torsdag 30. april 2015

Vietnam krigen - 40 år siden Saigons fall

Krigen er veldig godt dokumentert på alle vis. Det var ganske spesielt å komme dit i 1993. Sammen med mange fra HS jobbet jeg der periodevis gjennom nesten tre år. En omskoleringsleir var nylig stengt rett utenfor byen Vung Tau. Det var tre SA-2 SAM batterier i nærheten av leiren og flyplassen. Disse ble plassert der straks krigen var slutt, men å ha disse der når vi fløy over dem, var ganske kilent, for å si det sånn. Mange båtflyktninger kom fra akkurat denne kystbyen, og flere av disse bor i Stavanger. Mange friperioder ble benyttet til å reise rundt i Vietnam og SØ Asia. Turisme var ikke vanlig på den tiden, men vi traff på noen få franske grupper. Her en norsk "turist", faktisk undertegnede:

 
Vel, det var spennende episoder også, ikke minst utblåsningen ved riggen Actinia som vi fløy til.
Via Sigbjørn Stie fikk jeg dette bildet for mange år siden:

 


Riggen sto i fare for å synke ned i gassen som forårsaket denne dramatiske situasjonen. Allikevel ble besetningen evakuert av et crew fra HS, Per Tjetland og Sigbjørn Stie. Jeg har alltid lurt på; at de turde! De kunne ha gått i lufta.

Team work, lyser det liksom av dette bildet. Hele gjengen gnikker og polerer maskinen som fløy for Statoil og BHP:

 
 
Vi dro til tunnelen ved Cu Chi, et område som ble teppebombet ofte. Vietcong gravde seg ned på tre nivåer. Under bombing gikk alle ned i det dypeste nivået. Det sies at det gikk tunnel helt herfra og 50 km til Saigon. Denne sluttet i en kafe i byen. Vel, en måtte jo forsøke seg på nivå tre:

 



 
Flymuseet i Hanoi hadde en egen HS krok hvor en hyllet samarbeidet med den vennlige nasjonen Norge. Museet hadde en del interessante fly, bl.a. disse som overlevde krigen:
 

 
Krigen var veldig tilstede. På vår tur ut til Halong Bay var alle bruer ødelagt. Primitive ferget tok oss over elver og sjøer, men da vi kom frem var kona og jeg enige om at det var verdt det.
 
 
Krigsmuseet i Hanoi viste resultatet av Agent Orange som ble sprayet fra C123 Providers for å ta livet av bladverk slik at troppebevegelser på bakken lettere kunne oppdages. De menneskelige lidelsene dette giftige stoffet førte til, var ubeskrivelige. Boka The Sorrow of War av Bao Ninh ble kjøpt og på en måte ga det hele et særdeles realistisk skjær over våre opplevelser og også av den følelse av konflikt mellom nord og sør som fremdeles lå i luften på det tidspunkt. Boka er filmatisert og vises nå på svensk TV.
 
Alle vi hadde kontakt med i sør, altså de som jobbet i næringer som hadde direkte kontakt med utlendinger, kom fra nord. De som forsøkte å etablere seg med en eller annen forretning og som hadde sittet i omskoleringsleir, fikk problemer. Vi fikk høre at alle som drev med tungarbeid hadde vært offiserer i den Sørvietnamesiske hær. Jeg fløy med vietnamesiske flygere som nær sagt ikke kunne et ord engelsk. De var flinke til å fly visuelt....
 
Gammelt overtatt amerikansk materiell - En AT-37
Militært materiell i parker var vanlig.
 
Landet kjøper nå amerikansk utstyr for å kunne holde øye med utviklingen i Sør Kinahavet som nær sagt erobres av Kina. Flere private flyselskaper har sett dagens lys, alle med vestlig bygde fly. Landet er attraktivt for turister, og det med rette. 40 år med fred er nesten ny rekord. Vi håper at det vil fortsette.


Qatar hits the media again


Qatar Airways takes delivery of four aircraft in one day

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Chairman of Al Maha Airways Akbar Al Baker and Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier at the handover ceremony.

DOHA: Qatar Airways Group has set a new industry record, with taking delivery of four new Al Maha aircraft to Doha in just one day, from aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The new A320 aircraft were inaugurated at a signing ceremony at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, between Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Chairman of Al Maha Airways, Akbar Al Baker and Airbus CEO, Fabrice Brégier.

The four latest generation A320 aircraft, which carry the green Al Maha livery, will join the Qatar Airways' fleet and operate on the airline's key destinations across the Middle East, prior to the commencement of operations of Al Maha Airways. The new airline, which will be an independent airline based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will operate an expanding fleet of aircraft, featuring the distinctive and familiar Oryx livery.

"It is a moment of significant pride to be welcoming the first aircraft of the new Al Maha Airways fleet, let alone four such aircraft in the same day. Featuring the distinctive new livery of Al Maha Airways, these new A320 aircraft will offer passengers the opportunity to travel on board the latest and most modern aircraft in the skies," said Al Baker.

Qatar Airways has one of the world's youngest fleets and continues to invest in next generation aircraft. These four new A320 aircraft, one of the world's most popular product types, feature the latest technology and distinctive Sharklet wingtips, and while leased to Qatar Airways will take the airline's fleet count to 156 aircraft.

