We've all been there. You're sitting in your cramped next to the lady that should have bought two seats so she could stop taking up yours. At this point you start praying for the plane to start rolling so this flight can get over with. All of a sudden the plane gets rolled back and you get all excited because the only things left to do are to take off and get to where you're going.
Then the problem becomes apparent- taking off. You come to a stop on the taxi way. To investigate you casually look out the window only to discover you're about tenth in line for take off and your stomach sinks. That means roughly another half an hour of being squished against the wall before you're even in the air and you suddenly find yourself dreaming of that first class ticket you were thinking of buying.
GOOD NEWS! These days are coming to an end if ever so slightly. The FAA has begun awarding contracts to airlines willing to use GPS in their air traffic controlling instead of the radar like those used in most control towers.
UPS was recently awarded one such contract. The UPS company spoke with a third party which gave them the idea to use GPS to see other planesin the area. The GPS information could then be used to calculate times to runways not distances which would allow for planes to take off more often saving a few minutes per plane on the ramp. Now I know what you're thinking- a few minutes doesn't sound like much, but multiply that by the nine planes sitting in front of you and I think you will be a little happier.
No deadline has yet been set for all airlines to switch to this new technology, but next time you're on a plane see if you notice.
Then the problem becomes apparent- taking off. You come to a stop on the taxi way. To investigate you casually look out the window only to discover you're about tenth in line for take off and your stomach sinks. That means roughly another half an hour of being squished against the wall before you're even in the air and you suddenly find yourself dreaming of that first class ticket you were thinking of buying.
GOOD NEWS! These days are coming to an end if ever so slightly. The FAA has begun awarding contracts to airlines willing to use GPS in their air traffic controlling instead of the radar like those used in most control towers.
UPS was recently awarded one such contract. The UPS company spoke with a third party which gave them the idea to use GPS to see other planesin the area. The GPS information could then be used to calculate times to runways not distances which would allow for planes to take off more often saving a few minutes per plane on the ramp. Now I know what you're thinking- a few minutes doesn't sound like much, but multiply that by the nine planes sitting in front of you and I think you will be a little happier.
No deadline has yet been set for all airlines to switch to this new technology, but next time you're on a plane see if you notice.
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