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Interesting coverage here from our friends across the Pond (BBC News) regarding FAA air control staffing.

-Andy

The US Federal Aviation Administration has hired so many new air traffic controllers that it cannot train them efficiently, according to a report.

It has exceeded its own quotas for inexperienced staff at more than 20% of its facilities, the US Transportation Department’s inspector general said.

It found the FAA had underestimated how many controllers would retire or leave, leading to a surge in hiring trainees.

The FAA has accepted most of the report’s recommendations.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told Reuters news agency that there had been other occasions over the years when the percentage of controllers in training went up.

“We’ve been able to maintain a safe system,” she said.

It can take up to three years before new recruits and controllers transferred from other control towers are fully trained to cover all positions at a facility.

Confusion

The inspector general’s report said that the FAA had taken on so many new staff that it had exceeded its own maximum trainee quota at 22% of its 314 air traffic control facilities.

The FAA says that each facility can accommodate up to 35% inexperienced controllers while still operating effectively and training the new staff.

The inspector general found that 52% of controllers were inexperienced at one New Jersey control tower last December.

The report also found confusion within the FAA over who was responsible for hiring and training employees and errors in its training database.

“Facility managers, training managers and even headquarters officials were unable to tell us who or what office was ultimately responsible for facility training,” the report said.

The FAA had proposed strengthening controller training protocols in 2004 but never followed through on the policy, the inspector general found.

The US House of Representatives is due to hold a hearing on Wednesday on air traffic controller staffing.

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If you are a PC X-Plane user and are considering making the switch to Apple, there is good news. X-Plane for Macintosh should provide an excellent simulator experience, and even includes some VLJ aircraft like the Cirrus.

-Andy

X-Plane 9 (ESRB: E) is a flight simulator for Macintosh computers developed by Laminar Research. It is packaged with extra software tools to build and customize aircraft and scenery, offering a complete flight simulation environment for the world of props, jets, single- and multi-engine airplanes, as well as gliders, helicopters and new Very Light Jets such as the Cirrus Jet.

X-Plane 9 is also used in non-motion and full-motion flight simulators for flight training. Some of these implementations have been certified by the FAA for authorized flight instruction such as Flight Level Aviation and Simtrain.

The game includes over 40 aircraft spanning the aviation industry (and history), and several hundred more are freely downloadable from the internet. It comes with subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, simulating aircraft from the Bell 206 Jet-Ranger helicopter and Cessna 172 light plane to the supersonic Concorde and Mach-3 XB-70 Valkyrie.

X-Plane 9 includes Plane-Maker and Airfoil-Maker, which enables players to create their own airplanes and airfoils for their aircraft. It also comes with World-Maker, which lets the players create scenery, and Weather Briefer that makes a weather briefing based on actual weather conditions and allowing users to make airfoils for their aircraft if they would like to make your own planes. Also included is detailed failure modeling, with 35 systems that can fail manually or randomly.

Through the plugin interface, players can create external modules that extend the functionality of the software and players can land at any of over 18,000 airports in the World. This has created an active community of users who use the simulator for a variety of purposes, as the flight model can help predict performance of real-world aircraft. Unlike Flight Sim X players get free updates until the next full version. The updates regularly address bug fixes and new content based on users feedback.

Laminar Research is a small software company based out of Columbia, South Carolina and owned by long-time pilot and flight enthusiast Austin Meyer. The company performs software development largely performed on Mac computers.

So how does this flight simulator work? According to Austin Meyer:

“X-Plane reads in the geometric shape of any aircraft and then figures out how that aircraft will fly. It does this by an engineering process called “blade element theory”, which involves breaking the aircraft down into many small elements and then finding the forces on each little element many times per second. These forces are then converted into accelerations which are then integrated to velocities and positions… of course, all of this technical theory is completely transparent to you… you just fly! It’s fun!”

A word of caution: X-Plane 9 does have a steep learning curve and can be intimidating and this game is not a first-time-user friendly. It takes a fair amount of time to completely master it, but it definitely makes up for it in the long run.

You can order this game from X-Plane’s official web site for $59.00 (soon to be increased to $79.00 according to the developer).

