Some civil aviation organizations

1. IATA - International Air Transport Association is the second in its importance organization after ICAO for international civil aviation. It was founded in 1945 and is uniting world airlines. The main objective of this organization is to provide safe and regular development of civil aviation and cooperation of world airlines. The IATA Technical Committee deals with the problem of safety, standardization of aviation equipment, training of flying personnel, communications, meteorology, aerodromes, navigational aids, etc.

2. International Civil Airports Association (ICAA) is the major international airports association. It is an organization permitting a constant exchange of experience, information and documentation among airports as well as contacts between airport managements. Founded in 1962 ICAA is doing much to help countries in developing both domestic and international airports providing specialists and equipment.

3. International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) was founded in 1963 with the purpose to enable the national associations to study and solve the problems for the development of air traffic control art and to create a better understanding among the controllers serving the international aviation.

4. Eurocontrol is the European organization working for air navigation safety. It was created in 1963 for better service of European airspace. The increase of fast flying civil transport aircraft brought a number of difficulties and resulted in the necessity of new operating methods and use of advanced technology. Some European countries signed an agreement to organize common air traffic control in the upper airspace.

 

WEATHER FORECASTING

There are very many met. stations all over the country. They are of great help for aviation. There is a met. ground at every airport too, which is equipped with special instruments. These grounds have to be located not far from the landing and take off areas at a distance of about 300 m. from the end of the runway. At the airports which have no landing systems these met. stations are situated not far from the dispatch office. But if it is difficult to watch the horizontal visibility from this point, then the observations must be made from another place which is the most suitable one for observations. These met. observations are made every 30 minutes at the airports; but sometimes when the weather is dangerous for safe flights the observers give met. information every 15 minutes. All flights must be provided with met. information about the actual weather and weather forecast.

The chief pilot studies the data obtained during preflight preparation. Besides, the pilot receives met. report while in flight. 20-30 minutes before entering the aerodrome area the controller gives full information about the weather for the aerodrome to the plane. For the planes approaching for landing met. report is constantly given with the help of a tape-recorder or by a controller.

Short-flight forecasts are provided by continuous Transcribed Weather Broadcasts and the Pilot's Automatic Telephone Weather Answering Service.

For longer flights a telephone call or visit to the nearest Flight Service Station or Weather Bureau Airport is necessary.

After receiving weather information either for short or long-range flights the pilot considers carefully if weather conditions are suitable for his flight. If not, it is better to delay the flight.

At many terminals information helpful to landing and take off is continuously broadcast on a navigational aid frequency. Prior to descent the pilot requests current weather for terminal area as well as field conditions at destination.

THE EFFECTS OF THE WEATHER ON AVIATION

Except perhaps for local or very short flights, a pilot, before taking off, obtains a weather forecast giving him the weather conditions which are expected along the route of his flight and at his destination. Because weather conditions affect aircraft in flight, to a considerable extent, special aviation forecasts are provided by meteorologists at weather offices all over the world.

The meteorologist, or forecaster, prepares a weather chart which shows the current weather conditions over the whole country. The current weather chart is called a synoptic chart. This synoptic chart shows the areas of low pressure, the areas of high pressure, where precipitation is falling, and all other weather conditions across the country.

From this weather map, the forecaster can inform pilots of the weather conditions they can expect to encounter during their flights. A high pressure area, for instance, usually means good weather while a low pressure area usually involves one or more fronts producing clouds and precipitation over many hundreds of miles.

A pilot needs to know the wind direction and speed. A headwind will obviously delay the arrival of flights and is to be avoided if at all possible. A tailwind on the other hand, can be of great advantage as it increases the ground speed and results in a reduction in fuel consumption. Winds vary with altitude, and also from one place to another, so information on winds is very important.

Pilots will pay particular attention to a low pressure which lies en route, and the weather conditions associated with that low pressure area. The associated cold or warm fronts could involve clouds, thunderstorm, snow, rain, and turbulence. From his charts, the meteorologist can forecast where this weather will be at a certain time in the future, and with the help of these predictions, the pilot will decide which route to fly and when and he will know what weather conditions to expect. Should the forecast be very bad, for example, dense fog or poor visibility due to snow, the pilot may decide to postpone his flight. A pilot flying VFR would also cancel his flight because of low ceiling or low overcast conditions on route.

 

Air navigation

Air navigation came into existence alongside with air traffic. It had a humble beginning, but in a little more than 50 years has come today's extensive aircraft industry, a vast network of global airlines.

In the early days of flying, serious accidents often occurred because men were not thoroughly familiar with the new medium of transportation.

Today pilots are familiar with the construction of the aircraft, its controls, and its limitations. Competent instructors are available to give this information as well as to give actual flight instructions. The manuals are based not only on sound theory but also on long experience. They should be obtained and carefully studied.

The directing of aircraft from one place to another is the science of air navigation.

In fair weather and during daylight, it is usually not difficult to fly from one place to another by visual reference to landmarks noted in the charts. In bad weather and in the hours of darkness, the usual landmarks are often lost to view. Even the airport of the destination may be closed.

