Editor's NotePeople Stevens Aviation: Altenbern, Award Winner The Federal Aviation Administration has named James Altenbern the 2003 Avionics Maintenance Technician of the Year for the South Carolina district. He is employed at Stevens Aviation’s…
ATM ModernizationPerspective: IFALPA View: Emerging Technologies The hottest ticket for "right now" avionics applications has to be reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM) for domestic U.S. and Canadian airspace. The opening of the extra flight levels above 290 will…
Editor's NoteProduct Focus: Wire and Cable The importance of wire and cable selection, installation and maintenance cannot be overstated. The aviation industry’s approach to the parlous state of electrical wiring can be likened to an alcoholic’s progress—stout denial,…
CommercialSafety: Pre-Emptive Pattern Analysis A nosewheel’s hard impact during a landing last year shows how pattern analysis can lead to safer practices. In this event, the analysis followed the costly incident, but the broad lesson about…
Editor's NoteIndustry Scan Enter Entegra Avidyne Corp. recently gained Federal Aviation Administration approval for its FlightMax Entegra primary flight display (PFD). The 10.4-inch display presents standard flight instrumentation, and its approval includes Avidyne’s solid state…
Editor's NoteDispersing Heat: The Problems Heat is an awkward parameter to control in an avionics system, especially if normal operation generates large amounts of it. And every part, wire and circuit board trace that has energy flowing…
ATM ModernizationSafety: ETOPS Revisited Electrically related in-flight fires may be a greater threat to the safety of long-range flights than engine failures. A new report on extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS) marks a major effort to rationalize…
Editor's NoteIndustry Scan WARP and New Airspace The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently made two announcements pertinent to its airspace modernization plan. At a Washington press briefing, agency officials announced plans to deploy an advanced…