Reverse the Curse

My years of work for FBOs and for one airline, cause me to look at investment in the airport itself as creating daily bread for an aviation company as a strategy for staying in business over the long haul.

You rarely hear of an FBO becoming bankrupt and whenever I nose around thinking of how I might return to the industry, I note that FBOs I worked for 20 or more years ago, are still in business, if not greatly expanded.

I believe even Piedmont still has FBO operations under that name.

From this I draw the conclusion that in Aviation, in general, the strength of FBO Companies, as opposed to Airlines implies a Business Model based on the strength of FBO companies.

In other words if I wanted to strengthen my airline, I'd buy an FBO, before I'd buy another airline.

There may be a law against this business model similar to the vertically integrated company model that separated movie studios from theater ownership.

I'd have to check with an attorney familiar with some of the US laws, and if prevented from executing my Business Model, in the US, then ask in what nations my model was legal.

Let us look at DisneyLand, and wonder how it might run its own airline that was narrowly built to specifically get its visitors to DisneyLand, but would service and fueled whatever Private or Public aircraft had reasons to use their DisneyLand airport.

The relationship between entertainment companies, and aviation companies as exemplified by Howard Hughes, and TWA is both cautionary and illustrative of what works, and what doesn't especially when what were the successes of Pan Am.

Hey, its not like Airlines and Airplanes and the Business was invented yesterday!

P.S. It is a reality that I am looking for some cash paying work, and one reason I hang out on CR4 is that.

The airlines are hurting because of two factors; one the economy in most of the world is hurting so there is less travel and two because they have forgotten customer service. I avoid the airlines like the plague now because I am tired of the way they treat people after being treated badly by TSA.

airlines are being killed by greed at all levels.Airport operator fees, manufacturers unions, pilots unions, baggage unions...all of who get twice the wage of the task of the same complexity in non unoin areas. Just like the auto industry.

Trouble is, unions = sacred cow, but they are the problem.

Don't know Aurizon how much you have worked in Aviation.

From what I know Union Members of the various trades in Aviation, working for either Manufacturers, or for the Airlines have consistently been willing to work with Management.

On that issue, I really don't think it is fair of you to say, "Just like the auto industry."

It does irk me that while not a one of us will say Motorola is the same as Sony, it is common for many to say all Unions are bad.

Many a worker has been a "Free rider" on the back of benefits often enough died for by Union workers.

Typically enough, if a company or industry doesn't egregiously mistreat its labor force unionization either is not called for by the workers, or when adopted promotes and maintains professional operations, and strengthens the industry.

I am thinking of the history of the United Mine Workers right now, though I need to look at the Machinist deals done at Boeing in the context of now, and the industry we are discussing.

As far as your mention of Airport Fees, this is part of my reasoning when I say better to buy or lease airport land, than to buy another airline.

We may be in agreement there.

There is evidence even in Espionage History of how to make money in Aviation, for off book CIA income has long come from Aviation Ground Services.

(I'm not mentioning the company right now, for professional reasons.) P.S. There is also some evidence that the Reagan Era move of destroying the Controllers Union, had the effect of ossifying a vital part of our Transportation Infrastructure, further contributing to difficulties for the businesses concerned.

-And we can go further and look at US impediments to Aviation Operations and Businesses flying out of Miami and FLL. Air Operations between Cuba and the US have lost much income due to inhibitions come from Political Policy.

Truly it is not unknown for Nations who have had significant conflicts to turn around and of a sudden be "Friends". These things have happened so often that it is rare that there is ever a really justifiable war.

That is what I get as the point of War and Peace... It is an interesting Thread for me to think about, and I won't shy from the discussion.

Of members I am interested in Bob Cs opinion, as well as those of Edignan, Anonymous Hero, Bhankii, and the new member TinyPilot.

Aurizon .... Please .... So, you want to eliminate all unions, right ? You want to go back to slavery, the dark middle ages, right ? The boss is the boss, right ? Workers have no rights at all, right ? They just have to be glad they've got a job, right ? I guess you also would reintroduce the whip, right? or maybe the chaingang ? Work 16 hr per day, 7 days a week, right? Or put children to work, starting from ... let's say 5 yrs old ?

I could think of/propose many other sollutions for "the crisis", but I'm not gonna write 'em down here on this noble forum because ppl like you, Aurizon, would be highly offended.

