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Saturday, 16 January 2010 02:29

ADS-B Active in the Gulf of Mexico

By James E. Swickard This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Houston air traffic controllers are now using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), a GPS-based, NextGen technology, to separate and monitor aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico.

That milestone, announced Tuesday by FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, came as the U.S. Coast Guard prepared to shut down the U.S. Loran-C chains that for decades provided long-range position-fixing capability to mariners and aviators.

“This is a significant, early step toward NextGen,” said Babbitt at the Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center. “We’re delivering on time a system that’s not only more accurate than radar but comes with significant safety and efficiency benefits. This will save time and money for aircraft operators and passengers and reduce our carbon footprint.”

Previously, there was virtually no radar coverage over the Gulf, which required 120-mile in-trail separation of high-altitude IFR traffic.

Similarly, individual helicopters flying under IFR at low altitudes to and from oil platforms were encased in 20x20-mile “boxes” to ensure safe separation from other helicopters. ADS-B now permits five-mile separation.

ADS-B-equipped aircraft use GPS to determine their position, and broadcast it (the B in ADS-B) to ATC ground stations. The ground stations relay the aircraft identity and position to controllers’ displays where it can be fused with radar data as appropriate.

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Wednesday, 02 December 2009 21:56

FAA Bans Polished Frost Takeoffs

Airbus in the Snow

Starting Jan. 30, 2010, all aircraft contaminated with "polished" (smooth) frost on wings, as well as on stabilizing and control surfaces will be prohibited from takeoff, according to the FAA final rule published today.

Majors and regionals are already prohibited from operating aircraft contaminated with polished frost. FAA's final rule removes language in Parts 91 (subpart F), 125 and 135, which allowed operators to take off with frost that was polished to make it smooth -- and requires operators to remove any frost adhering to critical surfaces before takeoff.

The final rule also restructures language in parts 91, 125 and 135 to clarify that aircraft must have functioning deicing or anti-icing equipment to fly IFR into known or forecast light or moderate icing - or under VFR conditions into known light or moderate icing conditions.

Previous FAA guidance recommended removal of all wing frost prior to takeoff, but allowed frost to be polished smooth if the operator followed the manufacturer's procedures. However, aircraft makers have never published standards of acceptable smoothness, nor is there supportive data to determine how to polish frost to a satisfactory smoothness, according to FAA.

Industry Debate Focuses On Flightcrew Training

Nov 27, 2009

Frances Fiorino

An intense industry debate surrounds the question of whether current training is cultivating vital piloting skills. Is more legislation aimed at developing "fail-safe" flight crews the right answer, or is it time to toss the U.S.centric model and adopt a new global standard?

The traditional career path to becoming a professional pilot starts at a local flight school, an aeronautical college or in the military. After obtaining required licenses and certifications, the candidate builds the flight time required for an airline job by instructing or working for small commuter or night-cargo operators. In the days of three-person cockpits, the new-hire would start as a flight engineer and spend several years gaining experience while graduating to the right seat as first officer, then to the prized left seat of captain.

This method has worked well. "The fact that the U.S.'s safety record, the best in the world, is as good as it has been I attribute to the quality of training that is present in the airline business," notes NTSB Member Robert Sumwalt, who has logged about 24,000 hr. in his 24-year career as an airline pilot. In 2008, scheduled and nonscheduled U.S. airlines carried 753 million passengers on more than 10.8 million flights without a fatality. And the total accident rate for Part 121 scheduled carriers was 0.107 per/100,000 flight hours and 0.189 per 100,000 departures.

However, "it's a different world now - and we are not training for it," stresses Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO William R. Voss. Learning to handle rare events, such as engine failure at V1 takeoff-decision speed, still dominates training. What's needed are methods that reflect real-world operations in real-world, automated cockpits. "When you fundamentally reinvent the cockpit, you introduce new failure modes," says Voss.

"What a life-or-death emergency looks like now isn't a scene from a Clark Gable movie - a flaming engine and a macho pilot in the left seat with a cigar hanging out of his mouth," says Voss. "It's about what happens when all the displays go dark in the middle of the night and you don't know what to do," emphasizing that current training does not provide the skills needed to deal with the challenges of automation (see p. 57).

Airplane Scheduling And Tracking Utility Available Online

Tue, 27 Oct '09

AirplaneManager.com Launches Latest Version Of Web-Based Aircraft Scheduling Software

AirplaneManager.com launched the latest version of its aircraft scheduling and management solution.

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) launch represents two years of work on the core product and includes upgrade enhancements such as a TSA no-fly auto-search and a fuel-finder quoting tool.

This feature expansion, allows users to quickly compare a flight's passenger list in AirplaneManager.com against the most current TSA no-fly list at any point in the scheduling process.

AirplaneManager.com also offers a new fuel-finder tool that searches a database of contract fuel providers and FBOs for requested departing and arriving airports. Users can contact any vendor at the destination airfield and request fuel pricing quotes.

For more information visit: www.airplanemanager.com

Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 18:00

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ADS-B Active in the Gulf of Mexico

December 2006 Space Shuttle Launch

You are GO for Throttle-up!

FAA Bans Polished Frost Takeoffs

Industry Debate Focuses On Flightcrew Training

Airplane Scheduling And Tracking Utility Available Online

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