31–40 of 73 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. You can't argue about the lack of GPS trackers, though. Every shipping container has one nowadays.
Reading GPS is cheap and easy. Sending information back is not. Those shipping container trackers use GSM to call home. They're cell phones. What happens when that container is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?
Most modern aircraft have GPS receivers built-in. They are actually constantly reporting this information to ground stations [1]. I'm not saying that things couldn't be better (and I'm no expert at all) but I doubt that any of these new technologies would have saved MH370. It's very weird, for instance, that the ground station that reports to flightracker24 lost ADS-B communication with the plane all of a sudden and…
It seems that Flight 370 had GPS tracking (flightradar24.com screenshot): http://www.voanews.com/content/vietnam-navy-official-missing...
Direct link: http://www.flightradar24.com/2014-03-07/16:46/12x/MAS370/2d8...
Most modern airliners have satellite links (data and voice) with their dispatch centers. They also use the ACARS system to send and receive clearances (they can acknowledge by pushing a button). The old SELCAL+HF radio is no longer in use, except for backup. Planes have GPS trackers. Not only their company knows where they are, the control center can too. In the case of the north atlantic track system, air control ke…
> I just fail to see the point of this post. Haven't you read about the missing aircraft? Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is a missing international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370 At least two of the passengers were travelling using false identities (stolen passports, tickets bought at the same time). Edit: last known position: http://w…
It may be stuck in the 60's but HF radios work sure you can create an automated dispatch system on an iPad. How do you authenticate it? how do you tell if its not working? does it fail safe? Making safe software is hard, and well beyond the wit of your standard programmer. After all, can you gaurentee your software when the CPU is at 100%? can you say with certainty what happens when your CPU is hammered by all the i…
> It may be stuck in the 60's but HF radios work Really? When you have to worry about things like "Squelch" in order to deal with voltage supply ground noise? You are on thin ground. The real problem with modern technology is that the pilot can't rely on it. Sure, a digital radio is $1,000 (or less). However, the digital radio that is FAA certified will be expensive and nobody is going to develop it because the FAA w…
It may be stuck in the 60's but HF radios work sure you can create an automated dispatch system on an iPad. How do you authenticate it? how do you tell if its not working? does it fail safe? Making safe software is hard, and well beyond the wit of your standard programmer. After all, can you gaurentee your software when the CPU is at 100%? can you say with certainty what happens when your CPU is hammered by all the i…
At times like this, I'm reminded of the Mars Curiosity's tech specs which are something like 200MHz, 256MB of RAM, 2GB hd,and 2MP camera and all the posts about how my iPhone is so much better. Well it was good enough to get to Mars and a hell of a lot more reliable.
The moment we saw bunch of aviation articles on HN and that plane disappears. Coincident?
News of the disappeared plane got posted here first, and then these articles related to aviation..
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's all fine, but the points he makes remain very valid, GPS tracking and weather info being the most valid. No-one knows why the plane went down, but arguing that technology advances can't make planes safer isn't true by the looks of the article. The fact that the security aspects of computer systems to help pilots is hard does not mean it can't be attempted successfully, the points made about drones ring true on…
In the US, most planes do have GPS, and it will be a requirement by 2020. For those interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_dependent_surveillanc...
MH370/MAS370
Boing 777-2H6ER
Registration 9M-MRO
Altitude 0ft
Speed 471 kt
Track 40°
Vertical Speed 0 fpm
Lattitude: 6.97
Longitude: 103.63
Radar: F-WMKC1
Squawk: 2157
That particular airplane was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines in May 2002 and was involved in a ground mishap in 2012. While taxiing at Shanghai's Pudong airport, its wingtip hit the tail of another aircraft. According to an independent accident-tracking site, the damage suffered by the Boeing 777 was "substantial.": http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=147571
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reading GPS is cheap and easy. Sending information back is not. Those shipping container trackers use GSM to call home. They're cell phones. What happens when that container is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?
That's an interesting question. Mini "cell tower" on the ship with satellite link?
It may be stuck in the 60's but HF radios work sure you can create an automated dispatch system on an iPad. How do you authenticate it? how do you tell if its not working? does it fail safe? Making safe software is hard, and well beyond the wit of your standard programmer. After all, can you gaurentee your software when the CPU is at 100%? can you say with certainty what happens when your CPU is hammered by all the i…
At times like this, I'm reminded of the Mars Curiosity's tech specs which are something like 200MHz, 256MB of RAM, 2GB hd,and 2MP camera and all the posts about how my iPhone is so much better. Well it was good enough to get to Mars and a hell of a lot more reliable.
When speaking about systems, which need maximal reliability and are strictly controlled by authorities (air planes, nuclear power plants, medical treatment devices, space related stuff), updating existing and once approved systems is so painful, that you often do all you can to avoid it. That's a sad state of affairs.