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Virgin Galactic reveals its new Under Armour pilot spacesuits
Virgin Galactic has revealed the spacesuits that its test pilots will wear on the first rocket-powered test flight from its new Spaceport America facility in New Mexico.
Drone operators outnumber any other type of Air Force pilot
While some might still think of joystick-wielding aviators as the stuff of science fiction, that's no longer the case. A top general told reporters last week that there are now more jobs for drone pilots in the US Air Force than there are for pilots of traditional manned aircraft. Specifically, the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones are set to have more than 1,000 pilot operators in the 2017 fiscal year -- that's more than the 889 pilots who fly the troop-transporting C-17, or the 803 flying F-16 fighter jets, according to Military.com.
Seth Rogen's sci-fi comedy 'Future Man' is Hulu-bound
Seth Rogen is working on a new comedy series called Future Man, which has just been picked up for broadcast on Hulu.
Amazon's 12 new pilots include animated, spy and biopic series
It's Amazon pilot season, which means there are a bunch of new shows you can stream via Prime Instant Video for free -- well, their first episodes anyway. The selection includes a handful of animated shows, one of which brings the Teletubbies to mind (The Numberlys) and another that targets young adults (Everstar). There's also a Western tale of revenge (Edge), a bio-series of an early feminist (Z), a story of five female journalists in the '60s based on a non-fiction book (Good Girls Revolt) and a dramedy about a spy sent to Iran to prevent a nuclear war (Patriot). As always, Amazon will take your opinions into account when deciding which of the twelve gets turned into full-blown Originals and which get tossed into the pile of forgotten pilots.
Drone reports by airplane pilots nearly triple over 2014
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may have loosened up its drone rules, but it'll come down hard on any pilots caught operating them near manned aircraft. The agency said that drone sightings by commercial and private pilots are up nearly triple so far this year from all of 2014, with 275 sightings in June and July alone. One of the more notorious incidents involved a drone operating over a forest fire, forcing water-bomber pilots to the ground. That in turn caused the fire to spread to a freeway, burning several vehicles.
Amazon is working on seven new pilot shows for next year
With the new year just around the corner, Amazon wants to get its customers excited by revealing fresh content for yet another Pilot Season. Today, the online retailer announced that it has seven shows due to debut in 2015, which will be made available to Instant Video subscribers in the US, UK and Germany "early" next year. The lineup is a collection of four 60-minute shows (Cocked, Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle and Point of Honor), plus three shorter, half-hour-long productions (Down Dog, Salem Rogers and The New Yorker Presents). There's something for everyone, it seems, ranging from categories such as drama, comedy and documentary. If you're interested, you can learn more about each one right here.
DARPA envisions a smarter, safer autopilot
Autonomous aircraft serve their purpose, but there's no question that pilotless passenger flights are a long way off, if they ever become a reality. Still, there's obviously room for improvement when it comes to on-board systems that assist pilots in their duties. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is in the process of creating an advanced autopilot system called ALIAS (yes, another acronym). The Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (there you go) would control military aircraft in all stages of flight, from takeoff to landing -- even during a system failure. Pilots would interact with the system using a touchscreen and voice control, supervising a flight instead of commanding it. Of course, we'll see this technology make its way to military planes long before it's adopted by airlines, but ALIAS could play a key role in keeping us all safe at 30,000 feet.
Amazon Prime snags 'Archer' and five more Fox series, launches 10 free pilots
The content arms race between streaming-video providers Netflix, Amazon and Hulu (and YouTube/Google Play and Crackle and Redbox and... you get the picture) shows no signs of slowing down, and here's Amazon's latest assault. The Prime Instant Video service is pushing new, exclusive, original content at the same time it gains access to popular TV shows from a new deal with Fox. The latter arrangement brings FX series The Americans as a streaming exclusive to Amazon (Engadget HD favorite Justified became an exclusive last year), plus archived episodes of The League, Louie, How I Met Your Mother, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Archer on a non-exclusive basis next month. The Americans returns for season two on February 26th, and we're sure the network is hoping viewers will binge on the well-reviewed series in time to start watching then. Of course, Netflix has shown that exclusive original content is key to growth, and Amazon is repeating its "pilot season" judged by the public to pick new shows. Last time around, the process resulted in Alpha House and Betas, and now 10 hopefuls -- split among five "prime-time" adult options and five kids shows -- are streaming for free. Among them are two hour-long dramas with The After, a show from X-Files creator Chris Carter, and Bosch, a murder-mystery based on the popular detective novels by Michael Connelly that's co-written by The Wire's Eric Overmyer. There are previews after the break, but the full pilots are streaming on the web or devices with Amazon Instant Video/Lovefilm apps. Amazon's old-school pilot strategy is in sharp contrast to Netflix's "find some of the best talent and throw money at them" approach, so if there's a House of Cards or Orange is the New Black in the bunch, there's only one way to find out.
