ANN Daily Aero-Briefing:
06.20.11 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News
Program)
ANN Special Feature: General Aviation Earns a
D-Minus - 06.20.11 (ANN Special Report,
with CFI Bob Miller)
Obscuration
Any phenomena in the atmosphere, excluding precipitation, that
reduces horizontal visibility. According to the National Weather
Service, some of the obstructions to visibility include blowing and
widespread dust, fog (including freezing fog and patchy fog), haze,
mist, sand and blowing sand, smoke, blowing spray, and volcanic
ash. It is reported as "X" in an observation and on the METAR.
Aero-Linx: Brief History of
UAVs
The concept of unmanned aerial vehicles was first used in the
American Civil War, when the North and the South tried to launch
balloons with explosive devices that would fall into the other
side’s ammunition depot and explode. This concept was also
used by the Japanese for around a month in World War II, when they
tried to launch balloons with incendiary and other explosives. The
idea was that high-altitude winds would carry them to the United
States, where the dropping bombs would cause panic. Apparently,
both these ideas were not effective.
"We will continue to oppose the government's move to
dismantle this congressionally enabled program, because whether
you're a top executive, or one of the countless mid-level managers,
salespeople, marketing representatives or technicians who make up
the vast majority of a business airplane's passengers, the simple
fact is that boarding that airplane should not be tantamount to
sacrificing the confidentiality of the company’s business
activities."
Source: NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, in
comments sent via a letter to the Wall Street
Journal following a front page article "Corporate Jet Set:
Leisure vs. Business" in its June 16th edition.
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