Tag: pilot

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – What are the Implications?

We have all heard in the news how UASs have been used by the military and police forces to catch bad guys. Sometimes referred to as drones, these strange looking aircraft seem to possess superhuman abilities to sniff out targets. So what are they really and what will happen when they start to appear outside… Continue reading Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – What are the Implications?

1 August 2011 – 100 year anniversary of first US woman with a pilot’s license

Harriet Quimby was born in Michigan in 1875 and lived on the family farm until it went bankrupt. Around age 25 she moved to San Francisco, California where she got the stage bug and dreamed about becoming an actress. This was not to be however but her superb writing skills made her into a journalist… Continue reading 1 August 2011 – 100 year anniversary of first US woman with a pilot’s license

The Great SID/STAR Phraseology Fiasco

Most of us find the workings of ICAO pretty strange. The constant repetition of States’ sovereignty, with its assumption that they actually know what they are talking about, is quaint, rather than obviously dangerous. The glacial speed of progress, with timescales measured in years for quite minor textual changes, can be exasperating, but nothing is… Continue reading The Great SID/STAR Phraseology Fiasco

When birds meet

When the synthetic voice announces “Hundred above” we know that in 100 feet we will reach the altitude where we must decide whether we land or not.. Malmo Sturup airport runway 35 and the lemon-colored terminal slowly come into view from behind the low cloud layer that hid them from sight so far. “Minimum” and… Continue reading When birds meet

The Responsibility of Command

The recently published report on the crash of the Polish Presidential flight to Smolensk in April last year makes very sorry reading. Not just because of the loss of life but also because of the many systemic failures it exposes. The English language version can be found here. In this short article I don’t want… Continue reading The Responsibility of Command

The long and winding road – women in the cockpit and the control tower

To-day, nobody bats an eye at the sight of a four-striper with long blond hair and lipstick hauling her flight case like her male colleagues do. Even an all female crew in the front office is commonplace these days. A female voice on the control frequency is also quite normal now in most of the… Continue reading The long and winding road – women in the cockpit and the control tower

Progress in the Russian skies

The former Soviet Union was known for many things but in aviation circles it became notorious for two things: their insistence on using metres standard instead of flight levels and the radio failure procedures applicable to aircraft heading into Soviet airspace. While the ICAO rules said that an aircraft unable to communicate should proceed to… Continue reading Progress in the Russian skies

Predictably Irrational – The hidden forces that shape our decisions

By Dan Ariely Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers ISBN – 13 978-0-00725652-5 Air traffic management and flying aircraft require controllers and pilots to constantly make decisions, often split second decisions and usually in circumstances where there is no room for a second try. You have to get it right first time, every time. Of course controllers and pilots… Continue reading Predictably Irrational – The hidden forces that shape our decisions

A kid in the tower, a pilot without license and other things

The unprecedented success of the air transport industry is due mainly to the spectacular improvements in safety booked overt the years. True, the convenience of being able to travel to the other end of Europe for a meeting and back the same day count for a lot, but without the safety factor, few passengers would… Continue reading A kid in the tower, a pilot without license and other things