AERO Specialties

Being a member of an airside ground crew is already stressful enough. On top of the high-dollar, high-stress, fast-moving, and physically demanding nature of the work, it’s a dangerous place to be. They’re working in and around aircraft pushback tugs, tow tractors, baggage carts, and the other ground support equipment (GSE) in operation, not to mention the massive airliners. The last thing someone in a such a sensitive workplace needs is the addition of extra pain points, or an avoidable failure. Communication Within a Ground Crew Communication is likely the most effective way for a work crew to improve the safety and efficiency of their operations. In addition to the general communication protocols between operators of GSE, the ground operations manager, and anyone else pertinent, specific training for communication during stressful events or emergencies is extremely important. Incorporating communication-enhancing technology can also make a big difference. That technology inclu...

Automation in any industry is bound to raise some controversy, particularly in one like aviation. The average airside is an environment in which baggage and lavatory-maintenance vehicles weaving around a multi-ton aircraft tug towing a nearly million-ton airliner is all par for the course. The prospect of those support vehicles carrying out the same functions with no one operating behind the wheel makes some people a bit nervous. To say nothing of the possibility that in the future the airliner being towed will then carry hundreds of passengers thousands of miles with (potentially) no one in the cockpit. So, how safe is the future of automated aviation, and what will it look like, on the ground and in the sky?  Automated Airliners According to the consensus of most of the experts, fully automated airliners are a virtual inevitability. Few people outside of commercial aviation are aware of how close we are to it already. In many modern airliners, during the course of 14-hour ...