The new aircraft arrive after a period of significant fleet growth for Qatar Airways, which recently took delivery of the first in its fleet of A380 aircraft and the A350 XWB as Global Launch Customer. Qatar Airways is the first airline in the world to operate every family of Airbus' modern airliner portfolio, comprising the A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 aircraft.

Accident - Was Jesus involved?


Two Survive Plane Crash In Black Forest (Colorado Springs, CO)

"Extremely lucky," authorities marveled after two men walked away from a plane crash in Black Forest Wednesday night.

A witness to the crash called 911 after seeing a plane "spiraling down" just after 6:30 p.m., according to El Paso County sheriff's deputy Robert Stone.

The plane crashed in a large gully not far from Milam and Shoup, and was at least 500 yards from the nearest home. The single-engine plane was a total loss; the 35-year-old pilot and 18-year-old passenger walked away with little more than bumps and bruises.

"The tail has broken off, the wings are bent out of shape, the engine separated from the aircraft. I am extremely surprised they were able to walk away from the crash," Stone told 11 News.

According to pilot Matt Tanner, he had rented the plane for the day and was demonstrating a stall to passenger Issac Brumm when the plane went into an upright spin and crashed upside down. Tanner said his faith in Jesus and thoughts of his family are what carried him through that terrifying minute they were going down.

Tanner and Brumm were at least 4,500 feet off the ground when the plane started having problems.

Tanner told 11 News that he has been in spins like the one Wednesday thousands of times before, and he knew what what happening and took the steps to recover, but the plane wouldn't respond.

The FAA is now taking over the investigation into the crash.

F/A-18 midair in September ruled an accident


Navy rules jet crash an accident

One jet collided with other just after takeoff from carrier Carl Vinson

FILE-This April 7, 2003 file photo a deck crew member of the USS Carl Vinson guides an F/A-18C Hornet during a take-off and landing exercise of fighter jets during the aircraft carrier's operation off the western Pacific Ocean. Two U.S. Navy jets similar to the one pictured crashed into the western Pacific Ocean, where one pilot was rescued and another was missing, the Pentagon said Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. A search for the missing pilot was underway. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi,File)

The fatal collision of two Navy F/A-18 fighters jets in September has been ruled an accident, according to a Navy investigation released to U-T San Diego this week.

On Sept. 12, two Hornet jets took off from the San Diego aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which was in the vicinity of the Marshall Islands for international exercises.

The jets launched within a minute of each other. Upon takeoff, they both ascended and turned to the west.

Then the plane piloted by Lt. Nathan Poloski, a 26-year-old native of Lake Arrowhead, came up under the bottom left rear of the other jet, causing a collision, according to the report.

The pilot of the other jet didn't realize he'd been hit. He ejected after his plane caught fire and become uncontrollable.

Both crashed into the ocean. The other pilot -- who was not named in the report -- was recovered safely but with injuries.

Poloski's body was never found. Searchers did retrieve his cracked and battered helmet.

Both he and the other pilot were considered competent aviators with the proper qualifications in their records.

Germanwings - Update


Germanwings Pilot Andreas Lubitz's Mental Health Was Questioned By FAA 2010

 AP | By By JOAN LOWY


WASHINGTON (AP) - Five years ago Federal Aviation Administration officials questioned the mental fitness of the Germanwings pilot who crashed an airliner in the French Alps last month, but they awarded him a U.S. pilot license after his German doctor said he had fully recovered from severe depression, government records show.

The records, posted online by the FAA in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, show Andreas Lubitz applied for a U.S. pilot license while he was employed by Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, and was training to be an airline pilot at a flight school in Phoenix in 2010. As part of the application, he initially submitted a medical form to the FAA asserting he had no mental disorders. He then resubmitted the form acknowledging he had been treated for severe depression from 2008 to 2009.

The FAA initially sent Lubitz a letter warning that his license application could be denied and giving him 30 days to provide a letter from his doctor describing his treatment and his current condition. The license was granted after he provided letters from his doctor describing his treatment and saying he had recovered.

Lubitz had suffered an episode of severe depression because he was unable to cope with "modified living conditions," according to the letters. Lubitz was treated with two drugs, Cipralex and Mirtazapin, which, along with therapy, "enabled him to develop sufficient resources for getting on with similar situations in the future," the doctor, whose name was blacked out by the FAA, said in one letter.

Prosecutors believe Lubitz intentionally crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 while flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf on March 24. Cockpit voice recordings indicate Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit after he had left. The captain can be heard on the recordings demanding to be let back in and trying to break down the door.

Lubitz and all 149 others on board the plane were killed in the crash.

Germanwings Crash Looms Large at Lufthansa Shareholders Meeting

HAMBURG, Germany - It was a shareholders meeting in which business, inevitably, was only part of the agenda.

Five weeks after a Germanwings co-pilot crashed his plane into the French Alps, killing himself and 149 others, the disaster continues to cast a long shadow over the airline's parent company, Lufthansa, as well as its employees, customers and investors.

"This tragedy has changed us, and the scars that it has left on our company will remain forever," Carsten Spohr, the group's chief executive, told the 2,000 shareholders who gathered in this northern port city.

Outside the city's conference center, a column of Lufthansa banners bearing a black-and-white version of the company's crane logo fluttered in a steady wind. Inside, a stark memorial stood in the reception hall, where 150 candles flickered, and where many arriving investors had paused to add their names to condolence books. Attendees observed a minute of silence was before the meeting was called to order.