–Product review courtesy Palluxo

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The Los Angeles Times (6/5, Pae) reports that Air New Zealand is planning a “three-hour test flight” this summer, during which one of its 747 aircraft will be “powered by fuel refined from” a type of oil gleaned from the “poisonous seeds of the jatropha tree.” Predictions are the fuel refined from jatropha oil “could cost an estimated $43 a barrel, or about one-third of Wednesday’s closing price of $122.30 for a barrel of crude oil.” The Times characterizes Air New Zealand’s test flight as “particularly noteworthy” as “it will come at a time when ethanol and other biofuels have come under increasing scrutiny because of their side effects.” According to scientists, “the quality of jatropha oil [is] better than most for making jet fuel.” Further, “[j]atropha-based fuel…produces about half the harmful carbon emissions of fossil fuel.”

The announcement of the test flight follows recently-released plans from the carrier “to meet at least 10 percent of its annual fuel bill with crop-based alternatives by 2013,” Bloomberg (6/5, Evans) points out. Air New Zealand is also “buying fuel-efficient jetliners to cut emissions and fuel costs, and earlier this year offered customers carbon credits to offset pollution from their travel.”

Reuters (6/5, Bathgate) notes that, according to the carrier, “its program of emissions savings had resulted in a reduction of 91,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the past three years.” Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald (6/5), the New Zealand Herald (6/5, Dye), and Aviation News (6/4) also report the story.

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Although using the RumblePad can be less intuitive for many PC users, it will be very familiar to video game enthusiasts, and this model connects directly into your USB port with multiple configuration options. If you or your client is open to using a device beyond the standard mouse, the RumblePad can allow you to deliver a higher quality product for a small additional cost.

-Andy

From the Manufacturer

Still using a standard gamepad? Then you’re missing out on a whole extra dimension in gaming: vibration feedback. Grab the Logitech RumblePad 2 Vibration Feedback Gamepad and feel what you’ve been missing. It uses not one but two vibration feedback motors, weighted differently and spinning

independently, to let you experience every turn, bump, dip, and crash. And it feels great in your hands with its familiar button layout and all the controls you need to dominate.

Features and Benefits

* Game controller with vibration feedback
* Textured rubber grips
* Familiar button layout
* Analog control
* One-year limited warranty

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Norm Goyer and RedOrbit.com presents an interesting article about The University of North Dakota’s Aviation Program. They have come along way since their inception in 1968 and roots in the crop duster business. Enjoy this article excerpt.

-Andy

“A virtual Harvard College at 35,000 feet” The Department of Aviation at the University of North Dakota (UND) has become a benchmark for aviation-oriented universities around the world. Upon finishing the program, UND Aviation graduates have all the FAA certificates and ratings necessary for employment in the airline industry.

UND’s Department of Aviation got its start in 1968 with two donated aircraft and 12 students. John Odegard, a longtime pilot, was the department’s founding chair. He had worked as a crop duster to earn his college tuition (sort of a far cry from today’s bustling campus environment).

I recently spoke with UND’s Director of Extension Programs, Don Dubuque, who told me that there are currently 90 aircraft on the flight line and 15 flight-training simulators in the classrooms. At this writing, the school has ordered six more single-engine aircraft, four twins for multiengine training and two jets for a true turbine experience. These modern jet-powered aircraft assure the continued growth of UNO’s flying programs. Dubuque also informed me that the school has received bids from Cessna, Cirrus, Diamond and Piper Aircraft. The average age of the fleet is four to five years, with replacements scheduled for every eight years. Fifty percent of the fleet is equipped with a glass cockpit, and about 90% of the fleet has ADS-B equipment, demonstrating the importance the school places on new, up-to-date aircraft. This is one of the most advanced fleets I have seen in any collegiate flying program.

Commercial and corporate aviation opportunities are growing dramatically each month. Aircraft manufacturing firms have affirmed their continued interest and growth in advanced aircraft, including jets of all sizes. Those involved in business aviation know that a pilot position is still the most sought-after aviation career, but openings in related aviation careers far outnumber slots for pilots. For every pilot, there are a myriad of associated positions; UND Aviation offers professional courses in many of these ancillary careers.

