ATM Modernization

UAV Avionics: Raising the Bar

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) aims high for the first generation of purpose-built, armed unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Its Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program, which unites earlier…

ATM Modernization

A350 Avionics: Combining the A330 and A380

Poised for an expected launch this month, Airbus' A350 will blend new avionics with tried-and-true systems, incorporating features from both its baseline, the enhanced A330-200, and the all-new A380. While not starting…

ATM Modernization

Editor’s Note: Delivering Fuel Savings

Despite a sprinkling of bright spots in the air transport industry--aircraft orders inching up and some U.S. major carriers reporting positive, second quarter financial results--the dark cloud of escalating fuel prices looms…

ATM Modernization

Feedback

Not Invented Here I retired from the FAA as the surveillance team lead in Aircraft Certification's Avionics Systems Branch (AIR-130) in October 2003. As an engineer and former Eastern Air Lines pilot…

Business & GA

The Growing Importance Of IFE Support

European airlines, like others worldwide, recognize how critical fully operational IFE equipment is to customer satisfaction. We learn, however, that various approaches exist to achieving nearly 100 percent systems reliability. The palpable…

Business & GA

Human Factors And the Future

Human factors (HF) are key in designing cockpit systems. Research psychologists constantly seek to enhance pilot performance by improving the human computer interface. Rarely, however, does one consider the origins, direction and…

Commercial

Product Focus: Mil-Std-1553: Evolution Continues

Military aircraft come and go, but Mil-Std-1553 soldiers on. This deterministic bus has remained fresh by constantly adopting the latest packaging technologies. The Mil-Std-1553 data bus market continues to thrive despite the…

Business & GA

New Products

Jeppesen Software A new Jeppesen product that includes JeppView electronic charts as well as flight planning applications is now available. NavSuite is the product of a Jeppesen strategy to integrate and package…

ATM Modernization

Perspectives: Airspace Users' Equipage Dilemma

The aviation community has widely endorsed the International Air Transport Association's (IATA's) strategic vision for future air traffic management (ATM). (Visit www.iata.org/whatwedo/infrastructure_strategy1.) Guided by this roadmap, one can identify the airborne capabilities…

ATM Modernization

Q&A: Nick Sabatini and John Timmerman

Like it or not, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are here to stay. The aircraft--big and small--have become a military fixture and made hundreds of flights in the national airspace system (NAS) this…