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Wx Offices at ATC Centers Could Close
July 01, 2009
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association is criticizing the Commerce Department’s proposal to close the National Weather Service center weather service units (CWSU) at each of the 20 air route traffic control centers in the continental U.S. Instead of the current face-to-face briefings, the NWS has offered to send the FAA forecasts from two central...
moreFAA boss: Implement NextGen now
July 01, 2009
New FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has joined a diverse group of aviation industry organizations in calling for an acceleration of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).In a speech before the RTCA Symposium last month, Babbitt said NextGen is just not moving fast enough. “I want more, and I want more faster,” he said. “This Administration...
moreSmartLanding software adds approach guidance to EGPWS
July 01, 2009
The verdict has been in for a long time: a stabilized approach is an essential part of a safe landing. Airlines and business aviation operators almost universally require pilots to fly stabilized approaches, but until now there has been no way to monitor approach performance in real time other than an alert fellow pilot to warn the flying pilot that he...
moreMore on Honeywell’s EGPWS Front
July 01, 2009
Honeywell is offering a new product called “long landing”–an EGPWS software solution, in addition to its new SmartLanding. “Long landings” can result from both stable and unstabilized approaches, according to Michael Grove, Honeywell marketing director for safety and information management surveillance systems. The system calls out a “long landing” if the...
moreJuly 01, 2009
Given that Cessna offers the Aircell Axxess satcom system as an option for its Citation XLS+, Sovereign and X, it seemed only a matter of time before the Wichita business jet maker expanded the partnership to offer Aircell’s high-speed data service as well. Last month Cessna said it will do just that, making the Aircell air-to-ground service available to...
moreChicago Jet Group STCs Universal Waas FMS in Falcon 50
July 01, 2009
Chicago Jet Group, located at Aurora Municipal Airport, has gained an STC for installing dual Universal Avionics UNS-1Fw and UNS-1Lw flight management systems in the Dassault Falcon 50. The STC includes approval for 3-D coupled Waas GPS (Rnav) and localizer performance with vertical guidance approaches (LPV). LPVs are the fastest growing type of instrument...
moreTransport Canada Delays 406-MHz ELT Requirement
July 01, 2009
Despite proposing mandatory equipage with emergency locator transmitters that broadcast on 406 MHz by Feb. 9, 2009, Transport Canada now says it is delaying the move to give its rulemaking technical committee more time to explore alternative means of compliance. The Aircraft Electronics Association said it will have a representative on the committee, who...
moreICG Integrates NxtMail Server with Cobham Satcom
July 01, 2009
Satcom equipment maker International Communications Group said it has developed an interface allowing its NxtMail e-mail server to connect through Cobham’s SDU-7300 Swift64 and SDU-7320 SwiftBroadband satcom systems. The setup makes it possible to connect up to eight Wi-Fi devices simultaneously for sending and receiving e-mail in flight. ICG says its...
moreSwiftBroadband employed more for e-mail than Web
July 01, 2009
Inmarsat’s I-4 mobile broadband satellite constellation is finished and the first SwiftBroadband customers are enjoying data access at speeds faster and for lower cost than the previous generation of Swift64 service, so one would think the London-based company would have little information to share at its annual aeronautical conference, held last month in...
moreEsterline CMC unveils new EFB
July 01, 2009
Esterline CMC Electronics unveiled the newest version of its PilotView electronic flight bag last month at the Paris Air Show. The CMA-1410 features a 10.4-inch-diagonal display, Intel Centrino mobile processor running Windows XP, USB ports and built-in Wi-Fi capability. The new system will allow pilots to view electronic charts, graphical weather...
moreL-3 seeks $21.7 million from Cirrus in SmartDeck lawsuit
July 01, 2009
L-3 Avionics Systems is seeking $21.7 million in a lawsuit against lightplane maker Cirrus Design over the cancellation of an order for SmartDeck cockpit systems and money allegedly owed for Stormscope and other stand-alone products.
In the lawsuit, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based avionics maker alleges that Cirrus signed a contract to purchase 350...
moreJuly 01, 2009
As a crucial reporting deadline looms, a private not-for-profit task force recruited to advise the FAA on Nextgen implementation is believed still to be some distance away from consensus on the program’s final objective.
The RTCA’s NextGen implementation task force is considering a number of approaches for moving ahead with the framework for the future...
moreWill retired satellites be revived to fill GPS gap?
July 01, 2009
Testifying before Congress in May, Stanford University professor Brad Parkinson–the chief architect of GPS and the original GPS program manager before his retirement from the USAF–echoed the concern of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that there will be insufficient backup satellites to fill gaps in the constellation before the DOD’s forecast 2014...
moreUnexpected Anomalies Put Future GPS Under Stress
June 25, 2009
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, that new receivers will compare with today’s L-1 civil signals to eliminate ionospheric interference, the last major cause of GPS errors. Unfortunately, while a pre-production L-5 test package launched...
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