Within two years, every Delta pilot will be using a Surface 2
In an unexpected turn, Delta has informed employees that it will be issuing a Surface 2 running Windows 8.1 RT to every pilot over the next two years. The airline ran an Electronic Flight Bag pilot program with iPads back in 2011, but for reasons unknown, that popular slate has since been scrapped. According to WindowsITPro, Delta had since planned to move forward with Nokia's rumored tablet, but has opted for the Surface 2 instead. The decision follows a move to equip flight attendants with Lumia 820 handsets, which will be used for processing payments and tracking passenger information. Considering the importance of a reliable cockpit device, however, this Surface 2 news is arguably far more significant.
Amazon Studios orders six original comedy pilots for its Prime Instant Video service
After putting out an open call for original content last May, Amazon Studios is ready to begin production on six comedy pilots. Culled from a writer base consisting of industry vets (some award winning, some from the minds of Big Bang Theory stars, some backed by the adorably creepy Kristen Schaal) and unknowns, these scripted entries will be hosted for free on the company's Instant Video platform once completed. And since there's no better focus group than an existing customer base, Amazon intends take user feedback into account when selecting which of these pilots goes into full production. Series that do make it past that final greenlight will end up on the mega e-retailer's Instant Video and Lovefilm portals as exclusive content for Prime subscribers. Head past the break to check out the full list of eligible shows.
American Airlines becomes first FAA-friendly carrier to use iPads through whole flights
You don't have to wait for an FAA rethink to use your iPad on an airliner below 10,000 feet -- if you're part of an American Airlines crew, that is. As of this month, the air carrier is the first cleared by the FAA to use iPads in the cockpit at every point during a flight. The program starts just with Boeing 777 pilots at first, but it should eventually grow to save $1.2 million in weight-related fuel costs per year across the airline, not to mention a few trees and the strain of 35-pound flight bags. American is confident enough in the tablet switchover that it plans to stop handing out any paper updates to its charts and manuals as of January, just days after its entire fleet gets the regulatory nod for iPads at the end of this year. We just wouldn't anticipate Android or Windows tablet rollouts anytime soon. American isn't opposed to the concept, but it's only promising that slates beyond the iPad will be "evaluated for use" if and when the FAA applies its rubber stamp.
AA gives OK to place iPads in airplane cockpits
Soon, pilots from American Airlines will be able leave their oversized flight manual behind and grab their iPad when they hop into the pilot's seat. According to a report by The Next Web, the FCC gave the airlines the necessary approval to use the iPad as part of an electronic flight bag. In a first for the travel industry, the Apple tablet will be available for pilots to use during all phases of flight. Besides pilots, American Airlines also wants to equip their flight attendants with tablets so they can better manage travelers and meet their needs. The iPads will be available to pilots of the company's Boeing 777 planes in the coming weeks. After the company secures approval, it will then roll out the iPad to other fleet planes by the end of 2012. The airline hopes to stop issuing paper revisions of its manuals and navigation charts by January 2013.
Airbus Electronic Flight Bag apps save iPad savvy pilots time and paper
For a while now, iPads have been used to replace paper in a pilot's daily duties. Airbus is also looking to further the cause with its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) applications for the Apple slate. Pretty soon, airlines will have an alternative to existing EFB tech that runs PC operating systems with the "FlySmart with Airbus" app suite. The apps will allow crews to calculate performance and consult manuals without the need to cart around several hundred printed pages. Of course, to gain access to said software in the App Store, you'll need to be a customer in order to obtain the requisite download permissions.
Airbus creates electronic flight bag apps for pilots with iPads
We've heard about iPads being given to airline pilots before. Because airline pilots usually need quick access to all sorts of information and documentation, an iPad often ends up being cheaper and easier than handling and updating all of the usual paper documents that used to go into any given airplane's cockpit storage, from various manuals about plane controls to all of the logs and information that pilots need to keep while flying. And now, another aerospace company has taken the leap into Apple's tablet. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is now using iPads in its "electronic flight bags." The company is creating custom apps, delivered through the App Store, to help pilots look at operations manuals and figure out airplane performance while in the air. The iPad, according to Airbus, is going to be a standard operating tool going forward. [via The Verge]
PlanetSide 2 devs answer questions via Twitter
MMO Crunch has the details on Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide 2 Twitter question-and-answer session that went down on September 16th. The chat covered a lot of ground and answered quite a few of the PlanetSide nation's most burning questions. What kinds of questions? Well, there are bits about customizable armor, bunny hopping, strafing, sun glare as it affects pilots, online vs. offline skill training, and dozens more where those came from. PlanetSide 2 fans will also be happy to know that each of the game's continents will support over 2000 simultaneous players, and said continents will feature varied environments including snow-covered terrain, glaciers, and forests. Check out an abbreviated list of discussion points after the break.
