Tag: FAA

Today's high-profile celebrities may have perfected the art of avoiding paparazzi on the streets of Beverly Hills, but they might want to turn their attention skyward, as well. That's because celebrity photo agency Splash News is developing a camera-equipped drone aircraft to track the rich and famous from above. "It would strike fear in the hearts of every celebrity having a birthday party," ...

Have you ever dreamed of being an air traffic controller, but your time spent training in a terrorist camp overseas has kept you from passing the background check? Well, now you can monitor thousands of flights in near real-time as they criss-cross the country, thanks to a KML file from Flightwise.com that puts data from the FAA in Google Earth. Each in-air flight is represented by a little plane ...

The day we've all dreamed of is finally here. A new flying car has just received approval from the FAA, officially bringing the world one step closer to Jetsonian utopia. The Terrafugia Transition is a two-seat, "light sport" aircraft that can fly for up to 460 miles at 115 mph, and carry up to 450 pounds. It only needs a 1,700-foot runway to take off, and, with electrically powered folding ...

A new set of requirements handed down by the Federal Aviation Administration will overhaul the nation's air traffic control system within the next decade. According to an Associated Press report on CBS News, the FAA mandated that all aircraft and ground control must install and use GPS-tracking systems by 2020. It will cost $4 billion for the estimated 7,000 airliners and cargo planes plus more ...

Share At possible risk to the user's health, many a geek's dream is finally coming true. According to the Daily Mail, the world's first commercial jet pack will hit the market this year. Costing a cool $75,000, the jet pack is much more than the usual DIY projects we've told you about. That's right; it's not just a rocket strapped to your back! The unnamed machine will be manufactured by ...

Crucial as they are to so many businesses, computers can also be distracting in the workplace. All too often, employees exchange YouTube goodies or IMs in lieu of doing real work. Most of the time, though, it's innocuous enough; we all need to shut off our minds at some point during the workday. Of course, our office isn't hurtling through the air at 30,000 feet, and our jobs don't entail keeping ...

A group of air traffic controllers in California had to think on their feet when their communication system failed them. The Associated Press reports that about 40 employees at the Oakland Center in Fremont were forced to use their own cell phones to guide dozens of planes after the telephone and radio communication systems crashed last Wednesday morning. During the 15 minutes that the system ...

Air travel just became even more stressful, as a recent government study reveals that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air-traffic control system faces significant threats from cyber-terrorists. According to the Wall Street Journal, the FAA plans to modernize its control systems over the next 15 years, thanks in part to $20 billion of funding, but the technological adaptations are ...

Airport security is cool and all, but when we're being forced to undress, bend over, and throw away our $4 Pepsi while a lady in Albany somehow gets her stun gun past the security checkpoint, we start to lose faith that this is all serving the greater good. On Saturday, Amy Burns passed through the security checkpoint at Albany International Airport with her child and a stroller in tow. It ...

The FAA has released a safety advisory recommending pilots turn off cell phones in the cockpit. Passengers are well-versed in powering off before takeoff, but during a recent en-route inspection, the first officer's cellphone began ringing as the aircraft sped down the runway for takeoff. The advisory states: During the takeoff phase, just prior to reaching V1, a rather loud "warbling" sound ...

If you worry about the Federal Aviation Administration's aging computer systems and their inability to effectively deal with the constant flood of air traffic, perhaps you should spare a thought for the internal systems that keep track of the Administration's thousands of employees. Apparently, they're in need of some attention, too, with the FAA announcing that the names and social security ...

We've seen no shortage of batteries exploding, whether they be in cell phones or laptops. It didn't take long for the FAA to institute bans for certain types (and quantities) of batteries for gadgets, and after an incident on a plane heading for Manchester, England, the U.K. travel administration may want to think about instituting a similar ban. The battery on an electric wheelchair was found ...

It's not clear what the exact problem is, but every major airport in the country is currently experiencing flight delays because of an FAA computer problem at a facility south of Atlanta. All that's being said is that the system that processes flight plans is having troubles, but that all flights currently in the air are fine and should land safely. Given that a single FAA computer failure has ...

We all know there's no such thing as a free meal, but these days even an included meal on a flight is hard to come by. If you're not willing to cough up a couple of bucks for a box of individually packaged semi-edibles, you're going to go hungry on that coast-to-coast flight. So, more and more people are packing meals, and if you're one of those frugal brown baggers, keep this in mind: Leave the ...

In the wake of exploding batteries in some laptops, airlines are taking measures to ban the use of those laptops in flight. For the year 2008 a new FAA-wide battery ban has gone into effect, and this one potentially applies to all of your gadgets -- not just your laptop. The ban doesn't focus on a specific manufacturer or model. The new rules dictate how much lithium you are allowed to carry ...