Business & GAProduct Focus: TCAS Obviously encouraged by the fact that no midair accidents involving commercial aircraft have taken place since traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS) came into widespread use, regulatory agencies are expanding the…
ATM ModernizationNew Products RVR Sensor Vaisala has introduced a new sensor for runway visual range (RVR) applications, the FS11. It uses forward scatter technology, which measures the attenuation of light in the atmosphere by transmitting…
CommercialSafety in Avionics: Flying in the Face of a 'Sensible Risk' It is significant when pilots express their lack of confidence in the safety of an airplane. Yet some pilots have done so. In the wake of the fatal Nov. 12, 2001, crash…
ATM ModernizationIndustry Scan GPS: Vulnerability Update Last September the U.S. Transportation Department (DoT) released a study on the vulnerabilities of GPS and of the transportation system dependent upon it. Because the report was issued the…
Business & GAAvionics System Design: Antennas and Feedlines All aircraft start out looking sleek and graceful. Then comes the avionics department, and their sleekness diminishes because every surface seems to have an antenna attached. Large or mission-specific airframes, especially, are…
CommercialEditor's Note: Boeing –– Misunderstood? Everyone knows Boeing manufactures airplanes. Many know, as well, that for the sake of diversification, it also provides other products and services, from satellites to broadband cabin communications to integrated military electronics.…
ATM ModernizationFeedback What’s Good for the Military… In your "Safety in Avionics" column, I read about the fact that vapors may have been ignited by wires in fuel tanks (June 2001). I would like…
CommercialCommunications Gate-to-Gate Few pilots, when preparing for a flight from, say, the west coast to the east coast with a brief overnight stop midway, would overlook testing their radios for full and correct operation…
ATM ModernizationAvionics Aftermarket Services: A Buyer's Market New airplane sales are down and opera-tors are focusing laser-like on the bottom line. Bent on reducing costs, airlines want to shift inventory expense and risk to suppliers on the best possible…
Business & GAMultimode Receivers: More Demand, More Capability Multimode recievers (MMRs), the high-integrity, multifunction navigation units installed on many air transport-class airplanes today, are expanding their scope. Driving this expansion are military aviation needs and the evolution of the National…