… Continue reading British Airways Boeing 777 Heathrow accident final report issued
Same time, same place, same level…17
Navigation, the art of getting lost – Part 2 A taxiway will do… A few years later, however, we got our share of uninvited visitors, too. This time it was a Sunday and the observation terrace was crowded by people, some of them waiting for flights due in later, others just there to watch for… Continue reading Same time, same place, same level…17
Same time, same place, same level…16
Navigation, the art of getting lost – Part 1 Faultless navigation plays an all important role in the safe operation of aircraft. There are scores of instruments both in the cockpit and on the ground, the purpose of which is to make sure that pilots and controllers are constantly aware of where their airplanes are… Continue reading Same time, same place, same level…16
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
A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 3
Pioneers to the rescue In spite of the positive business case, airspace users were not exactly rushing to equip with air/ground digital link. Because of the slow down of traffic growth in the wake of 9/11, the expected ACARS problems did not materialize and the ATC frequency congestion was also pushed far into the future.… Continue reading A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 3