Once a luxury, today a necessity, and now that we have them, it’s hard to imagine living without them. We’re talking about phones. On aircraft, they’re sophisticated avionics systems. While all phones…
The Rafale fighter aircraft is like a "quick change artist." It’s versatile–made for both ground-based and carrier-based operations–and was designed for quick operation. How quick? Refueling the Rafale can be completed in…
I warned on this space (page 4, May 2000) that the aviation industry’s battle to protect the frequency spectrum required for safe operations would leave no room for respite. But, admittedly, I…
Surprisingly, in the highly competitive in-flight entertainment (IFE) business, adding popular new features no longer appears to be the airlines’ top priority. IFE reliability and supportability now dominate many of the air…
Although the Mil-Std-1553 spec, after decades of use, is ancient as electronics standards go, designers continue to develop cards and software, using the latest technologies. Bus analysis software, employed to monitor bus…
Sanders: Gobel, JSF Director Sanders appointed Dan J. Gobel as Sanders’ director for Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Electronic Warfare (EW) program. He will lead a technology team composed of Sanders,…
MD41-1480 Annunciator Mid-Continent Instruments’ MD41-1480 (series) annunciator is the latest accessory for the Garmin GNS 430 system, meeting U.S. Federal Aviation Administration requirements for the GPS annunciation in the pilot’s normal field…
Flight mode confusion is perhaps the greatest bane of modern "glass cockpit" aircraft. One possible solution may be to substitute "pictograms" for letters and numbers. At least, this is the thesis of…