Personalization & Commercial Aviation

With internet of things (IoT) on the rise, commercial aircraft manufactures are begging to tap into that market.

With IoT, physical objects are able to communicate with each other. As a passenger, this allow personal flying experience.

The architecture of this system is so vast in aviation that designers are bewildered with where to start.

Companies like Boeing and Airbus have always been trying to get more personal with passenger comfort. 

Airliners are particularly interested in how they can give better flying experience to their passengers. Boeing 787 come with various lighting scheme as per passenger mood and comfort. Airliners like Virgin Atlantic have gone far enough to get personalized bar in aircraft - so as to satisfy its customers.

World as we know it now is going for personalization. Everything comes with various features and benefits in order to make sure that the customers get to choose accordingly.  Look around for the millions of mobile apps. Look around for the millions of food joints. Look around for millions of customization services and products.

World is going for long tail model. So will commercial aviation. Commercial aviation is in the verge of evolving into something more than just flying from point A to point B.

With that warm thought in mind, this is CK signing off and you're reading theaviationbusiness.com.

Cheers

CK

Why do Jets leave smoke trail?

"Smoke" from "Jet"

"Oh, that's just a jet producing smoke as an indicator for other planes" - one of my dear colleague (senior engineer for airport special ancillary system) explained as a matter of fact. That's the most bizarre statement of my entire life. 

First of all lets make something clear - it's not smoke. It's pure ice. Yes, very very small droplets of ice. And this phenomenon or behavior is not even aviation related.  It is just moisture getting cooled to ice. 

It is the exact same principal as you blow out cold breath; just like the dude in the picture below: 

Random Dude

You see the water droplets in our mouth are exhaled with carbon dioxide. The water droplets are instantly cooled down to ice crystals which are so small that they have negligible mass and thus float in the air.

But we are talking about watching aircraft marking its territory in summer season. I am writing from Saudi Arabia, one of the hottest place on the planet. We see the same phenomena here.

Well, it is because of the height. As the height increases the temperature decreases. Ever saw Mount Everest in bright sunny day? Mount Everest will always have ice on it because it is situated 8,848 m from sea level. Aircraft cruise nearly at 10,000m from sea level.

The turbofan engine of commercial aircraft produces thrust at an exuberant rate. It contains water vapour which is cooled to ice crystals.  By the way this "smoke" is scientifically called as "Contrails". 

How it works.

So its all about temperature. This is also the same reason why we cannot see contrails in ground. Although, in cold countries we can see it in the ground:

Contrails viewed in the ground.

Also notice the gap between the engine and contrail. The water vapour will take some time to cool down. It's not instantaneous. This is the reason why you cannot see it when you are are flying. 

When it comes to military jet aircraft, they don't want to show you their contrails. Think about it, what is the use of 5th generation stealth aircraft if its contrails can be seen. They have special anti-contrail methods.

That being said, I think contrails are really cool. It reminds us how awesome aircraft really are and the stuff they can do.

Aviation Awesomeness

I hope this article has been useful and informative. We welcome your valuable comments and suggestion. 

Until next time guys, this is Chan signing off.

-Chan CK

Day with Professional, Interview : VHF/UHF Radio Engineer

Let me start with an apology for not posting on Friday. It was not intentional and hope it will never happen again. But it was worth the wait.

With that said; I am proudly announcing a new category called Day with Professional. I will interview various professionals across aviation industry and share it with you from time to time.

Today I am going to interview my colleague and dear friend Mr. M.Arabi. He works as a Senior Engineer for VHF/UHF Radios that are used to communicate with aircraft. Believe it or not, these Radios are damn important; without which air traffic management is impossible. Arabi has been designing our Radio system which are installed across 4 radio sites with 36 frequencies. It's really cool!

Mr.M.Arabi - Communicating :)

Without further intro, here is the interview:

Me: Hello Arabi. How are you today?

Arabi: I am Good. Thank You having me here.

Me: It's our pleasure. So Arabi, tell me, what made you to choose Aviation?