Yet at a time when Lufthansa faces urgent commercial challenges - including heightened competition in Europe and on long-haul routes, as well as tensions with the group's 5,400 pilots - many shareholders expressed concern on Wednesday that the Germanwings tragedy risked distracting management from its turnaround efforts.


A Lufthansa jet on the tarmac at the Frankfurt airport. Shareholders on Wednesday expressed concern that the Germanwings tragedy risked distracting Lufthansa's management from its turnaround efforts. Credit Fredrik Von Erichsen/European Pressphoto Agency


"Obviously, without this tragedy, management would probably be under more intense pressure from all of us today," said Ingo Speich, a portfolio manager at Union Investment, a Frankfurt firm. "But at some point, they will have to come back to reality," he said.

He added: "And that reality, frankly, is not very pleasant."

Since taking over as chief executive of Lufthansa in May, Mr. Spohr, 48, has struggled to put the sprawling group - besides Germanwings, it includes Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Airlines - back on a path to growth. Net profit shrank last year to 55 million euros, or $60 million, from €313 million in 2013, on revenue that was basically unchanged at €30 million.

That weak performance, combined with mounting pension liabilities and investment losses, prompted the board in February to suspend its dividend payout, in order to reinvest in improvements to its fleet and services.

Until now, Lufthansa has responded to intensifying competition from no-frills airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair by shifting an ever-greater share of the group's domestic and European traffic to Germanwings, whose labor and other operating costs are about one-third that of Lufthansa's.

Late last year, Lufthansa's board approved plans to extend the budget concept to include a number of long-haul leisure destinations. Beginning in October, the group plans to start flights from Cologne/Bonn Airport to destinations in Thailand, Dubai and the Caribbean under its second low-cost brand, Eurowings. As part of that transition, the Germanwings name will eventually disappear, to be rechristened under a unified Eurowings banner.

But those efforts have been met with firm resistance from the group's pilots. Attempts to freeze salaries and scale back an early-retirement deal for pilots, alongside changes to pay and working conditions, were at the heart of the series of strikes by Lufthansa's pilots over the past year that cost the group more than €230 million.

Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
In the wake of the Germanwings crash, pilots agreed to suspend more strikes that had been planned this spring. And on Wednesday, Mr. Spohr proposed bringing the dispute to an external mediator for resolution.

"I think that's a positive signal," said Mr. Speich, the fund manager. "I hope it's a chance for the company to move closer together, to work more constructively toward solutions."

Still, Lufthansa's pilots are not the only ones uneasy about Lufthansa's embrace of the low-cost sector.

"I don't see how this low-cost strategy makes any logical sense," said Markus Neumann, who sits on the board of SdK, a German shareholder activist group, and who abstained Wednesday from endorsing management's program. "I think there needs to be a fundamental strategic rethink."

He added that the carrier should maintain a substantial presence in airline catering and maintenance, which remain respectably profitable, and that "Lufthansa, in my view, can only succeed as a premium airline."

Despite the revelations that Lufthansa knew six years ago that the 27-year-old Germanwings co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had a history of severe depression, Mr. Neumann said he was confident that the crash would not have a long-lasting impact on the airline's image with passengers.

In recent weeks, a task force made of German aviation, medical and government experts has held the first of a series of meetings aimed at clarifying what led to the Germanwings crash and how it might have been averted. Two working groups have been formed. The first is charged with exploring possible changes to secured cockpit doors and their use, taking into account that Mr. Lubitz was able to deliberately crash the airliner after locking out the pilot.

The second task force is reviewing current standards of medical oversight of pilots and the exchange of information between doctors, the authorities and the airlines. That group hopes to publish an initial progress report at some point in June. Any final recommendations made will be discussed first at the European level, then an international one.

"I think this tragedy will be viewed as a singular event," said Mr. Neumann, the shareholder activist. "It may have some short-term effect on bookings, but over the long run, Lufthansa can still rely on its well-earned reputation as one of the world's safest airlines."

Not all the shareholders on Wednesday, however, were finding it easy to look ahead.

"I can't stop thinking of all those people, particularly the children, and their final minutes," said Ralf Schönfeld, a 49-year-old banker and father of four who had driven in from Schwerin, about an hour east of Hamburg.

Mr. Schönfeld said he hoped the crash would prompt a close re-evaluation of Lufthansa's procedures for pilot selection and training, as well as a deeper examination in Germany and elsewhere of what changes should be made to better identify pilots with serious mental health problems and how to prevent sick pilots from flying.

"I think it's important that we not simply try to assign blame or call for someone's resignation," said Mr. Schönfeld, who was visibly moved as he signed his name to a condolence book. "That cannot be the goal."

B707 roll - Tex Johnston - Video

Tex Johnstons barrel roll: http://tinyurl.com/q28q3gl

Museum of Flight, Renton ved Seattle. Tex Johnstons støvler og diverse fra 707`en han rollet - Foto: Per Gram




Droner - See and avoid is getting closer


MIDCAS hails RPAS integration progress
The MIDCAS (Mid Air Collision Avoidance System) consortium together with the European Defence Agency (EDA) have now completed flight test and simulation campaigns conducted as part of the MIDCAS project. 


 Major milestones included fully automatic avoidance manoeuvres of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) relying on fusion of non-cooperative sensors. 


