There is life beyond aviation
On 18/03/2011, in Interesting people, by steve
It is often said that aviation is a bug… once you get it, there is no cure. Of course those of us who have been bitten by this particular bug do not really mind and bear the consequences happily. The momentum often takes us further down the well trodden path even after retirement… A lucky few will however finally have the time to realize projects, even dreams that had to take second place while they were fully committed to aviation’s demands.
One of those lucky individuals is Mike Russo. Mike retired from ARINC after a life-time of engineering work that demanded as much knowledge of and sensitivity for the human aspects of aviation as it did for radars and other electronic wizardry.
He moved to Florida and loves it there, not least because of the weather. While temperatures can and do drop below freezing even in the Sunshine State, there is no snow and the cold spells tend to be short lived.
Mike’s particular dream has been to work with horses and he is now realizing this with dedication. He is practicing the Parelli technique of natural horsemanship. If you are interested, check out Pat Parelli’s videos here. But more to the point, click here to watch a Clint Anderson demo of what Mike is up to with his horses.
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Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
On 29/06/2010, in Interesting people, by steve
Mike Russo, take 2
Not long after we published the interview with Mike Russo in the “Interesting people, unusual flight plans” series, Mike was presented with a 2010 Volare Special Award by the Airlines Avionics Institute (AAI) at the 2010 AMC/AEEC.
Mike with Daphne and Dawn
Each year, AAI encourages the contribution of ideas, leadership and innovation by allowing individuals to be nominated for Volare Awards prior to the annual AMC. These awards recognize individuals in airline and supplier organizations for outstanding personal achievement. The criteria for nomination are:
The candidate should be well known within the industry and should have a history of actual industry improvement and/or active involvement in a recognizable category such as but not limited to the following examples:
a) New products
b) Better methodologies
c) Working in various technical committees
d) New technologies
e) Be the industry “go to” person for particular products or services
f) Have a history of outstanding service to their customers
g) Have personally served our industry in some contributing capacity for example by active involvement in its organizations, activities and/or functions
The AAI process requires that the nomination be seconded before it is considered by their awards committee.
The Volare Award has become world-renowned as the avionics industry’s highest recognition for individual achievement. The Awards offered at the AMC allow individuals to be nominated in the categories of Airline Avionics Maintenance and Avionics Product Support. In addition, AAI presents a Pioneer Award and a Chairman’s Special Award on an as deserved basis.
Over the past 41 years, Volare Awards have been presented to outstanding members of the avionics maintenance community and it is with pleasure that we at Roger-Wilco announce that Mike has now joined their ranks.
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AEEC General Session report for 2010 is now available
On 23/06/2010, in Bookshelf, by steve
The annual AEEC General Session is the most important single event on the AEEC calendar. The General Session marks the culmination of the years’ standards development work, and new ARINC Standards are discussed and approved at this meeting. Furthermore, at the General Session the AEEC initiates the work program for the next year. The AEEC General Session is an ideal opportunity for aviation industry professionals to obtain an overview of the important technical developments in air transport avionics and other aircraft electronics.
The 2010 AEEC General Session report summarizes:
- NextGen and SESAR Readiness
- Airframe perspective NextGen and SESAR Readiness
- Avionics Supplier perspective SFAR 88 Fuel Tank Symposium
- Software Management Symposium
- Security Aspects of Software Data Loading Symposium and
- AEEC Subcommittee and Project reports
It also contains valuable information on AEEC’s actions to adopt new ARINC Standards.
This is a must have publication for all professionals on the avionics side of the business. The report is in two parts with all the briefing material under separate cover.
You can purchase and download your copy here.
SESAR video – too much focus on problems, too little on solutions, misses CPDLC work already done
On 13/03/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
The SESAR Joint Undertaking has produced a short video meant to explain the essence of the project. It is obviously destined for a lay audience and this has put limits on the amount of technical detail that can be described without the danger of losing people’s attention.
The story is framed by an SAS flight from Stockholm to Brussels as it happens to-day with hints here and there how it will be once SESAR has done its job. And this is where the video is a bit of a let-down. With most of the characters describing the current problems, the focus shifts from the future to the current fragmented environment that SESAR is meant to remedy. As such, the video becomes a bit like the scores of others in the past which were made for previous efforts to repair European air traffic management (remember EATCHIP?), little more than a list of existing grievances with rather vague hints as to how things will be better in the future.
It is not easy to make movies on complicated subjects for a lay audience but they should have been given a bit more credit for their intelligence and a bit more detail on how things will in fact be repaired.