If air transportation is to function safely and with any degree of regularity, some aids to navigation, including instrument landing facilities, must be made available.

With the installation of instrument landing systems at principle terminals, and with other equipment such as radar and radar beacons, we may confidently expect that air transportation soon will become independent of all but the most severe weather conditions.

 

METHODS OF navigation

Learning to fly occupied the minds of men almost from the beginning of recorded history. Legend tells of magic carpets and winged sandals. History brings us stories of flying machines, but man’s first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine was made in 1903.

This flight lasted for 12 seconds and covered a distance over the ground of only 120 feet. This flight was made against wind of 24 mph and was equal to a flight of 540 feet in still air. The maximum altitude attained was 12 feet above the ground.

In the old days pilots listened to the winds in the wires and were happy to fly at any speed. But now a fast flying aircraft pushes through the atmosphere so rapidly that the air can't get out fast enough, because the air is compressed and heated by the compression. At such great speeds it's not so easy as before to pilot the plane, to determine the geographical position and to maintain desired directions to navigate.

Through centuries 4 principal methods of navigation have been developed. They may be briefly described as follows:

1. Pilotage, by which the pilot is directing the aircraft with the reference to visible landmarks.

2. Dead reckoning, by which the distance and direction are determined between two known positions, or in which position is determined from the distance and direction from a known position.

3. Radio navigation, or the determination of position by means ofradio bearings, distances or time intervals.

4. Celestial navigation, in which position is determined by means of sextant observations of the sun, moon, planets, or stars, with exact time of the observations.

NAVIGATOR'S ROLE

Ever since thetime when people found their wayby using a column of smoke by day and fire by night, navigation, navigational techniques, and navigational aids have been the subject of discussion.

What is navigation? - Navigation is the art of determining the geographical position and maintaining desired direction of an aircraft relative to the earth's surface.

A navigator belongs to the flying staff of the crew. He performs his duties by means of navigational aids and different instruments installed along the airways as well as in a plane and by making numerous calculations. That's why a navigator must know technical aids of air navigation and methods of their application during flight perfectly well. He should make navigational preparations for flight in good time. The navigator's duties performed by him during flight, are rather numerous: he must navigate the plane according to the flight plan from take off to touch down; control the progress of the aircraft by means of all established navigational methods and technical aids. He must know and observe the rules of radio communication and keep watch on airborne aids. The navigator has to get flight charts prepared personally and in advance. In addition to all duties mentioned above he must make a correct estimate of the meteorological situation.

In the course of preliminary preparation of the crew for flight the navigator together with other members of the flying staff studies the order of conducting flight on a given airway and radio aids available. Navigator's task is to determine aircraft's position, direction and speed of flight.

Usually navigators fly on heavy planes. As aircraft become larger and faster, requirements to navigator's work increase. Longer flights sends out radio waves and then measures the amount of time that it takes for the waves to return.

A radar set includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter sends out at regular intervals short pulses of high-frequency waves. These can penetrate clouds and darkness. They move out in a straight line. Having met some object they are reflected back to the radar set and are translated into a spot of light on the screen.

Ground radar is used to guide planes to a landing in bad weather.

 

Co-pilot’s duties

Co-pilot should:

1. Master piloting technique and aeronavigation to ensure safe flying.

2. Observe pre-flight rest.

3. Be able to analyze and correctly assess meteorological and aeronautical environment situation.

4. Get ready for the flight to the full extent.

5. Control the condition and readiness of the aircraft and its proper loading.

6. Know radiotelephone phraseology and the rules of communication.

7. Inform the captain about all malfunctions of aircraft systems and instruments and make suggestions of their removal.

8. Make decisions and act according to the situation if the captain cannot perform his duties due to various reasons.

9. Inspect the aircraft after landing and taxying to the stand.

Co-pilot has the right:

1. To pilot the aircraft at all stages of the flight with the captain’s permission.

2. To fulfil the captain’s instructions when the captain cannot perform his duties.

Co-pilot is responsible for:

1. Meeting the requirements of all regulation documents of Civil Aviation.

2. Discretion while taxying and in flight.

3. Timely and correct actions at the decision height together with the captain.

4. Maintaining flight parameters given by the captain.

5. Safe completion of the flight while piloting when the captain cannot fulfil his duties.

Controller’s role

To talk about the air traffic controller's role is, of course, important. Controller's functions are very numerous and rather difficult. It is known that great technological achievements have been reached. But speaking about full automation in the field of aircraft operations and air traffic control one must remember that electronic devices cannot replace man. They can only be an auxiliary to the human operator. Increasing air safety is the main task of controllers. Some people see the answer to ATC problems in large radars with enormous coverage (range). This will require navigation system with air-ground data links so that position information is the same in the air and on the ground. The task of the controller then will be separating aircraft from each other and maintaining a safe and orderly flow of traffic. The role of the controller in the future is becoming that of a monitor, he will interfere only when needed. So he will be a necessary element in the air traffic control process.