<The use of air delivery services -- particularly overseas -- is expected to boom in the coming years ... The ripples from such growth will be felt not only through the rest of the economy, but also the aviation industry ... Crowded skies, for example, have prompted UPS to develop a new collision avoidance system called ADS-B ...>
Looks like they'll need that new collision avoidance system!!
April 7, 1999
FAA: NEW AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM TOO SLOW TO USE
A new $2.2 billion computer system that's supposed to modernize the nation's aging air traffic control network is so slow in tests that tasks take at least twice as long as on the old equipment ... Until it is fixed, the computer system is unsuitable for use at the nation's busiest facilities where it is needed most, Federal Aviation Administration officials say ... In FAA tests last month, the system, called STARS, was two to three times slower in displaying aircraft radar positions and responding to air traffic controllers' commands, according to a report obtained by USA TODAY ...
usatoday.com
May 6, 1999
FLIGHTS STACK UP AS RADAR BUGS OUT
A revision of the software called ARTS 6.05 was loaded onto computers Tuesday night. But on Wednesday, vital information that tells controllers the identity, speed and altitude of airplanes began to temporarily disappear from radar screens, FAA and union officials said... After efforts to fix the problem failed, FAA management and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association agreed to deactivate the finicky ARTS 6.05 system and replace it Thursday morning with a retired version, ARTS 6.04, which had a solid track record. However, the older system is not Year 2000 compliant...
sangersreview.com
CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Jon Hilkevitch, James Janega and Carolyn Rusin)
May 7, 1999
COMPUTER SNAFU CREATES HAVOC AT 3 AIRPORTS
Similar problems occurred at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center, in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., adjacent to MacArthur Airport in Suffolk County. The problem created "havoc at La Guardia, Newark and Philadelphia Airports." - After the two computer systems failed, a third system was put into use... But since that system does not provide as much data, air traffic controllers had to increase the spacing between planes to 20 miles from 10." ... Henry Brown, who represents New York-area members of the Professional Airways System Specialists, said "They rushed this system into service, against our wishes, because they want to say we've got another 40 percent of our equipment Y2K compliant."
May 7, 1999
BUGS FORCE FAA TO PUT OLDER RADAR SYSTEM BACK
FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said, "We've made a top priority of correcting the glitches in the ARTS 6.05 software program in Chicago and returning it to service as soon as possible, but no later than June 30." - He also said that the "FAA does not have a fallback strategy if the kinks in ARTS 6.05 are not worked out by June 30 or -- in a worst-case situation -- by Dec. 31." - When asked what the FAA planned do if such a situation occurred, Molinaro said, "I wouldn't even want to speculate on it."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Jon Hilkevitch)
May 9, 1999
ASIA-PACIFIC FLIGHTS TO BE CUT BACK BY TWO-THIRDS
Most Asian airlines have agreed to cut back flights by two-thirds well before midnight on December 31. They will not resume full schedules until air traffic controllers from Auckland to Tokyo are satisfied they have the computer millennium bug under control, say sources in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) … There is no target time to resume regular traffic, the sources said ... The Asia-Pacific agreement was signed last week in Tokyo by Thailand and 11 other Pacific nations with heavy air traffic and important air-control centres: United States, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam …
bangkokpost.net
Saw you were long Eurodollar CD futures. You might be interested in this.
Message 9546755
Good luck,
Cheryl
|
