ATM ModernizationUK to Consider More Instrument-Based Airport Approaches The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is considering the implementation of the wider availability of instrument-based approach procedures at smaller airports throughout Britain. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the CAA asked pilots, air…
Business & GARockwell Collins Opens Training Center in UK Rockwell Collins has unveiled a new simulation and training center in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, U.K. The new facility will manufacture "high-contrast, display and projector systems for use in highly-immersive simulation and…
CommercialAmerican Airlines Receives Approval for Expanded PED Use American Airlines passengers can begin using their personal electronic devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight after the carrier received FAA approval for the expanded use Tuesday. The expansion was granted to…
ATM ModernizationBoeing: 747-8 Upgrades Can Save $1 Million Per Aircraft Boeing is almost ready to bring a series of avionics and engine upgrades to its flagship 747-8 aircraft, claiming a further reduction in burn of 1.8 percent. The airframe manufacturer began flight…
CommercialAeroVironment to Develop MALE UAS for DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a $2.3 million contract to AeroVironment to develop a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can operate from small ships providing…
CommercialMQ-8C Completes First Flight Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C unmanned helicopter completed its first flight at the Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., last week. The flight, operated by a ground-based team from the U.S. Navy and…
CommercialThales, AirBerlin Sign Avionics Agreement The AirBerlin group has seined a seven-year "Avionics-by-the-hour" (ABTH) agreement with Thales in support of maintenance and spares provisioning for its fleet of A320 family aircraft. The German carrier has a total…
Business & GAEditor's Note: Shutdown As I write this column in mid-October from my Maryland office, just a stones-throw from our nation’s Capitol, the government is shutdown. Closed. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers around the country…
ATM ModernizationIndustry Scan FAA Considers Relaxing PED Rules FAA’s rules regulating the use of personal electronic devices (PED) on commercial aircraft are expected to change by 2014, as a federal advisory panel is expected to…
ATM ModernizationHuman Factors in Avionics Design Human factors engineering applies our understanding of the abilities and limitations of the human mind to the design of aircraft cockpits by studying the interaction of the pilot’s mind with proposed avionics…