 Flights with a demonstrator Detect & Avoid (D&A) system integrated in the Sky-Y RPAS test bed have been conducted since December 2014 at Grazzanise Air Force Base, Italy. 


 First fully automatic coupled avoidance manoeuvres were performed by the RPAS based on combined cooperative and non-cooperative detection as well as non-cooperative detection only and put on collision course with a manned aircraft. The MIDCAS system had full authority over the RPAS flight control system. 


 The formal flight test permit to perform the automatic manoeuvre was obtained using results from earlier flight tests demonstrating the readiness to safely perform such critical manoeuvres. 


 Flight tests have covered numerous scenarios and sensor combinations bringing RPAS traffic integration a significant step closer to reality.  
The Detect and Avoid system tested, performs collision avoidance and traffic avoidance using data fusion for various combinations of the included detection technologies, i.e. the cooperative IFF and ADS-B equipment and the non-cooperative electro-optical, infrared and radar sensors. 


 Several types of simulations (including Monte Carlo simulations and real-time simulations) have been completed which will allow the project teams to demonstrate that the functional design of MIDCAS can be compliant with the safety levels for manned aviation. Simulations in Air Traffic Management (ATM) environment have also been performed to validate the system requirements in an operational context. 


 "We are pleased with the outcome of the simulations where the involved air traffic controllers concluded that they were confident to control RPAS within their airspace and did not get any additional workload from the RPAS, whose behavior was fully in line with manned aviation," said MIDCAS project leader Johan Pellebergs. 


 The MIDCAS project is laying the groundwork for future developments in the field of RPAS air traffic integration. The project has gathered European industries within the field of D&A with the purpose to achieve jointly agreed results with European and global standardisation stakeholders. 


he MIDCAS project was launched in 2009 by five contributing Member States (France, Germany, Italy and Spain under the lead of Sweden) under the framework of the European Defence Agency, with a total budget of €50 million. 


 "The project has produced tangible results in the field of air traffic integration, which is a critical enabler for the use of RPAS in European skies," said Peter Round, EDA capability, armament & technology director. "In order to improve Member States' RPAS capabilities, technological and regulatory issues need to be taken into account as early as possible." 


 MIDCAS has been carried out by an industrial consortium composed of 11 partners: Saab (project leader) from Sweden, Sagem and Thales from France, Airbus D&S, Diehl BGT Defence, DLR and ESG from Germany, Alenia Aermacchi, Selex ES, CIRA from Italy and Indra from Spain. Throughout the project, external stakeholders such as EASA, EUROCONTROL, EUROCAE or JARUS, were involved in the process. 


 "The only way to achieve a high level of acceptance and reach a common European agreement on how to resolve the D&A issue is through close cooperation," Johan Pellebergs concludes. 

onsdag 29. april 2015

Drones - Military updates - AW&ST

Unmanned Aerial Systems Gear Up For Contested Battlespace

UAS developments focus on survivability and forward operations
Securing Airspace

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have long since proved their worth as critical intelligence-gathering assets. But can they assure data transmission all the time? Are they secure from enemy attack? What happens when an enemy has access to weapons that can shoot down UAS or otherwise deny operations in certain areas? 
Since missions are often covert operations, information about UAS loss rates is sketchy. In the past, they were used in areas where air superiority had been gained. Uncontested by enemy air defenses, UAS were exposed to ground fire only when flying low—during takeoff and landing, to gain a better view of targets, or dropping below the cloud base on rainy days. 
While generally safe from enemy fire at high altitude, UAS are susceptible to electronic attacks on their command and control links or electro-optical (EO) systems. 

Lack of air supremacy can be devastating. For example, the U.S. Air Force, the largest UAS operator in the world, has lost 14 General Atomics Reaper and Predator aircraft since January 2014, on missions over Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Central Africa. Some losses were attributed to enemy action, although the Pentagon declines comment. 
In recent years, Iran has increased its UAS awareness and integrated combat platforms in all major training exercises, so ground forces and air-defense units can practice shoot-down skills. In 2014, Iran reportedly downed an Israeli Hermes 450 UAS flying near its uranium enrichment center in Natanz. The Iranians have repeatedly contested incursions of U.S. platforms into its airspace. The most notable was the loss of a Lockheed MartinRQ-170 Sentinel over eastern Iran in 2011, which was attributed to electronic or cyberattack. Iran has also downed or captured a Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAS operated by the U.S. Navy. Iranian jets attempted several times to fire at USAF Predators over the Persian Gulf, but were chased away by fighter escorts.
The Iranians also have lost quite a few UAS, deployed in support of Iranian and Iraqi forces fighting the Islamic State in Iraq. Since 2006, Israel faced incursions by Hezbollah from Lebanon, trying to fly Iranian-made armed UAS over land or the Mediterranean, to hit strategic targets in Israel.  

