Latest from Andrew Wood
ATC
UAVs pose little threat to civilian pilot jobs
Do UAVs threaten civil pilot careers? That’s the question that AIN posed to several attendees at a recent conference in Montreal, sponsored by industry tra
FBOs
Newark Airport GBAS Vulnerable to Truckers’ GPS Jammers
GPS designers understood from the beginning that the system’s weak signals would be vulnerable to inadvertent or deliberate interference, with the threat f
ATC
Eram Fixes Could Add $500M to FAA’s NextGen Tab
Software problems with the FAA's new, $2.1 billion en route automation modernization (Eram) computer system, originally scheduled to be operational at all
Regulations and Government
Equipage regs could delay ADS-B implementation
The road to ADS-B may well be paved with good intentions, but for operators of smaller aircraft there could be some serious financial potholes ahead.
ATC
GAO Warns NextGen Costs Could Quadruple
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure
ATC
Costly STC Requirements Threaten ADS-B Installations
Under a new FAA rule, ADS-B installation costs will at least double for corporate aircraft and could increase by up to 700 percent for general aviation air
ATC
ADS-B Gets Green Light, GPS Backup Less Clear
Following successful ADS-B deployment at key sites in Alaska, the
Training and Workforce
Simulator tech just keeps evolving
Just when we might have thought that flight simulators are about as “leading edge” as they can get, it turns out that the engineers have been busy developi
Safety
FAA Issues Advisory Circular for Bird Tracking Radar
Bird strikes are as old as aviation itself, with the Wright brothers reporting the first such hit during an early test flight.
ATC
GAO, DOT IG Concerned about FAA's NextGen
Each key FAA NextGen project has an individual "metric" to measure how its development is progressing.
ATC
NextGen architects ponder security
Establishing stronger cyber security must become a top national imperative, according to industry and government cyber security specialists at a recent FAA
Regulations and Government
ADS-B Costs Versus Benefits Remain Industry’s Concern
The FAA’s final rule on ADS-B equipage, published last week, appears to offer little change from the agency’s October 2007 notice of proposed rulemaking (N
FAA’s NextGen Under Heavy Crossfire
Separate testimonies late last month before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the
ATC
Two Satnav Satellites Lost Within 10 Days
The first geostationary satellite for India’s Gagan GPS space-based augmentation system (SBAS)–essentially similar to Waas–was lost on April 15 when its la
ATC
Administrative ‘hiccup’ blamed for ADS-B delay
Just as ADS-B was turning into the home stretch, with the FAA announcement of the final rule for mandatory equipage expected on April 10–a date agency offi
Avionics
Senate Bill Speeds, Expands ADS-B Aircraft Equipage
Monday’s passage of the FAA reauthorization bill in the Senate brought some surprises to future ADS-B users.
ATC
ADS-B Final Rule Hits Stumbling Blocks
The FAA’s long-promised April 10 release of its ADS-B final rule appears to have hit two bureaucratic stumbling blocks.
ATC
FAA Embraces NextGen Task Force Recommendations
The FAA has responded positively to a report from the RTCA NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force, which the agency had requested to recommend key step
Avionics
The Future of Global Navigation
For years the world’s aviation authorities have been preparing for the transition to a re-imagined operating environment where an array of new technologies
ATC
Expect some hurdles for NextGen integration
One of the traditional buzz phrases in discussions about improving ATC has been the time-honored “system of systems” that envisions a National Airspace Sys
FAA to issue Advisory Circular on FOD detection
The FAA is expected to issue on October 1 its Advisory Circular on automatic runway foreign object debris (FOD) detection and alerting systems, following a
FAA to issue Advisory Circular on FOD detection
The FAA was expected to issue on October 1 its Advisory Circular on automatic runway foreign object debris (FOD) detection and alerting systems, following
ATC
New System Will Cut Delays at Colorado Ski Airports
Corporate operators heading for Colorado’s Craig, Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Rifle Airports this winter shouldn’t worry about diverting to Denver and ha
Safety
FAA Soliciting Comments on FOD-detection System AC
The FAA is seeking industry comment by September 4 on draft
Avionics
Head-up synthetic vision coming to Globals next year
The Flight Dynamics division of Rockwell Collins next year plans to introduce a synthetic-vision system (SVS) with its Head-Up Guidance System (HGS, aka HU
Regulations and Government
Unexpected Anomalies Put Future GPS Under Stress
One key benefit of the future GPS III satellites that the DOD plans to launch in 2014 is that they will transmit a second civil aviation signal, called L-5
Safety
Birdstrike Warning Systems Not Quite Ready Yet
Despite claims by one company that its system is ready for prime time, industry experts tell AIN that accurate radar birdstrike warning fo