It is obvious that a lot of the aircraft sequences were provided by Airbus which is fine except that seeing all those aircraft flying in Airbus house colors is not necessarily the right message in terms of Airbus’ wide customer base.
I am sure a lot of experts at EUROCONTROL, ARINC, the FAA and other organizations will shake their heads and may even grab a pen and write to the SJU when they hear the narrator say that Maastricht is testing Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), “the first component of the data link communications that SESAR will develop” giving the impression that this is something new brought by SESAR. This is a particular let-down and I guess is nothing more than an unfortunate use of words in the script… but still. Not crediting the huge amount of international work already carried out is most regrettable.
All in all, I think this video does not do justice to what SASAR is and where it is going. Even if we consider that it is for a lay audience, it is not as good as it could and should be. Certainly the strange text about CPDLC could earn it a Worst Movie of the Season Award but let’s be kind. The video has good material in it and by refocusing things on the future and giving CPDLC credit where it is due, take two of this movie could even be enjoyable.
Check out the video here.
EFB Users Forum and Delta Expo – 21-22 April 2010, Atlanta, GA.
On 12/03/2010, in Events, by steve
The first EFB Users Forum meeting will be hosted by Delta Air Lines at their world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The meeting will be chaired by Captain Alan Kasher, Southwest, and Captain Andreas Ritter, Lufthansa.
The EFB Users Forum was formed by airlines to enable aircraft operators to maximize the operational benefit and the economic benefit of EFB equipment and services. This activity is a coordinating activity among airlines and cargo carriers, aircraft manufacturers, EFB suppliers on issues of mutual interest leading to the identification and resolution of all types of issues related to EFB.
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Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
On 03/03/2010, in Interesting people, by steve
Mike Russo – Looking back on a lifetime in aviation
Mike, lead principal engineer and Executive Secretary of the AEEC has recently retired from Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC).
What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid?
I grew up in a rural family with limited means and there were not that many people around me who could have served as examples for choosing a profession. But I did want to find a respected profession, doing respected work. At one point I took an aptitude test and it showed that I would make a good mechanical engineer. My focus from then on was on science subjects. An uncle was a tool and die maker and I got a lot of support from him.
What moved you to become part of the aviation family?
I went to Lake Michigan Community College for an associates degree as a technician and then Michigan Technological University where I got my Bachelor’s Degree… Afterwards I got a job with Westinghouse and in 1971 they sent me to the FAA Academy to learn about the principles of ILS. On my return, I worked on various ILS projects including ground site design and field work for ILS installations including flight testing with the FAA.
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A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 3
On 24/10/2009, in Buzzwords explained, by steve
Pioneers to the rescue
In spite of the positive business case, airspace users were not exactly rushing to equip with air/ground digital link. Because of the slow down of traffic growth in the wake of 9/11, the expected ACARS problems did not materialize and the ATC frequency congestion was also pushed far into the future. In other industries, such a period of respite might have been used to prepare for the times when business recovery would once again make air//ground digital link essential. But that is not how aviation works. With the immediate threat receding and even some of the big carriers fighting for survival, enthusiasm for investing in things that would generate benefits only many years down the road cooled.
Of course for the planners of the ATM system this was a situation that spelled trouble for later. The frequency congestion problems were not a mirage even if for the time being those problems slipped into the future. The need to put together a comprehensive kit of capacity enablers had not become less important, only the urgency had changed somewhat. For LINK2000+ the big question was: how to jump start equipage? The question was not self serving at all. If Maastricht UAC controllers did not get digital link equipped aircraft to work with, it would be impossible to build and maintain proficiency and to shake down the system in real operational circumstances.
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A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 2
On 18/10/2009, in Buzzwords explained, by steve
The clash of VDL Mode 4 and VDL Mode 2
Following years of testing and discussions on countless forums, VDL Mode 2 was emerging as the solution that, combined with the ATN protocol, could support the initial implementation of Controller Pilot Digital Link Communications. There was nothing else it could do but it had a huge advantage over everything else. There was agreement that it would do the trick! Some people tended to consider this virtue as being of little value but in fact it was as important as the link’s ability to perform. Achieving consensus on the scale needed to decide which link to use is an epic hurdle and when agreement is there, it should not be put in danger.
But that is exactly what was being done by the promoters of another technology that goes under the name VDL Mode 4. VDL Mode 4 can do everything, they claimed… It does voice, text messages and also ADS-B! Most of the claims were of course true and the initial hiccups with the system were no reason to discard it. Yet it never made it into the mainstream and the hard push did only one thing: delayed the inevitable, the final agreement on Mode 2. VDL Mode 4 lacked the most important element: industry agreement for implementation.
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