At first, the Israeli air force (IAF) intercepted these with fighter jets. In recent years ground-based air-defense assets have been used. The IAF has shot down a number of Iranian-made Lebanese and Syrian UAS since 2006. Israeli-operated Patriot missiles recently shot down enemy UAS over the Golan Heights as they turned toward Israel. Patriot missiles also downed UAS over the eastern Mediterranean that had been launched from Gaza.
Syria is another example of counter-UAS warfare, since coalition forces face ad-hoc defenses. UAS that sometimes operate without support are vulnerable to enemy fire. In recent months Syria has shot down a number of aircraft over its territory, among them a U.S. Predator, an undisclosed Turkish platform and one that supported an Israeli air strike but has not been identified. 
In eastern Ukraine, both sides claimed to have downed UAS. Last year, the Russians said they used electronic countermeasures to down an allegedly U.S.-operated IAI/Northrop Grumman Hunter RQ-5B. The Russians did not substantiate the claim and the Pentagon denies it operated such a vehicle over Crimea. 

While current counter-UAS (C-UAS) capabilities are based on existing assets, new systems becoming available improve the ability of ground forces to deny UAS operations. 
Modern tactical radars that deploy with ground forces enable detection and early warning. For example, the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel from ThalesRaytheon and Giraffe AMB radar from Saab are available with enhanced C-UAV capability, as part of the counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) upgrade that improves radar tracking of high- and low-velocity targets in the cluttered environment above the horizon. RADA’s Multi-mission Hemispheric Radar provides such capabilities in a small package suitable for deployment with tactical forces. And Russia’s NNIIRT has developed vehicle-mounted phased-array 3-D radar (1L121E) to detect UAS and guided weapons. Company sources say the radar operates on the move to provide target data for other air-defense assets. 
Being alerted to the presence of a UAS is one thing, but denying it from completing its mission is another. The most basic form of attack is GPS jamming, although this is likely to affect only the simplest aircraft. More advanced platforms employ navigation systems enabling the UAS to sense an attack and switch to inertial guidance. An anti-jamming GPS device could also render simple jamming ineffective. 

Since UAS effectiveness depends on maintaining an active data link with the user, disrupting the link is a valid countermeasure. Such a capability was developed by SRC working with the U.S. Army, combining the company’s AN/TPQ-50 radar with the AN/ULQ-35 Duke electronic warfare jammer to disrupt UAS data links. Cyberattacks also exploit UAS dependence on external communications and control. 
The U.S. Army is seeking to field an air-defense system dedicated to C-RAM and C-UAV missions. The truck-mounted system will be part of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 Intercept Program of Record, to improve protection for rapid deployment forces on contingencies beyond 2020. The interceptor missiles that could be deployed with such a system range from the Miniature Hit-to-Kill missile from Lockheed Martin to the combat- proven Tamir, the interceptor developed for Israel’s Iron Dome C-RAM system. 
The Army-funded HEL-MD (high-energy laser-mobile demonstrator) from Boeing has defeated mortars and UAS using a 10-kw off-the-shelf laser. Rheinmetall demonstrated the ability to combine several laser beams on a single target, which develops sufficient power to destroy UAS and cruise missiles (AW&ST March 30-April 12, p. DTI 6). In 2013, the company demonstrated a successful engagement of three UAVs, using high-energy laser effectors. Even without high power, laser beams can be used against EO systems, either to dazzle sensors or burn through optics. 
To evaluate such capabilities the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will conduct a “High-Energy Laser Rodeo” at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Nov. 15. The event will open the door for laser weapon system developers outside official Defense Department programs to demonstrate their capabilities. 
As ground forces improve C-UAV capabilities, aircraft must evolve to provide needed data. One way of doing this is with standoff capabilities similar to those used by piloted aircraft against surface-to-air missiles. UAS are limited in payload—only larger medium-altitude long-endurance versions such as the General Atomics Reaper and Predator, IAIHeron TP and Heron I or Elbit Hermes 900 carry payloads that effectively perform standoff missions. IAI recently tested a standoff payload, the M-19HD, on a Heron I. With up to seven different sensors, including large-aperture, high-zoom cameras and thermal imagers, it engaged in persistent surveillance at long range. 
The opposite trend is reducing the size and cost of UAS to enable deployment by tactical elements, where countermeasures aren’t available. Two platforms developed in Israel, the ThunderB from BlueBird and Orbiter 3 from Aeronautics, represent different approaches. Powered by an internal combustion engine, ThunderB carries a 3-kg (6.6-lb.) payload on a 20-hr. mission. Orbiter 3, powered by an electric motor, is a flying wing that deploys a 5-kg payload for seven hours. Both are designed for tactical forces at brigade level and below. They are typically equipped with payloads of 1.5-3 kg, and reportedly provide the same data collection capability as much heavier systems operating at high altitude. 
Employing integral micro-UAS on the front lines would make warfighters less dependent on larger UAS support from high command levels. These miniature tactical systems rely on winged or flying-wing platforms, such as the AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven and Wasp, IAI Birdeye and Elbit Skylark. Pocket-sized versions employ rotary wing or small multi-rotor platforms for missions. British forces in Afghanistan have used the Black Hornet nano-UAS to gain situational awareness for force protection. Black Hornet is effectively a “flying camera,” intuitively controlled by the user at a range of a few hundred meters. 
Sparrow and Firecast miniature multi-rotor vehicles from Torquing Group are fully autonomous UAS, even in complex urban terrain, and enable multiple UAVs to operate in synch with each other. In fact, Sparrow’s operation system allows one vehicle to operate autonomously for 20-40 min., or several to swarm. Each Sparrow carries 200 grams (14 oz.) of payload that is not limited to EO. 