Arabi: Well, I wanted to be a pilot when I was young. But after high school, I was looking for more complex challenge. Electronics Engineering fascinated me. I always wanted something special. Something different. Aviation is special and different. 

Me: That's great. What is it that you do?

Arabi: I am currently designing the radio system for King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Radio system consists of three sub systems. VHF/UHF Radios, Main Voice Communication System and Recording & Playback System. It's a very complex system. If not done right can cause disaster.

"Disaster if not done right."

Me: Can you tell me your typical day?

Arabi: It mostly involves solving engineering problems. Be it designing, documenting, installing or operating - it needs total focus. Radios mainly consists of Transmitters, Receivers and Antenna - which are delicate in nature. They can cause interference if not installed properly. No matter how small a problem is, I never let it grow. With my technicians, I guide them to work in teams and assure everything works properly. 

Me: What is that you like most about your job?

Arabi: It's the fact that I work with very critical electronic equipment, that makes flights manageable and safe. The stuffs we do are behind the screens. It's covered from normal eyes. It is not like a normal office job. The fact that I get to be a part of Air Traffic Communication is very satisfying.

Me: That's Nice. What do you think will happen to Middle East Aviation in future?

Arabi: New airports are being build every day here. I think in the coming years we can see Middle East aviation technology trying to catch up. I believe that manufactures must consider the hardware components to be competent for years. They should take the changing scenarios into consideration.

Me: Do you have any message to our audience?

Arabi: Thank You for having me here. Remember that Aviation is a field of passion. You need the passion to dedicate yourself to aviation. We may work behind the scenes, but it is the passion that makes us invisible heroes.

Me: Thank You Arabi for your time.

And I say goodbye to Arabi after a click:

I hope you guys like it. Let me know your thoughts. Comment below & Share.

Until Next time, this is Chan signing off.

Chan

Bendable Wings

No moving parts. The function of control surfaces can be imitated by this bending wind technology,

This massive technical leap is undertaken by a company called Flexsys in USA. They have a specific product called flexfoil which exploits elasticity of conventional materials.  There project is brilliant.

I recommend you to check this out :http://www.flxsys.com/technology/smorphing

Courtesy: Ben MJ

Until Next time. Cheers.

Chan 

5 Reasons to Love Aircraft

1. They can Fly.

2. They are big.

3. The Sound of engines roaring is exciting.

4. Can travel more than the speed of sound.

5. Can cross 80,000 ft.

Next Friday folks.

Forgive me for this stupid article. :)

Chan CK

Introduction

It really is a sight of beauty when an Emirates A380 takes-off from runway 16R/34L. I see it everyday for the last one year and each time when I see it, I forget about everything else.

Hi there, thank you for reading the article. My name is CK (a.k.a. Chan) . I am an Aeronautical Engineer currently working in deploying aviation systems around the world.

Airplanes have been a part of my life from a very young age. When I was in high school I went to middle east for vacation. My family took an apartment near an airport, very close to the runway. I could see aircraft coming to land very close . I would get so excited and be like "Whoa!! Mom Look at that!!". I would spend hours watching the jumbo jets landing and taking off. That was the time of my life when I decided to know more about aviation.

I took aeronautical engineering as my majors in college and guys, it was the best decision ever. 

The purpose of this blog is to provide infotainment for all and especially Aviation Enthusiasts. I believe a blog like this one will stand as a tribute to aviation industry. It is my deepest desire to contribute to the internet aviation something my own. 

At the end of the day, its all about you. There is no value in my articles if you don't find it interesting. So let me know what you would like to read about. This is your blog. Let me know your thoughts.

 I post every Friday.

-Chan

BLOG SPECS: 

• Name: theaviationbusiness.blogspot.com
• Vision: To Cherish the Passion of Aviation.
• Content : Infotainment - Articles, Photos &Videos.
• Post Schedule :  Friday . (Update: Saturday also.)
• Author:  Chan CK