AERONAUTICAL INFORMATION MANUAL

whitePaper | August 28, 2022

The airline flight deck is one of the most coveted workplaces, as can be attested to by the more than 100,000 pilots in the United States and Canada who work hard and sacrifice to earn a seat at the controls of a transport category airline aircraft. However, despite the attractiveness of an airline pilot career, the flight deck environment is very industrial in nature and can be the source of serious injuries and longterm health issues. As such, it needs protections for pilots that are commonly found in other industries. This white paper explores the various types of health and safety risks found on the flight deck and in the aircraft cabin and provides recommendations on ways to address identified inadequacies across a wide range of topics and health threats. These inadequacies need to be addressed by federal agencies charged with establishment and enforcement of rules and policies designed to protect airline pilots while carrying out their duties at work.

whitePaper | September 28, 2022

Aviation is often considered a “hard to abate” sector; it is growing rapidly but struggling to deploy low-carbon technologies due to their high costs. This paper presents a case under which progressive taxation, namely a frequent flying levy (FFL), can generate revenues for decarbonization while ensuring equitable distribution of the cost burden.

whitePaper | December 9, 2019

The world is flying more. In the next 20 years, the global fleet is expected to double to 48,000 aircraft, while annual passenger numbers are set to hit 7.2 billion. At the same time, passenger habits are changing quicker than anticipated. Not only are most of us glued to our smartphones and consuming an ever-greater volume of rich digital content, many of us are carrying around more than just one device. Add to this an explosion of Internet of Thing devices, from smartwatches to connected baggage aboard the aircraft, and demand for ‘always-on’ connectivity is becoming the norm

whitePaper | September 28, 2022

In 2007, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works® set out to satisfy the most challenging structural, environmental, and physical requirements of next-generation air and spacecraft platforms. A strategic technology was derived and the most balanced, capable, and processable reinforced high-performance thermoplastic nanocomposite around, HX5™, was created.

whitePaper | November 8, 2019

The use cases for Inflight Connectivity are manifold. Market research suggests that 90% of passengers would like to connect, but less than 10% do so, as fees are high, and performance is poor. In the cabin, online credit card verification would eliminate fraud, and qualified medical assistance from the ground would avoid unnecessary diversions. Flight crews could optimize their flight path based on real time weather updates. Aircraft systems could report the need for maintenance and trigger ground crews accordingly, so that ground times can be minimized, and resources be used most efficiently. The ever-increasing demand for Inflight Connectivity is driven by several factors: the continued growth of airline passenger traffic, which is expected to double by 2035; 5-10 times higher passenger take rates of cabin Wi-Fi services than today; the amount of data generated by modern aircraft systems, which has already surpassed 1 Terabyte per flight just for the engines; other aerial vehicles that require connectivity for mission accomplishment, for example, police and rescue helicopters; and finally manned and unmanned drones (eVTOLs), which are expected to proliferate in the next decade.

whitePaper | January 21, 2022

This report responds to direction in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 to submit to Congress a report evaluating the International Space Station as a platform for research, deep space exploration, and low-Earth orbit spaceflight in partnership with its four international space agency partners, and the commercial space sector.