Pie in the sky

[Dan Luke]

==================================

"I think it's key that AOPA members understand that NextGen is more than
equipment, it's integrated information management, so that we pilots in the
air and the air traffic managers on the ground all have the same picture,"
said Boyer, this year's honorary chairman of RTCA, the congressionally
chartered technical organization that sets standards for aircraft and avionics
and advises the FAA on systems management. "It's having the airplane and the
ground connected in a virtual network for a constant exchange of information."

===================================

Given the FAA's record of achievement in deploying high tech ATC solutions, I
know all pilots are filled with excitement and optimism by Boyer's remarks.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 17 Mar 2007 08:34:23 -0500, "Dan Luke"
> wrote in
>:

>==================================
>
>"I think it's key that AOPA members understand that NextGen is more than
>equipment, it's integrated information management, so that we pilots in the
>air and the air traffic managers on the ground all have the same picture,"
>said Boyer, this year's honorary chairman of RTCA, the congressionally
>chartered technical organization that sets standards for aircraft and avionics
>and advises the FAA on systems management. "It's having the airplane and the
>ground connected in a virtual network for a constant exchange of information."
>
>===================================
>
>Given the FAA's record of achievement in deploying high tech ATC solutions, I
>know all pilots are filled with excitement and optimism by Boyer's remarks.


This is what troubles me about satellite-based ATC:

A team led by physicist Mausumi Dikpata of NCAR has predicted that
Cycle 24, peaking in 2011 or 2012, will be intense.
http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/sunspot.shtml
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm
"The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the
previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce
a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of
1958.

What are the thousands of aircraft flying in the NextGen environment
going to do when the satellites are overwhelmed by a Coronal Mass
Ejection? It's not as serious an issue for GPS based navigation
today, but when the entire NAS ATC system is satellite dependent...