The federal government is looking into putting video cameras on commercial flights so people on the ground could monitor pilots and passengers and get an early warning of hijackings or other trouble on board.
The Boeing Co. demonstrated a satellite system to Federal Aviation Administration officials in two test flights early this year, showing how images could be sent from a plane to the ground, said John Loynes, an FAA program manager in Washington. A Boeing 737, equipped with seven cameras, transmitted images of the cockpit and cabin.
Pilots have fiercely opposed efforts to put cameras in cockpits as an infringement of their authority. Passenger advocates have supported cameras as a way to prevent terrorist acts.
FAA officials stressed that the tests, conducted in January and February, were preliminary. There will be further tests and the agency is far from deciding whether or how to use the technology, said Marcia Adams, an agency spokeswoman.
About 20 federal and Boeing workers, most of them engineers, were on board the round-trip flights from Seattle, Washington. Federal air marshals also tested Boeing technology that allows the use of hand-held devices to transmit video and to speak with and send data from the air to workers on the ground, Loynes said.
One camera showed the pilots from behind, one was in first class and the others showed the rest of the passenger area. Workers on the ground, at Boeing offices in Seattle and in McLean, Virginia, could choose which camera view to look at by touching a computer screen, said Joseph J. Tedino, a Boeing spokesman.
Loynes described the tests as successful, with a few glitches in which video images were briefly garbled.
“There were no insurmountable problems,” he said.
The tests were part of Boeing’s 2002 contract with the FAA to test various security technologies.
Boeing officials discussed the technology at a recent security conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. The city of Denver, Colorado, uses a similar video system to monitor part of its public transit system.
For more than a decade, the FAA has considered various plans to put video cameras in airplanes. In 2000, National Transportation Safety Board officials pushed a plan for cockpit cameras, saying they aid air crash investigators.
The proposal was dropped after stiff opposition from pilots, who were concerned that cameras could lead to a dilution of pilots’ control over decisions made during flights. Pilots said workers on the ground could misinterpret video images and give orders based on incomplete information.
But advocates for air passengers say cameras would make air travel safer by preventing terrorism and hijackings.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said cameras would allow officials to assess the seriousness of a disturbance in the cabin. Officials on the ground could then talk about the problem with the flight crew members, who could learn about the situation without having to leave the cockpit.
“In the old days, one of the flight crew could come out and check things out, but they can’t do that anymore,” Stempler said. “These days, we want to keep the cockpit impenetrable to terrorists or hijackers.”
By: 1batfastard - 29th August 2019 at 20:46
Hi All,
Windhover – What is wrong with the post ? surely it has the forum moderators scrutiny and they would have deleted it or moved the thread if it was better placed elsewhere ?
Like I mentioned it was a post from the Typhoon facebook page whether it was a tongue in cheek post or not it has generated 96 replies, some of those replies have themselves had responses so there is plenty of interest in this alleged Ho Ho Ho attitude post, besides which it keeps people interested in the main project of returning RB396 to the air again which I am sure you will agree is what everybody wants to see.
As for news, the interest in the project itself has gathered plenty of pace this post below from yesterday……….:eagerness:
30,000 Likes Yesterday
After the public launch of the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group as a charity in October 2016 support for the project as grown. Today we have reached a milestone, 30,000 Page likes. With this level of support it means that just £4 from each of our likes would see RB396’s rear fuselage completed to airworthy condition.
( http://(https://hawkertyphoon.com/donate/links-supporters )
Thank you to everyone that has supported and continues to follow us, on to the next 30,000.
Geoff.
By: windhover - 29th August 2019 at 10:31
Apart from exciting the modellers; is this really the way to go about eliciting funding for what appears to be, in truth, a somewhat tenuous project, in view of their projected Airworthy time frame?
Wouldn’t these Ho!-Ho!-Ho! attitude postings be better replaced by photographic evidence of their progress?
By: TonyT - 28th August 2019 at 23:50
The Hurri would be nose heavy with the reduced rear decking and a Griffon instead of the tiny Merlin, you would either need a hell of a lot of lead in the arse end as per a Griffon Spit or a stretch
By: TAFFEVANS - 28th August 2019 at 22:13
Ref ‘Hurricane XIV’ change the fin & it could easily be the MB5!
By: hampden98 - 28th August 2019 at 21:28
Having got that old, awful Airfix Defiant in the stash, I know how nice this build is. Great work and really looks the part.
Steve
Thanks 🙂 The kit needs lots of filler and lots and lots of sanding.
By: RAFRochford - 28th August 2019 at 21:16
Having got that old, awful Airfix Defiant in the stash, I know how nice this build is. Great work and really looks the part.
Steve
By: TEXANTOMCAT - 28th August 2019 at 21:05
They are both Brilliant!!
By: hampden98 - 28th August 2019 at 20:57
As the old Airfix BPD was so bad I decided to turn mine into a rear engined Reno Racer.
By: RAFRochford - 28th August 2019 at 19:47
Not usually a What If modeller either, but once in a while, I like to knock something out as it can be a lot of fun that stretches the imagination. Funny you should mention the Whirlwind. I’m waiting for the 1/32 Special Hobby kit to do a larger scale version of a 1/72 Airfix Whirlwind that I knocked around a few years ago. Must admit, it was a blast to build.
Steve
By: Tony C - 28th August 2019 at 18:29
Hi Steve,
I’m not normally a What If modeller though I do like the 109 and having said that I don’t normally build What Ifs’, I do have a Whirlwind project wondering through my mind, powered by Merlins, using the Trumpeter Whirlwind and have a much modified TSR.2 on a loooooooonnnnnnnggggggggg term build!
If these ideas come to fruition, I’ll let you know…;)
By: RAFRochford - 28th August 2019 at 17:44
Personally, I’m not so sure. It looks like it’s trying to be too many other things and not so much a Hurricane anymore. Tony: Think you should give it a shot. I would be interested in seeing the outcome.
However, I did find this on a “What If” modellers site and liked it so much, I’m hacking up a 1/24 Trumpeter 190K to make one…
Steve
By: Tony C - 28th August 2019 at 17:21
In a strange sort of way, the modeller in me quite likes that though if I were to change anything, it would be the lower fillet at the rear as I would remove this completely and either have a fixed tail wheel or a fully retractable one!
So checking the Stash…
One 1:48 Hasegawa Hurricane MkII, yep
One 1:48 Academy Spitfire FR MkXIV, yep
One 1:48 Airfix P-51D, yep
Filler, Glue, sanders, elbow grease, paint, yep
Enthusiasm, currently being worked on…
By: Hand87_5 - 4th October 2003 at 20:03
Since I have nothing to hide, I would say : let’s go!
however it sounds highly questionable and it seems to me that it’s illegal in France.
What about the international routes?
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October 4, 2003 at 7:49 pm