GPS based autoland - No kidding - US far ahead of Europe - AW&ST

FAA Targets 2018 For GPS-Based Autoland Capability

Boeing







The FAA says airlines may be able to begin using ground-based augmentation systems (GBAS) for satellite-based Category 3 instrument landings that culminate in a 50-ft. decision height or an automatic landing by 2018, offering a lower-cost alternative to legacy ground-based instrument landing systems (ILS).
A growing number of carriers are beginning to use the equipment for Category 1 instrument approaches with a 200-ft. decision height at a handful of airports, including Newark, Sydney, Frankfurt and Houston—an interim step before Category 3 operations as the industry gains experience with the technology.
Compared to a legacy ILS—which requires localizer and glideslope transmitters at each runway end—one suite of GBAS equipment can provide approaches to 26 runway ends while offering a choice of glidepath angles and touchdown zones. The GBAS built by Honeywell for Newark and Houston uses four GPS receivers on the ground for redundancy and to reduce the effect of signal noise through averaging. GBAS requires a multi-mode receiver on the aircraft to pick up GPS-correction factors sent up on VHF links from ground-based receivers that compare the raw GPS position to known positions of the receivers, to compute errors introduced by the ionosphere and other factors.
Delta Air Lines conducted its inaugural GBAS landing with a Boeing 737 at Newark on Feb. 18, joining United Airlines and British Airways (BA), which were already flying the approaches there.
United is averaging 65-70 GBAS landing system (GLS) approaches at Newark and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport each month with a portion of its Boeing737 and 787 fleets, which come with GLS avionics as standard equipment. United has more than 95 737s and 14 787s with GLS avionics, and is selecting the option for all newly delivered 737s. BA is flying GLS approaches with its 787s into Newark.
Delta is using the approaches in Houston as well as in Newark, and has a fleet of more than 42 GLS-equipped 737s. The carrier is investigating GLS for its Airbus fleet as well. In total, the airline plans to have 177 aircraft equipped for the approaches by 2019, according to the FAA.
A growing number of foreign airlines also are using the capability at Newark and Houston. Emirates conducted its first GLS landing in Houston in December with an Airbus A380, one of 57 GLS-equipped A380s at the time. The carrier also uses the approaches at Sydney, Frankfurt and Zurich. And Lufthansa made its first GLS landing in Houston in December with one of 12 equipped A380s that also use the approaches in Sydney and Frankfurt. Cathay Pacific made its first GLS landing in Houston, with aBoeing 747-8, at the end of January. The FAA says Virgin Atlantic is also planning to seek operational specification approval for the approaches into Newark. Other foreign carriers purchasing GLS-equipped aircraft include Air BerlinQantasSwiss Air, TUIfly and various Russian airlines, the FAA says.
Boeing says it has more than 1,000 GPS-equipped in-service aircraft, with the number growing by 25 per month. The airframer says one-third of all new 737s are being delivered with the option, which is standard equipment on the 747-8 as well as on the 787.
Flight-testing on GLS for Category 3 approaches, which include autoland capability, continues at the FAA’s Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in Europe through the Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) program in Toulouse, France, and Frankfurt.
As part of its research last year, Boeing completed 12 Category 3 GLS autoland approaches with its 787 “ecoDemonstrator” at the company’s Moses Lake, Washington, facility, a location that also uses a Honeywell GBAS.

Synthetic vision - Update AW&ST

Airbus, Boeing Set Sights On Synthetic Vision


Virtual reality will make its way into commercial airliner flight decks in the next five years as part of a voluntary safety upgrade movement spurred by the government and industry Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST).
Synthetic vision, a 3-D rendering of runways, terrain and obstacles that gives pilots a sunny-day virtual view of the flight path ahead, is already standard fare for new general aviation and business jet cockpit displays and even for many portable devices, but it is not yet available in the cockpits of modern jetliners.
Along with an “optical flow” that artificially creates a sense of aircraft movement, synthetic vision systems (SVS) can also include energy awareness cues including a flight path vector, flight path acceleration and speed error indicator, aids safety advocates say can help eliminate attitude excursions that may lead to upsets and loss-of-control accidents.
CAST, a grouping of FAA, airline and industry safety officials, originally came together in 1998 with the task of reducing the risk of having a fatal accident on U.S. commercial airliners by 80% by 2008, a goal it has largely met. CAST regrouped in 2011, with a new goal of cutting the commercial airline fatality rate by an additional 50% by 2020. Loss of control has by far been the largest underlying factor in fatal accidents since 2003.

