I shouldn’t be doing this at all, I should be finishing off my TMA, Tutor Marked Assignment… but I just couldn’t resist a little recreational tapping. I’m at my hotel room desk reflecting on our approach into Newark last night and the way we were dropped down progressively to the north of New York during the intermediate approach.
Every airspace has its management requirements, that’s given, but we are living in a new world where we are told that fuel is getting scarcer and big strides are being made towards a conservation led airspace policy. So why the early descents that leave us thundering along way below the profile hosing unnecessary amounts fuel overboard? Sure, I know there will be an answer, but what about an innovative approach to airspace management that eradicates the wastage of fuel as a priority? After all, isn’t FANS a response driven by that objective? FANS works in the vertical plane, as well as the horizontal – but I guess a massive rethink is on the way… one day perhaps.
The clue to the process lies in the heavy white area around NYC on the graphic above.
Every time that volcano poops into the atmosphere it costs someone somewhere millions. The devastating effect it’s having on air travel is unprecedented. We are used to these things happening in the remoter regions or perhaps in the Caribbean, that’s fair play and par for the course. Having a strategically placed vent on the earths crust that can close down ALL Atlantic traffic is… well, plain unsporting.
The pilot will be off the flight deck in a short while. “The last fighter pilot has been born, the last fighter built.” These are some of statements written or repeated by Scott Spangler of Jetwhine, someone I don’t know but suspect has his tongue firmly rammed into the corner of his cheek. See the post on Jetwhine for the authors and more on the proposition. That must be close to his real objective, stirring up controversy that is.
Anyone who spends their working day up there can plot across time the development of the high tech flight deck and the out of step march of technology on the ground that manages the sky. The pace of advancement on the side of automation is driven by the military through UAV programs but anyone with a ounce of analytical inclination can see that progress and public attitudes just will not cross for many, many years to come.
One inhibitor is ever increasing traffic densities robbing the system of flex and airspace, another sovereignty based issues. Another still and by far the major hurdle is the huge investment that would be required in ground support infrastructure. We can’t yet fund and set up something as simple as a satellite based ATC communications system to manage the Atlantic or Africa, what makes us think we will be able to put in place the agreements and kit required to intermix and manage automated airliners internationally? It may happen, but not for a very long time yet – I would stake my job and even my rocking chair on it!
Nice try Scott but get real, pulling our chain is one thing, a serious proposal is quite another.
Now military aviation, that’s more than subtly different.
24-hours observation of all of the large aircraft flights in the world, condensed down to about 2 minutes.
This is a 24-hours observation of all of the large aircraft flights in the world, condensed down to about 2 minutes. From space, we look like a bee-hive of activity! You could tell it was summer time in the north by the sun’s footprint over the planet. You could see that it didn’t quite set in the extreme north and it didn’t quite rise in the extreme south. Here is where it came from. Best quality here.
A three-day US-India "aviation partnership summit" that kicks off today in New Delhi will focus on how FAA can help India cope with explosive air transport growth, as well as relations between the countries and future infrastructure development, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said.
"This is certainly one of the most significant trips I’ve taken as FAA administrator," Blakey told reporters Friday in a conference call before leaving Washington. "India is certainly where the action is right now. This is an opportunity for us to lend our expertise as India comes to grips with this tremendous growth."
She said the summit primarily will involve "information sharing" and discussions of "best practices," but she hopes to establish the framework for the countries’ future relations on air transport issues. Air traffic management, airspace utilization and bilateral collaboration in airborne systems are key topics likely to be on the table.
"Do they [India] have challenges? Yes, they do," said Blakey, pointing to an "upcoming pilot shortage," aging infrastructure and congested airspace around New Delhi and Mumbai. She believes the congestion issue is "a huge area where they can make advances" by adopting better air traffic routing practices.
She added that Indian officials have demonstrated the "political will and expertise" necessary for modernization. "If there were not that kind of commitment, FAA wouldn’t be so engaged," she said.
Following the summit, Blakey will travel to Dubai, becoming the first FAA administrator to visit the Middle East. "I am excited about lending the full weight of FAA to our interests there," she said, noting that developing "global standards" for aviation is critical.
A preliminary report says a pilot misjudged an airstrip causing a commercial jet carrying British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family to overshoot a runway at Miami International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the captain of British Airways Flight 209 told airport officials that he thought the end of the runway was farther than it actually was.
No injuries or damage to the plane were reported when the plane hit some airfield lights after it landed December 26th.
British Airways initially blamed the landing on poor lighting or construction. An airline spokesman says he hasn’t seen a copy of the N-T-S-B report.
Airport officials have said there was no construction on the runway.
A final report should be released in about six months.
Ed,
Ever heard of Murphy’s Law? “Things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance.” It might be further interpreted to mean “If something can be misunderstood or performed incorrectly, it will be.”
From the ‘horses mouth,’ the lighting system in contention was inadequate for purpose. It is being left to our imagination and research to decide why the blame for this inconsequential incident is being laid at the door of the pilots.
Why, after all that has been written and revealed, why do news organisations still insist on using emotive terms like, ‘overshoot a runway’ when nothing of the sort actually happened. The aircraft went past a runway turnoff point.
A three-day US-India "aviation partnership summit" that kicks off today in New Delhi will focus on how FAA can help India cope with explosive air transport growth, as well as relations between the countries and future infrastructure development, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said.
