Monthly Archives: June 2009
EXPLAINER: Convective weather in the tropics
Bloomberg has a lengthy, general-interest article about the weather-related problems faced by aircraft flying between the northern and southern hemisphere (i.e. AF447): Violent weather in the region can approximate the supercells that spawn tornadoes in the U.S., which exceed altitudes … Continue reading
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American’s ‘green’ test flight canceled; may be rescheduled
Last week, we reported AA’s plans to test fuel-saving measures using satellite navigation on a B767 flight from CDG to MIA. According to the Dallas Morning News, that test was canceled due to mechanical problems with the plane. On his … Continue reading
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Utah lawmakers, NATCA resist ERAM test
From the Associated Press: Utah’s two U.S. senators are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to hold off testing a new computer system at a Salt Lake City air traffic control center that guides planes across portions of eight states. Republican … Continue reading
FAA approves use of Flint Hills UAS in broader, but still restricted airspace
From the Associated Press: Federal Aviation Administration officials have given approval for flights of an unmanned aerial vehicle near a National Guard range in central Kansas. The approval means the Flint Hills Solutions Aerosonde UAV will be allowed to fly … Continue reading
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NATCA: “We’re quite hopeful about NextGen”
The Dallas Morning News had a catch-all, general interest article about the status of NextGen. Here are some quotes: Aviation consultant Michael Boyd: “Capt. Babbitt isn’t going to run the FAA – it is going to run him. I have … Continue reading
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EXPLAINER: Everything you ever wanted to know about SESAR
Aviation Week’s David Esler has a very well-researched and in-depth article about SESAR, the European Union’s version of NextGen. It provides a lot of detail about how the two approaches differ (one example: NextGen implementation is being driven by the … Continue reading
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LAX gets runway status lights; system partially complete
From the Los Angeles Times: Federal and local officials will unveil a new warning system today that is designed to stop runway incursions that for years have endangered planes taxiing to and from terminals at Los Angeles International Airport. [..] … Continue reading
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Randy Babbitt: “NextGen is not moving fast enough”
At a speech before the RTCA, recently confirmed FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt offered some of his views on NextGen: The only way we’re going to get rotation on this is by making sure the parties are at the table, making … Continue reading
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What does AF447 crash mean for the future of oceanic communications and surveillance?
In the wake of the crash of the Air France A330 into the South Atlantic, a number of outlets have begun speculating on whether this could lead to a push for improved oceanic communications and surveillance. One summary comes from … Continue reading
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AA sees fuel savings “if we can get the regulators and rules out of the way”
In a Chicago Tribune article about Thursday’s AIRE demo flight, American Airlines captain and spokesman Brian Will had this to say: “For years, we’ve had all this great equipment on the airplanes, but we are not able to use a … Continue reading
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American Airlines flying CDG-MIA demo under AIRE initiative
From the Miami Herald: Thursday’s flight will use GPS signals virtually all the way, instead of conventional ground-based radio navigation beacons. A similar Paris-Miami flight by Air France is scheduled for Tuesday, according to the FAA — but the French … Continue reading
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More on workforce development: reader comment
Elizabeth, one of our readers, had this to say in response to our recent entry about education and workforce development issues in the aviation sector: While I agree that the aviation industry is going to be struggling because of the … Continue reading
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Young people avoiding aviation careers, forum presenters say
Aviation International News has a wrap-up of the New Jersey State Aviation Forum that was held at Newark airport last month, focusing on gaps in aviation education: “The whole aviation industry is balanced on the head of a pin,” said … Continue reading
Runway incursion at CLT; ASDE-X alerts controllers
The NTSB has released an incident report about a runway incursion between a CRJ-200 and a Pilatus PC-12 that happened at Charlotte-Douglas airport last week: At about 10:17 a.m. on May 29, a PSA Airlines CRJ-200 regional jet operated as … Continue reading
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