As part of its work, the group analyzed 18 airline loss-of-control accidents or incidents in 2003-12 and determined that a “virtual-day” visual meteorological conditions (VMC) display, a.k.a. SVS, could have helped pilots avoid 17 of the 18 events where there were no external references to help orient the aircraft. Included in the loss-of-control list were the 2009 crashes of a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 and Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800, and the 2002 non-fatal loss-of-control incident involving an Icelandair Boeing 757-200.
In part because of the optical flow of the elements in a scene, SVS provides an intuitive sense of orientation, motion and ground closure rate compared to the legacy blue-over-brown attitude display. By adding energy guidance to an SVS display, CAST determined that the risk of a loss-of-control accident can be reduced by 16%, assuming 30% of the global airline fleet is equipped by 2035. If combined with 10 other interventions, the overall loss-of-control risk could be reduced by 73%.
However, SVS technology, first certified for transport-category aircraft by the FAA in 2006, has not yet made its way to airline cockpits, aside from a handful of aircraft with retrofit avionics upgrades. Although manufacturers are interested in the technology, there are concerns that by offering synthetic vision without a mandate or industry impetus, it could appear that they have ignored an essential safety tool that other sectors put in place years ago.
The CAST initiative solves that problem for the OEMs, as CAST recommendations have nearly the same clout as a mandate, with airframers generally agreeing to voluntarily implement the group’s recommendations—in this case, installing SVS in the form of a virtual-day VMC display in new aircraft by 2020.
AirbusBoeingBombardier and Embraer have already committed to a separate CAST request to begin including the three energy-state cues into the primary flight display information on new-build aircraft by 2018. However, before implementing the virtual day-VMC display—also known as CAST Safety Enhancement 200—Boeing and Airbus have asked for more guidance on how to implement the recommendation and the certification risks of doing so, a request the FAA sent to its synthetic and enhanced vision working group under the auspices of RTCA Special Committee 213 (SC213).
SC213 primarily develops consensus-based general requirements, performance requirements and system performance verification guidelines for sensor-based systems or, with members representing a diverse group of regulators, including the FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada as well as airframers and avionics providers. The standards generally become the basis for regulatory guidance or rules. The FAA asked the group to devise minimum system performance standards for the virtual-day VMC displays by June 2016, a date that may be overly optimistic.
During its first discussion of the task at a meeting in Paris in mid-April, the complexities of the request and the potential unintended consequences began to take shape. While simple in concept, the implementation of the virtual-day VMC display is far from settled.
A preliminary concept for the virtual-day VMC display includes a display of synthetic vision terrain and obstacles for all attitudes, a depiction of the runway of intended landing, and recovery guidance that could give a pilot visual or aural cues as to which way to roll or pitch the aircraft to bring the wings back to level attitude.
The virtual scene is to be available on the primary flight display at all times for both pilots.
Key elements to be determined through continued research and debate include how to show unusual attitudes and whether recovery cues should be included; how best to show and measure the optical flow of the scene; the required minimum display size, field of regard, compression ratio and resolution; and whether multiple colors should be used for the guidance. Also open for debate is whether the VMC display would be shown on head-up displays in aircraft equipped with the devices.
Intrinsic to the discussion is whether the SVS, currently certified as a situational awareness aid only, would require more scrutiny if it becomes the pilot’s primary tool to recovery from unusual attitudes. Today, regulators require or recommend that the flight guidance in an upset attitude revert to blue-over-brown with arrow cues showing the direction to recover. However, some SVS developers says leaving the synthetic scene in place for all attitudes will give the pilot better situational awareness cues, either preventing the upset in the first place or helping to speed the recovery.
This article was originally published on April 28.

Refuelling KC-135R dropped off radar - Landed safely


US Air Force refuelling jet lands safely at British base after disappearing off radar over English Channel

  • Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker left Amiens in northern France at 0.05am
  • Last reported on flight tracking website south of Dover 15 minutes later
  • It's unclear why QID72 plane declared an emergency early this morning
  • But US Air Force confirmed that it landed at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk

A US Air Force refuelling aircraft disappeared off the radar over the English Channel last night but has since landed safely in Britain.

The Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker left Amiens in northern France at 0.05am local time (11.05pm BST) and was last reported on a flight tracking website between Dover and Calais 15 minutes later.

It is not yet known why the plane - flying under the code QID72 and based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk - fell off the radar at 0.20am.

Despite the confusion the jet landed safely at its base in East Anglia an hour later, the US Air Force confirmed.

Refuelling aircraft: The Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker (file picture) left Amiens in northern France overnight - but it has since landed safely

A spokesman said the aircraft experienced an in-flight emergency over the Channel.
But he said they are investigating what happened, and why the plane disappeared off radar.

Drone once again

Pussig dette, men han minner meg om en del hundeeiere som aldri har hørt om båndtvang eller om folk som er redde hunder..... Er dette den typiske drone operatør?

Ranger uses stun gun on man operating drone over lava lake

HONOLULU (AP) - A park ranger used a Taser on a man flying a drone over a lake of lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, then arrested the man in front of several hundred people after telling him that flying an unmanned aircraft at a national park is prohibited.

Crowds have been flocking to an overlook area at the park to watch a steadily rising lava lake at the summit of Kilauea volcano.

Travis Ray Sanders brought his family to the park on Saturday evening to record the lava with his drone and didn't realize the man yelling at him to bring it down was a ranger, he told Hawaii News Now.

"He sounded very angry, confrontational - like he wanted to fight - and I didn't really want to stick around for it so I just told him, 'I don't have ID and I'm leaving," Sanders told the Honolulu news station.

The ranger asked Sanders three times to bring the drone down, and Sanders eventually brought it down, park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane told The Associated Press Tuesday.

"The ranger identified himself and approached the individual, who refused to identify himself," Ferracane said.

Because Sanders fled and was near the edge of the caldera rim - where there's a 500-foot drop - the ranger deployed a Taser, she said.

Nødlanding Dash 8- USA


United Flight From NC To Newark Makes Emergency Landing In Philly

A United Airlines propeller plane headed to Newark had to land in Philadelphia due to an engine fire on Tuesday, April 28. (Credit: CBS2)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A United Airlines jet bound for Newark Airport made an emergency landing in Philadelphia Tuesday.