One of UND’s most popular nonflying courses is the Air Traffic Control program, which features new training hardware with 225- and 360degree tower simulators and a 32-degree radar simulator. The cutting-edge equipment allows UND aircraft to depart from any featured airport. The pilot then contacts departure and proceeds into various en route environments in an integrated system that assures accurate and stimulating training for potential ATC employees. Graduates of this program are uniquely qualified to effectively operate in a multi-sector environment. As the FAA has acknowledged, there’s currently a shortage of properly trained controllers, so graduates of UND’s ATC program are in demand and have excellent career prospects.

In addition to the popular ATC program, UND offers courses in aviation/airport management, helicopter training and high-altitude physiology chamber training. The school has its own high-altitude chamber and features aviation-software development capabilities; UND also operates a state-of-the-art television production studio. Graduate and undergraduate programs in aerospace are offered through five different academic departments: aviation, atmospheric sciences, computer science, earth system sciences and space studies. The aerospace training complex is among the world’s most technically advanced environments for aerospace education, training and research.

I’ve always been a bit of a name dropper, and when 1 learned that UND has a program in place at the Cirrus Factory in Duluth, Minn., 1 was impressed. As we all know, the Cirrus SR22 and SR20 are among the most highly desired, modern four-passenger aircraft available. They’re fast, have modern glass cockpits and require specialized flight training. Professional checkouts will ensure that their new owners can safely transition from yesterday’s cockpit into a modern, technologically advanced aircraft. I personally know three pilots who have undergone this training, and they confirmed that they felt secure piloting their Cirrus airplanes after completing the course.

Using the school’s modern TV production center, students and instructors have produced a series of training podcasts covering many of the subjects and maneuvers taught in the various programs. In UND’s Laptop Program, each student is provided with a laptop that has been loaded with the necessary programs so that students can review, refresh or monitor their classes and progress at their own leisure. Some of the subjects covered on the video podcasts are: Cleared for Take Off, Rudder and Adverse Yaw, Rectangular Course, Turns About a Point, S-Tums, Commercial Eights on Pylons, Spin Awareness Training, Commercial Steep Turns, Lazy Eights, Chandelles and Steep Turns. Examples of these podcasts are available on UND’s website.

UND Aviation has satellite campuses in Duluth, Minn., Phoenix, Ariz., Spokane, Wash., Lumberton, N.C., Crookston, Minn., and Williston, N.D.

Anyone interested in starting a successful career in aviation should log on to www.avit.und.edu. Contact the school for more information about available financial programs, student accommodations and the cost of the courses that interest you.

For more information, contact:

Department of Aviation

University of North Dakota

231 Odegard Hall

3980 Campus Rd., Box 9007

Grand Forks ND 58202-9007

Phone: (701)777-2834

Fax: (701) 777-3016

www.avit.und.edu

lovelace@aero.und.edu

planeandpilotmag.com

For access to our directory of schools, Learn-To-Fly Kit and career advice, visit planeandpilotnag.com.

Courtesy Norm Goyer on the RedOrbit.com blog

Copyright Werner Publishing Corporation Jun 2008

(c) 2008 Plane and Pilot. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Plane and Pilot

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Visual Aircraft shows you a quick and easy way to get free aircraft images for your web site or print publications.

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]]> http://visualaircraft.com/finding-free-aircraft-images/feed/ http://visualaircraft.com/finding-free-aircraft-images/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VisualAircraft/~3/6TY-FWXZ7Kg/ http://visualaircraft.com/cae-wins-international-flight-simulator-orders/#comments Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:11:36 +0000 Andy http://visualaircraft.com/?p=42 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "CAE Wins International Flight Simulator Orders", url: "http://visualaircraft.com/cae-wins-international-flight-simulator-orders/" });]]>


CAE won orders for full-flight simulators and related Simfinity training devices valued at more than C$56 million ($56.6 million) from Aeroflot, Ansett Aviation Training, Skymark Airlines and a JV company that owns 50% of CAE’s training center in Bangalore. SU purchased a CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS slated for delivery to its Moscow facility this year, while Skymark ordered a CAE 7000 Series 737-800 FFS for 2009 delivery. AAT committed to a CAE 7000 Series A320 FFS. The JV bought a CAE Simfinity APT trainer, a CAE 7000 Series A320 FFS and a CAE 7000 Series 737NG FFS slated for summer delivery.

–Courtesy ATW Daily

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