Back on the early 2000′s these pictures were taken at the Sussex Airshow in Wantage Township, NJ. Franklin’s show was spectacular to see anywhere, but I think he took particular joy flying at such a small venue. He also liked to take full advantage of the sloping terrain to create breath-taking sight-lines in which he appeared to be flying so low he was going to impact the ground. He was an unbelievable showman and innovator. His tragic loss in 2005, along with friend and fellow performer Bobby Younkin, was heartbreaking.
Archive for March, 2010
The NTSB has launched an investigation to determine why a commercial jetliner and a small light airplane came within an estimated 300 feet of colliding over San Francisco on Saturday.
Aeronca N9270E Suspected Near Mid-Air
At about 11:15 a.m. PDT on March 27, the crew of United Airlines Flight 889, a B777-222 (N216UA) destined for Beijing, China, carrying 251 passengers and a crew of 17, was cleared to takeoff from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on runway 28L and climb to an initial altitude of 3,000 feet.
The first officer, who was flying the aircraft, reported that after the landing gear was retracted and the jet was at an altitude of about 1,100 feet, the tower controller reported traffic at his 1 o’clock position. Immediately following the controller’s advisory, the airplane’s traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) issued an audible alert of “TRAFFIC TRAFFIC.”
The pilots saw a light high wing airplane, an Aeronca 11AC (N9270E), in a hard left turn traveling from their 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock position. The first officer pushed the control column forward to level the airplane. Both crew members reported seeing only the underside of the Aeronca as it passed to within an estimated 200-300 feet of the 777.
TCAS then issued an “ADJUST VERTICAL SPEED” alert, followed by a “DESCEND, DESCEND” alert. The first officer complied and the flight continued to Beijing without further incident.
NTSB investigator Scott Dunham is traveling to San Francisco to begin the investigation.
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NTSB Media Contact: Peter Knudson
(202) 314-6100
peter.knudson@ntsb.gov
A tornado in the Midwest struck just one hangar at the airfield where the Citation X was parked, along with an unauthorized camper. The camper found itself being used as a plus-sized baseball bat and doing its best to beat the heck out of the hapless Cessna. For some reason, the insurance company decided that the $20M jet was worth more in parts than to rebuild it.
Congress has or is about to pass the FAA re-authorization. This is great news, in that there are many pluses and a few minuses to go with the passage. There is the fuel tax, that will go up. Then there is safety changes, and money for research. The huge win so far, is the elimination of user fees.
The one item that may be hard to get excited about is the requirements for ADS/B that are attached to the legislation, since it means we need to spend more money on our aircraft. There are a few questions surrounding ADS/B and what it truly means. What equipment our aircraft will need, and what benefit we get from having it.
The requirements are for ADS/B out only by 2015, and ADS/B in by 2018. This seems pretty aggressive, and will rely on the FAA fully deploying the ground based stations to handle all the ADS/B traffic. In some metropolitan areas, ADS/B will work also using the Mode-S transponders and the RADAR that is in use today.
To meet the 2015 requirement, most aircraft (GA, business and air transport) will need additional equipment. ADS/B out will require a GPS receiver, and some kind of transceiver. The GPS unit will probably have to be mounted in the aircraft, and meet the C129 or C145/146 TSO requirements. The transceiver can be either a mode S transponder with the extended squitter capability (1090ES) or a Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) according to TSO-154c. Additional equipment may include antennas and wiring to support the new equipment added to the aircraft.
There is limited personal benefit to the ADS/B out. The position of the aircraft will be more accurate, and easier to correlate for the air traffic control personnel and computers. The update rate will increase, and there will be coverage in remote locations, especially in mountainous terrain. ATC may be able to offer separation information in places it wasn’t able to before.
The 2018 requirement will require a bit more equipment. Again, a GPS receiver will be needed, and a transceiver, but also a display will be required to make use of the extra information available. The GPS receiver may contain the display that can be used to display the information, or a modular system can be put together using a multi function display (MFD), a GPS receiver, and a UAT. Additional wiring will be needed, if the aircraft isn’t already equipped with a GPS and an MFD.
The benefits to ADS-B in, are many. Not only will the aircraft be able to send position information to each other, they will also be able to get traffic information (TIS-B) from ground based stations, along with weather and other flight related information (FIS-B). With ADS-B in, at a glance, a pilot should be able to see traffic, and weather, along with TFR’s and other airspace information.
Many of the current display manufacturers have built the capability into their display to accept this information, and participate in the NextGen FAA requirements. There are a few manufacturers today that are building UAT’s, but that will change when the ruling is finalized, and the avionics companies see that there is a market from this kind of equipment.
The new avionics will not replace the air traffic controllers. It will make the communications easier for the controllers and pilots. If the controller can say “aircraft at 8 o’clock”, and the pilot can look down and see the same thing the controller sees, answers will come with out asking.
Getting equipped early will be a mixed blessing. The facilities may not be there to utilize the equipment everywhere, and it will cost more, probably since there is a narrow market. Waiting until just before the deadline will provide another set of challenges, since the avionics shops will be full of procrastinators, but the costs may be lower, and the facilities will be there to fully utilize the investment.
Congress has handed the US pilots a new twist for our flying. It will be fun to have all this new equipment on our aircraft. It should make travel more efficient, and safer. It will be a challenge for the FAA to fully deploy the ground stations outlined in the legislation, and to equip all the aircraft. When it is finally finished, flying will never be the same.
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to investigate the crash of an emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter this morning in Brownsville, Tennessee, about 55 miles northeast of Memphis. Three crewmembers were killed in the accident; there was no patient onboard at the time of the crash.
NTSB Air Safety Investigator Ralph Hicks has been designated
as Investigator-in-Charge and is traveling to the scene from
the Safety Board’s regional office in Atlanta. NTSB Chairman
Deborah A.P. Hersman will serve as principal spokesman
during the on-scene investigation.
Improving the Safety of (EMS) flight operations has been on
the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements since
2008:
http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/mostwanted/aviation_improvesafety_e
ms_flights.html
Peter Knudson will be the press officer on-scene. Mr. Knudson may be reached on his cell phone (202-557-1350) when
he arrives in Tennessee this afternoon.