Pilots flying the upcoming Gulfstream G500 and G600 business jets will control their planes with an advanced version of the ubiquitous side-stick. In the first civil-aircraft installation of the technology, BAE Systems’ “Active Inceptor System,” not only provides pilots with tactile feedback, but the pilot’s and co-pilot’s sticks will be electronically coupled. The stick movements made by one pilot, or the autopilot, will be seen and felt by the other.
It looks like Star Trek got it right, again. Long before we had tablet computers, the crew of the Enterprise “D” could be seen running to Captain Picard with devices that looked suspiciously like an iPad or Galaxy Tab. Now, in our timeline, on mere jet-powered aircraft, cabin crews are using this Star Trek-esque technology as a new way to connect with their passengers.
Although many airline passengers enjoy the experience of flying, there are those who simply don’t. For those passengers, even the thought of having to get on a plane can induce anxiety, stress and even crippling fear. There are seminars and personalized programs for anxious passengers, and just last week, All Nippon Airways (ANA) introduced a smartphone app that might just help.
Gogo 2Ku Antenna. Photo: Gogo
Written for the Airline Passenger Experience Association
APEX Experience Magazine – December 2014/January 2015
The concept for our world-wide geostationary satellite system was first popularized by the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 1945. Clarke, the legendary […]
It is difficult to tell the difference between Bombardier’s CRJ-200 regional jet and the Challenger 850 corporate aircraft. It is equally difficult to tell the difference between Sean and Eric Gillespie, Vice Presidents of Flying Colours. Along with their father, John, the twin brothers are guiding the corporate jet completion company through an ambitious growth plan - and the Gillespies and the jets are tightly linked.
Today is the 50th birthday of the legendary Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop. That first engine was delivered to Beech Aircraft Company for installation onto an aircraft that would become the equally-remarkable Beechcraft King Air. The PT6 had its genesis at what was then the United Aircraft of Canada Limited (UACL) factory in Longueuil, Quebec. In the mid-1950s, UACL had looked at the market and determined that there was a need for a small, efficient turboprop in the 500-shaft-horsepower (SHP) range.
Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft successfully completed its first flight on Monday, September 16, 2013, landing at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport at 12:22 PM Eastern Time. The landing capped a 2 1/2 hour flight that began at 9:55 AM ET, with the jet taking off effortlessly from Runway 06. Bombardier Chief Test Pilot, Chuck Ellis and First Officer Andy Litavniks were at the controls, assisted by flight engineer Andreas Hartono. The CS100 Flight Test Vehicle 1 (FTV1) was shadowed by Bombardier’s Global 5000 chase plane. It was a cool, fall morning at the airport 25 miles north of Montreal, Quebec, with scattered clouds and brisk winds.
Name an airport that’s located in a major North American city, and has scheduled airline service. Easy? Sure. How about one that doesn’t have any runways? And has the world’s highest control tower, uses something other than radar to keep an eye on traffic, and even has instrument approaches that aircraft use when the weather is down. Not possible? Think again - I’ve just described Vancouver Harbour Tower and Water Airport. (CYHC)
Gibraltar-based WheelTug decided to figure out a way to power the nose gear in their E-Taxi solution, and not the main gear. Their reasons? Easier and quicker installation; no interference with braking and anti-skid systems; shorter cable runs to the equipment bay under the cockpit; and it’s lighter, on the single nose gear rather than two main gear.
Honeywell and Paris-based Safran Groupe have come up with some nifty new technology that could save airlines hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in fuel costs for each aircraft. It’s called the “Electric Green Taxi System” or EGTS, and it was recently demo’d at the Paris Air Show.
