Tag archive: FAA

Earlier this week, up-and-coming wireless service operator LightSquared was rocked by reports that government testing found that its proposed LTE service caused significant interference with three-quarters of general-purpose GPS receivers; today, the report from the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing has been officially released, and finds LightSquared's service interferes with something more… Read More

Back on September 2, Petaluma resident Debbie Payne heard a loud crash and felt the entire home shake, also catching the attention of a nearby neighbor. After searching around the house, Ms. Payne discovered a large 9-inch hole in the roof as well as two window screens sliced open. Laying on the ground nearby, the neighbor found the remnants of a two pound Canon 24-105mm lens designed for DSLR camera like the Canon EOS Rebel T3i. Ms. Payne… Read More

Alaska Airlines is officially the first domestic air carrier to replace flight manuals with Apple's ever-popular iPad tablet, a press release reveals. It's not the wholesale changeover that the aviation industry has been inching toward, as the release also states that the airline is at this point still “exploring” the possibility of replacing paper charts with a tablet app. It's a big first step regardless, though… Read More

There are flight simulators, and then there's the “Jetman.” Yves Rossy, an inventor and flying daredevil, used his own winged jet pack to fly around the Grand Canyon yesterday morning, reports Popular Science. Diving off a helicopter about 8,000 feet from the bottom of the canyon, Rossy dived for a bit and then started up his winged contraption and used the rudder-based steering to level himself off. During his eight minute… Read More

The next time you grumble about the digitization of our physical media world, just remember that every step away from the analog probably means at least a few trees are being saved. Considering how often we fly, this latest news could save a whole forest. Charter airline service Executive Jet Management has gotten the go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration to have its pilots use the Jeppesen Mobile TC App for iPad instead of paper… Read More

Lawmakers are moving to ban the use of computer laptops and other personal electronic devices in airline cockpits to prevent another incident like the Northwest Airlines plane that overshot Minneapolis by 150 miles. Sen. Byron Dorgan, chairman of the aviation subcommittee, said in an interview that his staff is working on a bill that he expects to introduce in about a week. He said he was surprised to learn after the Oct. 21 incident that the… Read More

A new computer system key to modernization of the nation's air traffic control system has run into problems, raising doubts about whether it can be operational 15 months from now when current computers must be replaced, union officials said Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration tried unsuccessfully to deploy the new computer system last weekend at a regional air traffic control center in Salt Lake City, the first of 20 regional… Read More