22-06-2012, 04:55 PM
The Future of Aviation System
The Future of Aviation System.ppt (Size: 488 KB / Downloads: 30)
Problems with aviation today
Hub-and-spoke system
Relies on a few large airports whichdo not have enough runways
100 major commercial airports
20 are critical (O’Hare, LaGuardia, etc.)
Average flight delay of 30 minutes
Air travel will double or triple by 2020
Fear of terrorism slows passenger processing
The solution: Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) goal:“Reduce door-to-door travel timeby half in 10 years and two-thirdsin 25 years.”
98% of Americans live within a30 minute drive of a small airport
SATS will be an airborne transportation network that will use small aircraft and the nation’s 5,000+ small airports.
Problems with current avionics
World War I era technology
“Steam gauge” instruments:
Some rely on failure-prone vacuum pumps
Icing can clog air pressure vents
Each instrument was designed individually
Lack of integration requires a pilotto do a lot of interpretation, mental visualization, and math in their head
Making existing instruments electronic adds another layer of complexity
Problems with currentair traffic control
World War II era technology
Radar – Can be inaccurate
Minimum separation requirements:
5 miles horizontal
1,000 feet vertical
Radio – Inefficient
Transmissions can be “stepped on”
Human controllers hand off pilots fromsection to section
Airspace – Confusing
Becoming more segmented and complex
Difficult for a pilot to tell exact location