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Article source: http://aviationweek.com/awin-only/airworthiness-directives-53
The common meme in todays world is that we are slowly (or perhaps even rapidly in some instances) destroying our global environment. Not just by way of global warming, but pollution, over-farming, water usage, and increasing use of all sorts of resources taken from the ground. Post-apocalyptic movies and books are the rage, showing us living in a world where man has ravaged his environment and our lives have been degraded if not destroyed. Our failure to deal with global warming and the destruction of the environment are key components of the mantra repeated by the mainstream media, pundits, and politicians.
Technology is supposed to somehow save us from our dystopian future by creating new ways to clean the environment, feed us, and help us become more thrifty and less wasteful. But when? When will we see those breakthroughs, that light at the end of the tunnel?
A few years ago I met Jesse Ausubel, who ran a two-week-long think tank for the US Department of Defense at the Naval War College, tasked with thinking about the challenges of the next 20 years. The Office of Net Assessment brought in 15 futurists from a number of disciplines and personnel from each branch of the military who were the heads of future-scenario planning for their respective branches. We sat for over a week, 10-12 hours a day plus dinners, thinking through the issues we might have to face. Andrew Marshall, who was 93 and had been running that department since he was appointed
Article source: http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1435244755.php
Call it a close encounter of the third gear.
For the past six years, tech companies — led by Google — have been testing out self-driving cars. As the robotic prototypes have moved from private tracks to public roads, the projects have raised hopes of safer transportation. After all, it’s human error that causes nearly all driving accidents.
But a near collision between two self-driving cars is now raising concerns over the technology.
On Tuesday, two driverless prototypes, one operated by Google and the other by Delphi Automotive, nearly collided in Palo Alto, California.
John Absmeier, director of Delphi’s Silicon Valley lab, was a passenger in his company’s self-driving Audi Q5 as it drove along San Antonio Road when it was suddenly cut off by a Google-operated Lexus SUV, Absmeier told Reuters.
The pair of fully automated autos did not collide. Google declined to comment to Reuters.
Both cars were equipped with similar technology, including lasers, radar, cameras and computer systems enabling the cars to drive on their own without need of human drivers. Both cars did, however, have people behind the wheel in case of an emergency.
The close call is believed to be the first of its kind, according to Reuters. It came on the same day that Google announced its latest model of self-driving car was already hitting the streets of Silicon Valley.
[Google is now reporting all its driverless car crashes. Will other carmakers
What is a legitimate cause for worry when flying in a passenger airplane?: originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
Answer by Mike Leary, Former Boeing Employee
Ok. I used to work at Boeing and repaired the computerized part of the machines which put together 747’s. People not familiar with airplanes are scared because they are forced to be quiet and go along with acting normal while stuck in a tube hurtling through the air at 600 miles an hour, and 30,000 feet above the earth. What could go wrong?
Surprisingly, not much. These things are engineered and tested over and over to make sure they are safe. The number of deaths now, even from ones that crashed is incredibly low. Most people now walk away from aircraft disasters unless the plane was blown up on purpose. That is hard to do now also.
So let me show you a picture I’ve seen, many people never see. It is wings being bent in testing at a level they never would be in real life. They have to withstand every possible stress.
Now let’s get back to the noises and a checklist so you can
Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/scared-of-flying-25-expla_b_7598372.html?utm_hp_ref=travel&ir=Travel
An unmanned aerial vehicle — better known as a drone — shut down evening aerial firefighting operations over the Lake Fire, which in turn burned more than 3 1/2 additional square miles overnight, authorities said Thursday.
Fire crews battle the Lake Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest on Friday, June 19, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)
The drone was spotted about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday flying between two fixed-wing aircraft battling the massive wildfire burning south of Big Bear Lake, according to Mike Eaton, forest aviation officer for the San Bernardino National Forest.
The sighting of the illegal aircraft prompted authorities to recall all aircraft battling the fire.
“We don’t want to deal with unknown aircraft in our airspace,” Eaton said. “They’ve got enough on their mind already … difficult terrain, difficult weather, winds and other things. They don’t need to be worrying about model airplanes or drones.”
Authorities could not figure out who was flying the drone or where it returned to. It was a fixed-wing type of plane, described as orange or red and about 4 feet wide.
Mike Eaton, forest aviation officer for the San Bernardino National Forest, speaks at the
Article source: http://ktla.com/2015/06/25/illegal-4-foot-drone-shut-down-aerial-firefight-over-lake-fire-forest-service/
One week after logging new aircraft orders worth $50.2 billion at the Paris Air Show, Boeing—the world’s largest airplane manufacturer—is tapping new leadership to help the company keep pace with spiking demand.
Boeing
BA
president and COO Dennis Muilenburg will step into the CEO role vacated by Jim McNerney on July 1. The change in leadership comes at a time when the company faces a laundry list of key near- and medium-term decisions, and both Boeing—and chief rival Airbus
EADSY
— enjoy multi-year backlogs for their commercial jetliners.
On the new CEO’s desk: What to do with a defense unit that’s losing ground in a tough federal budget environment; whether or not to cancel one iconic commercial jet line and/or inaugurate a new one; how to deal with the fallout from this summer’s $55 billion Long Range Strike Bomber decision; and, how the company should effectively ramp up commercial jet production to meet historic levels of global demand.
The 51-year-old Muilenburg hails from Boeing’s defense and space unit, and his selection signals something of a culture change for the company’s executive leadership. McNerney, who previously held executive positions at 3M and General Electric Co., is known as more of a finance geek. Meanwhile, his replacement is an aircraft engineer and 30-year Boeing veteran with a deep
Article source: https://fortune.com/2015/06/25/boeings-leadership/
A human disaster is currently happening in the Mediterranean Sea where more than 10,000 migrants have been picked up as they attempted to enter Europe from Libya. The International Organization for Migration estimates that nearly 1,830 migrants have died on the sea route this year compared to 207 in the same period last year.
Traffickers started taking advantage of the breakdown of authority in Libya to pack boats with paying migrants willing to cross the sea for a better life.
EUNAVFOR: an operation meant to fight piracy
And the European operation against piracy in the Indian Ocean (EUNAVFOR Atalanta) has become a reference for possible maritime operation in the Mediterranean against those traffickers.
If the destruction of ships was not part of the original objectives of Atalanta, its actions soon grew offensive: in spring 2010, 18 months after its start, Atalanta adopted methods allowing it to disrupt both “pirate bases” and pirate ships and enhanced intelligence and surveillance.
The tactics used by the Article source: http://cimsec.org/eunavfor-switching-pirates-migrants/17090
