CommercialAvionics System Design: Learning from the Florida Recount Last year, the world was treated to an amazing demonstration of unintended design consequences, packaged as the 2000 U.S. presidential election. I know, I know, you’ve heard enough about the election and…
Business & GACabin Management at the Press of a Button Ask a question about cabin management systems and the reply is often another question: What do you mean by cabin management? The term has become part of the aviation world’s lexicon since…
MilitaryThe U.S. Army's Virtual Cockpit Virtual reality (VR) is not a new concept; it has been used to design and develop new aircraft for some time. What is new, however, is the "virtual cockpit," and it is…
ATM ModernizationEditor's Note: Bats and Air Traffic Control Ever wonder how bats–thousands of bats–are able to fly within the confines of a pitch-black cave without bumping into each other? No? Well, maybe you should–especially as a two-word phrase becomes more…
ATM ModernizationFeedback Airborne Silent Movies In your "Outlook" coverage in the January 2001 issue (page 30), you say in-flight movies go back more than 35 years. In fact, they go back much more than…
Business & GAOne-on-One with Smiths Aerospace's John Ferrie Smiths Aerospace is a company on the move. Last year, it forged ahead aggressively, acquiring three companies and announcing the merger with TI Group Plc, further consolidating Europe’s top tier of aerospace…
ATM ModernizationProduct Focus: Air Traffic Control Switches Most people think of a switch as something small and simple–something that can be manipulated by a finger. Not so in an air traffic control (ATC) center. The ground-based megaswitches for ATC…
Business & GAATN and the Reluctance to Accept the Inevitable The Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN) will shoulder no small amount of responsibility. Quite simply, it is being developed to interconnect all operational components of civil aviation, both air and ground, through a…