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ATC is complex and resistant to computerization as many failed attempts to introduce advance automation into ATC has shown. Despite this the need to remove human error and to optimize trajectories which will over time lead to massive fuel and cost savings as well as efficiencies and time savings for the consumer has meant that the goal has been doggedly pursued. Numerous trials of various systems have taken place and are still talking place. Modern FMS and autothrottle and autopilot systems now permit such precise management of cruising speed that the time is now deemed by many to have come for the NextGen ATC which will provide these efficiencies.
In an announcement on 21st of August the FAA and Embry Riddle said that the dimension of time would be introduced into a demonstration of flight management. Read more…

A number of pioneers have been chipping away at the problems involved in creating electrically powered aircraft. A variety of approaches are being actively pursued and as yet it is not clear which direction will prove to be the most successful. Contemporary electric motors are already up to the job of powering aircraft up to the light twin level with motors up to 500 kwatts being feasible and available but the problem of power storage or fuel remains opaque to really successful commercially useful solution. Exceptions to this are some niche application such as drones and long duration UAVs where applications are being perfected now.
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In a grim reminder of the fact that aviation can bite even the highly gifted it has been reported that Vicki Cruze a past US Aerobatics champion was killed in a crash at Silverstone in the UK. She was flying an Edge 540. The crash is being investigated.
On the local Australian scene in recent months two other Icons of aerobatic excellence Pip Borman and Tom Moon have died in low level incidents.
This underlines that the studied perfection we have so often observed is the result of great dedication and always carries with it the threat of the unexpected. Anyone tempted to aerobat at low level should bear in mind the likely fact that all these people might still be alive if they had been gifted with the cushion of another 1000ft of altitude.

Eclipse was a game changer and an historic episode in aviation. When it finally fell on its sword or was forced to face reality many were deeply saddened but few were really surprised. it had all sounded too good to be true from the outset and so it turned out to be. The normal routine fighting over the corps has been prolonged but maybe it is over and perhaps just maybe Eclipse has a future and a secure place in Aviation.
Just yesterday a Federal Judge approved the $40 million purchase of Eclipse Aviation.
This gives the Albuquerque-based manufacturer a chance to restart production and support of its light jet. Read more…

The recent tragic loss of a DHC 6 twin otter in PNG with the loss of at least 13 lives has brought out into the open all the usual suspects. The pilot a young PNG National has callously and unreasonably been dubbed inexperienced and the aircraft affectionately know to many as The Twatter described as poorly maintained. With these and other stories such as that the co pilot had been “forced” to fly on his day off all coming from no where it seems likely that after the ususal shock horror tsk tsk reaction an enquiry will be called and what is already is known will be pointed out (flying in PNG is very difficult, aviation infra structure has been allowed to decay to a point which would be unacceptable in many other places in the world etc) and then a few people will be blamed preferably I suspect people outside PNG such as Australia or the EU and nothing will change.
I surely hope not. It is technically possible to avoid such incidents and relatively cheap and simple so to do. Augmented GPS approaches and rotary wing transport would transform such operations as the Kokoda one with a much lower level of risk. The Augmented GPS component of this solution is available now and should be put in place with dispatch. I suppose there will be a fight over who will pay for it. Couldn’t the interested parties do it now and decide on final distribution of costs later? It would cost much less than a Stealth bomber or an AWAC.

Point. Click. Kill: Inside The Air Force’s Frantic Unmanned Reinvention

The age of remote-control warfare isn’t coming–it’s here, and not even the Air Force, which made it happen, is entirely prepared. Here, a firsthand look at the struggle to train thousands of drone pilots virtually overnight.
Without traffic, it takes Captain Adam Brockshus about 45 minutes to drive from his four-bedroom suburban home outside Las Vegas to Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. His commute follows Highway 95 northwest through a stretch of the Mojave freckled with Joshua trees and flanked by arid mountain ranges. He trains pilots for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet this desolate drive may be the most harrowing part of his job. Tall, blond and new-daddy doughy, Brockshus spends the rest of his day in a windowless room full of office chairs and computer monitors, teaching 20-somethings how to fly war drones 7,500 miles away. Although his is, for all intents, a desk job, it may be one of the most critical posts in today’s Air Force. The number of unmanned aircraft missions has more than tripled in the past two years, and the Air Force can’t train people fast enough to keep up with the demand.

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Another mid air collision occurred this Sunday in America but this time there was no miracle over the Hudson river. The helicopter and private PA 32R plane involved crashed with the death of nine people.
See and be seen has been for many years the accepted AND ONLY form of collision avoidance in the majority of aviation traffic situations and the obvious risks involved has always been accepted for the lack of alternatives.
An accident such as this latest one surely tells us this is no longer acceptable. The time has come for urgent and thoughtful action.
A technological solution must be found and there are several potential routes to a solution.
European and Australian gliding use the FLARM technology (Flight alarm) which uses GPS technology to provide aircraft to aircraft proximity warning. Examples of this device cost of the order of $1000 and provide distance and azimuth information with an audio signal and a visual display.
The purpose of this is to enhance the normal see and be seen by providing a timely alert so avoidance after visual acquisition of the target can take place.
It may be that this is not regarded as suitable for the higher velocities of general aviation aircraft.
There may be other ways of achieving the same goal but why not use this one for the time being?

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 31, 2009

The NASA Innovative Partnerships Program and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation today announced the CAFE Green Flight Challenge (CGFC), a flight efficiency competition for aircraft that can average at least 100 mph on a 200-mile flight while achieving greater than 200 passenger miles-per-gallon. The prize for the aircraft with the best performance will be $1.5 million. This is the largest prize ever offered for a general aviation competition. A $150,000 prize for best score by a bio-fueled aircraft is also offered. Read more…

An international debate is needed on the use of autonomous military robots, a leading academic has said.

Between January 2006 and April 2009, he estimated, 60 drone attacks were carried out in Pakistan.

While 14 al-Qaeda were killed, some 687 civilian deaths also occurred.

This is an extrordinary amount of “collateral damage” and one wonders who has decided that this is acceptable and would it be acceptable if the casualties were for instance American or British?

Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield said that a push toward more robotic technology used in warfare would put civilian life at grave risk. Technology capable of distinguishing friend from foe reliably was at least 50 years away, he added. However, he said that for the first time, US forces mentioned resolving such ethical concerns in their plans. Read more…

In a scary presentation at the Defcon hacker conference, a security researcher showed how easy it is to compromise the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control system.

Righter Kunkel was careful not to show exactly how to bring aircraft out of the sky. But he showed how its easy to shut down information going into an air traffic control tower, jam radar, submit a fake aircraft flight plan, get recognized as a pilot even if you aren’t a pilot, and stop planes from taking off at an airport.
Kunkel laid out the process. You could get a fake identification (which is illegal). Go to the doctor and get an aviation medical certificate which shows you are fit to fly. With that, you can get a student pilot’s certificate number. Then you can log into the FAA’s pilot registration site. Then you can submit yor own flight plans. Read more…