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.
Tag: NextGen
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
The transition from AIS through AIM to IM – What is this?
A global congress with this title will make even the aficionados of abbreviations shiver… AIS, AIM, IM… What is next? UR? Well, the funny thing is, the title is perfectly correct and abbreviations or not, it reflects one of the most profound changes ever in the way information is collected, promulgated and used in international… Continue reading The transition from AIS through AIM to IM – What is this?
2010 ICNS Conference – Call for participation
The 2010 Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance (ICNS) conference will take place on May 11-13 2010 at the Westin Washington Dulles Airport Hotel in Herndon, VA. The conference this year is by-lined as “The challenged of NextGen, new issues for aviation’s future”. The Conference, jointly sponsored by government, civil and military, and industry, addresses long… Continue reading 2010 ICNS Conference – Call for participation
Is the industry ready for this?
The northern hemisphere has just gone through its snowiest January days in 40 years and polar temperatures reached as far South as Orlando in Florida. Sure, this is not abnormal some may say… but what if we do not have to wait forty years for the next episode? An Air France flight en-route from Brazil… Continue reading Is the industry ready for this?
Glossary of Air Traffic Management terms and definitions
Ever since my first tentative steps into the world of ICAO provisions and the hard learned lessons about the need to use terminology properly even to a fault, I had this thing about texts that were lax and inconsistent in terminology use. To put it bluntly, I hated them. Not only do they fail to… Continue reading Glossary of Air Traffic Management terms and definitions
Passengers are not the only ones who need good communications – pilots do too!
Few parts of aircraft have evolved as little as the communications capability. OK, we no longer use tubes in the radios but other than that, the VHF AM system is as legacy as they come. To add insult to injury, when the shortage of frequencies in the aviation band finally forced the industry to do… Continue reading Passengers are not the only ones who need good communications – pilots do too!
Enterprise Architecture and service orientation – what is this?
Few abbreviations connected with the future air traffic management system have given rise to so many questions and misunderstandings as EA (Enterprise Architecture) and SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). In the United States both concepts are part and parcel of air traffic management system development since the marching orders were given by the Federal Government. In… Continue reading Enterprise Architecture and service orientation – what is this?
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
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?