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 ModernizationADS-B Progress and the Proposed Rule Two steps forward and one step back. That’s the pace for many technologies and appears to be the story for automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), as well. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) seems…
Business & GAAging Avionics: A Break with the Past Military aircraft today are expected to endure far beyond their originally planned life spans: the 41-year-old B-52s may be around for decades to come. Military airplanes also have to accommodate new weapons,…