Flight 4882, a United Express flight operated by Republic Airways, was en route from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina to Newark when the plane had engine trouble and the pilot declared an emergency, according to the FAA.

The plane landed safely in Philadelphia without further incident.

There were 75 people on board.

Firefighters placed foam on the runway when the plane landed.

Greek strike tomorrow


Greek Air Traffic Safety Engineers to Hold Three-Hour Work Stoppage on April 30

The Greek Air Traffic Safety Electronic Engineers Association called a three-hour "warning work stoppage" for Thursday to protest staff and equipment shortages.

The work stoppage has been called from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on April 30.

The safety engineers service, part of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (YPA), expressed its concern over safety issues related to the increased summer passenger traffic because of "significant delays in upgrading and modernizing the VAR and PALLAS air navigation systems" and staff shortages, especially substitute and standby staff units.

Drone harassment - Love Field

Drone Flies Above Landing Airplane: Dallas Police

Authorities say a pilot reported that a drone flew above an airplane trying to land at Dallas Love Field Tuesday night. (April 29, 2015)

A drone flew above an airplane that was descending toward a Love Field runway Tuesday night, authorities said.

Dallas police said they flew their Air One helicopter near the area to find the drone and tweeted a photo at about midnight.

The drone was about 600 feet off the ground, according to Dallas police, which was high enough the be "above the plane as it landed," as the pilot initially reported.


The Federal Aviation Administration has yet not responded for comment.

SAR - Sverige - Video


Jeg har i kveld sett et en-times program på Sveriges TV1, noe a la Brennpunkt, om kjøp av AW139 til sjøredningstjenesten. Hoder vil rulle. Hvis ikke er Sverige det første Nordiske mafialand. Hele historien er en eneste kontinuerlig dekkoperasjon som ikke en gang er en såkalt bananrepublikk verdig. Godt arbeid av redaksjonen. Sjøfartsverket kommer særdeles dårlig ut. Det samme gjør AgustaWestland. At Sjøfartsverket kjøper PR støtte etter dette er lett å forstå. Omdømmet kan ikke rettes på etter dette uten at personer på toppnivå fjernes.

Sjekk video her: http://tinyurl.com/lvpvs7v


Köper pr-hjälp efter "Uppdrag granskning"

Tidigare artiklar
Nu slår Sjöfartsverket tillbaka mot Uppdrag granskning.
Myndigheten har köpt pr-hjälp för 300 000 kronor, enligt Resumé.
Men ett filmklipp som man lade ut på Facebook blev så hånat att det togs bort efter bara några timmar.

Expressen berättade på tisdagen om UG:s uppgifter kring Sjöfartsverkets nya helikoptrar, en miljardaffär med stora frågetecken.
Enligt Uppdrag granskning har det funnits oegentligheter i upphandlingen, något som SVT-programmet dock inte har några bevis för. Statliga Sjöfartsverket har också hamnat i tvist med flera kommuner, efter att ha skickat faktura till dem då de fått hjälp i livräddningsärenden.

Helikopteraffären

Programmet sänds i kväll klockan 20 i SVT och Sjöfartsverket har inför detta försökt att kommunicera ut sin version av helikopteraffären.
En åtgärd var att lägga ut ett klipp med generaldirektören Ann-Catrine Zetterdahl förklarasom på Uppdrag gransknings Facebooksida. Efter en timme togs den bort, enligt Ali Fegan, en av reportrarna som står bakom programmet.
– Folk började håna den, och då försvann den. Det luktar lite Sovjet, att hon ska stå där och prata till folket, säger han till Resumé.

Köpt pr för 300 000 kronor

Uppdrag granskning uppger att Sjöfartsverket köpt pr-hjälp för 300 000 kronor för att mildra helikopterdebatten.
SVT-redaktionen hävdar också att den statliga myndigheten har hemligstämplat viktiga dokument, något som verket tillbakavisar.
– Vi har haft en dialog med UG i ett års tid. Vi har inte mörkat något. En del handlingar har däremot varit belagda med vanlig affärssekretess. Men vi har en lång lista över saker vi har delat med oss av, säger kommunikationsdirektören Maria Ottosson till Resumé.

"Vem ska betala?"

Efter att Expressen på tisdagen berättade om UG-programmet har Sjöfartsverket hört av sig via mejl med sin version.
– Den springande punkten som SVT helt och hållet undviker är att Sjöfartsverkets räddningstjänst i huvudsak betalas genom avgifter från handelssjöfarten samt civila och militära luftfarten. Detta innebär att när Sjöfartsverkets helikoptrar deltar i kommunal räddningstjänst är det i praktiken färjerederier, flygbolag och Försvarsmakten som betalar huvuddelen av kostnaderna, skriver informatören Daniel Lindblad och fortsätter:
– Jag har gott förtroende för att du kan vara mer nyanserad än SVT i denna fråga.
Konkurrensverket har nu startat en utredning av affären.
– Det är allvarliga anklagelser som riktas mot Sjöfartsverket och det handlar om väldigt mycket pengar. För oss är det en självklarhet att vi som tillsynsmyndighet ska titta närmare på det här, säger Hanna Witt, chef för tillsynsavdelningen på Konkurrensverket, i ett pressmeddelande.