United and Continental Airlines to hand out 11,000 iPads to its pilots
United and Continental Airlines are throwing out their paper flight manuals and navigational charts and embracing the iPad. About 11,000 iPads will be given to all United and Continental pilots starting this month. The airline expects the iPad will replace 38 pounds of documentation per pilot and 16 million pieces of paper each year. This move to electronic documentation on the iPad is a growing trend in the airline industry. Just this year, Alaska Airlines gave iPads to their pilots and Delta Airlines is testing a similar program for its pilots. British Airways also adopted iPads for its cabin crew to help with customer service. [Via The Loop]
Delta testing iPad program for pilots
We've already posted about Delta setting up iPads for customers to use, but the company may be making different use of Apple's tablet in the future. It's testing Apple's iPads out as "Electronic Flight Bags," or EFBs, which as far as I can tell are the documents and folders that pilots need whenever they jump in a plane to fly it somewhere. Delta's loading up iPads with GoodReader, as well as PDFs of the airplane manual, the flight itinerary and pertinent information, and anything else the pilots might need (BattleHeart, maybe?). And with the addition of in-flight Wi-Fi, pilots can even communicate while in the air with the company or even ground control. It sounds like a good plan -- Delta is rolling out a trial system now, and testing the viability of using iPads on all of its flights. The one issue I see, however, is what pilots will do if they need this information during takeoff or landing. I know it's a complete pain whenever I'm on a plane and get asked to shut down all of my electronics. Presumably, pilots would have to do the same, right? [via MacRumors]
iPad gets approval from FAA to replace paper flight charts and maps
The Federal Aviation Administration is moving with the times, it would seem, as it has just granted the first approval for the use of iPads instead of paper charts for informing airline pilots while on duty. There are already a number of EFB (electronic flight bag) devices in use, however the iPad is by far the cheapest and most portable one that's been validated yet. Executive Jet Management, a charter flight operator, went through three months of testing with the iPad, wherein it was used by 55 pilots on 250 flights, in order to obtain its FAA license to rely exclusively on the Apple tablet for its in-flight mapping data. Other airlines will have to go through the same process in order to dump their big stacks of paper charts for a slinky slate, but the important thing is that the precedent has been set. As to redundancies in case of failure or a software crash, the likeliest scenario is that pilots will carry a spare iPad with them, though there wasn't even a single (software) crash during the trial period -- which also included rapid decompression and electronic interference testing. So there you have it, the iPad's found itself a grown-up job just in time to retire from its throne as consumer sales leader. [Thanks, Andrew]
Striker integrated display helmet has something to tell you about that old saying 'if looks could kill'...
We've been told in the past that our mean, hate-filled looks could kill, but we never took that literally. Now, if Britain's BAE Systems has its way, that phrase could seriously have a whole new meaning. The company has developed an RAF helmet that will allow pilots to deploy and steer their weapons by turning their heads. It all sounds incredibly horrifying and futuristic, of course, but the technology which enables the new gadget is pretty intense, as well. The helmet is fitted with an optical head tracker, with targets popping up in the visor, which provides a supposedly highly accurate missile fire with low latency, at any altitude. The system has been extensively tested on the Eurofighter Typhoon, but is modular in styling so that it can be fitted to many systems. There's no word on when this tech will see actual action, but we have our reservations about it, so we hope they take their time.
iPads on the virtual flight deck
It's no secret that the iPad is popular with pilots. TUAW has provided coverage of pilot kneeboards for holding iPads in the cockpit, many iPhone apps for pilots that are now making their way to the big(ger) screen, and we've heard from commenters who fly for a living that they think the iPad may be the greatest thing to appear in the cockpit since Charlton Heston. One British firm is now starting to use iPads as electronic flight bags, although not on "real" aircraft. The company, Virtual Aviation, operates Airbus and Boeing full-motion flight simulators at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. While these expensive and realistic simulators are most often used for pilot training, Virtual Aviation also provides public experience flights and corporate team-building events. With the iPad, Virtual Aviation instructors don't have to lug around their heavy flight cases loaded with maps, charts, manuals, weather reports, flight plans, and checklists. The lightweight iPad displays all of the information. There are a number of photos of Virtual Aviation staff using the iPad to display charts and checklists in a gallery that they've published. What about you? Do you think iPads can be an effective and useful tool for pilots, or are you concerned that they may be a distraction on the flight deck? Leave your comments below.