I'm sure that you are a white collar, and you NEVER had to WORK for your money. But I forgive you your way of thinking. It is probably just the tie on your white shirt that blocks the blood reaching your brain, right ???

A "thumb up" or "high five" to all the other posters on this forum.

It is long-since established, that unions do not harm companies, the economy, or the public. They do harm non-union labor...which, in turn, can bring harm....

As long as Executive bonuses come before a Corporate savings account they will keep failing.

Ever see a corporation anymore with a savings account that would carry the corporation thru hard times.

The Karl Ichans raid any corporation that builds up cash just to get the cash.

"What role does technology — automation, for example — have to play in reversing the downturn?"

A thought provoking point of debate indeed!

Digital technology is extensively used in military aviation and plays a major role in Air Bus and Boeing commercial aircraft designs.

Following incidents involving civil aircrafts clearly highlights the horrendous risks associated with adoption fully automated digital systems replace human pilots what ever may the cost attraction.

• Quanta A 330 QF 72 which was cruising at 11,278 meters, perfectly positioned in the air stream and the weather radar was not reporting any turbulence. The nose of the aircraft was suddenly pitched sharply downward, 8.4 degrees over the horizon, headed toward the earth. The aircraft quickly picked up speed in a nosedive. Just as unexpectedly as it had taken control of the aircraft, the computer relinquished that control and the nose of the A330 suddenly returned to normal. Pilots were briefly transformed into helpless spectators. And it wouldn't have been long before they too became the victims of a plane gone amok, no longer stoppable by human intervention. If the nosedive had lasted a little longer, the plane might have reached a speed at which the pilots could no longer stop it without it breaking apart. The difference between life and death was a matter of seconds. The pilots were left on their own to battle the confusion of beeps and warning messages that had become so numerous in the cockpit that the flight recorder could not even record them all. The last warnings did not disappear until the aircraft had landed, at 1:50 p.m., and power supply had been shut off.
• The crash of another Airbus A330 on June 1, 2009, raises similar concerns. Air France flight AF 447 was at cruising altitude en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it suddenly plunged into the Atlantic Ocean and killed all 228 people on board. It is possible that the real cause of the crash will never be known.
• Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 in Amsterdam. During the landing approach, a malfunctioning altitude indicator reported that the plane was already two meters below the runway. The computer that controls the automatic thrust control system, believing that the aircraft was already on the ground, reduced engine power. The pilots ignored the change, perhaps because they had placed too much trust in the computer. The Boeing 737 eventually crashed into a field near the runway, killing nine on board.
• In March 2008, the wing tip of an Airbus A320 scraped across the runway at Hamburg Airport in strong crosswinds.. The most likely explanation is that because one of the plane's tires had already briefly touched the ground, the flight computer switched from approach mode to ground mode. But when the computer is in ground mode, it does not permit the pilots to turn the ailerons as sharply as they would have done to handle the extreme crosswinds. The computer intervened by limiting the angle of the ailerons, causing the wing tip to suddenly scrape across the runway.

Computers could replace one of the pilots in the cockpit one day. There are about 2,000 computers operating in a modern Airbus A320 short-haul jetliner. They control the air-conditioning system, monitor the engines and check the toilets, but they also help fly the plane.

The days are long gone when a pilot fully understood his aircraft. Huge effort is needed to prevent decline in aviation safety. The manufacturers are well aware that automation is the way of the future, but they also know that computers have to be tested more effectively than they have been until now.

Programs have become so complex that they can hardly be tested for all eventualities anymore.

My recent experience on two trips has led me to believe that technology is not going to solve the airline's problems. Two incidents of lost luggage and one cancelled (for no apparent good reason) leg appears to be lack of operational savvy.

Not only has this airline dropped to the bottom of my list, they had to incur charges to deliver my bags an hour from the airport when they finally turned up plus somebody's time spent looking for them. One of my plane changes was through JFK where Northworst and Delta Scarelines baggage handling crews are embroilled in some kind of controversy relating to the recent merger.

Technology won't solve incompetence.

The problem may be irreversible only if the airlines continue to fly inefficient planes, and "all" the tubular designed planes are inefficient. The airline industry has known this for decades but has refused to make the necessary changes to fix the problem.

The fix is this, a totally new design that gets rid of the useless tube that is nothing but weight, air turbulence and drag. Have the guts to replace it with a useful, slipstream, airfoil or "Lifting Fuselage" design that has been around for over 50 years. Airlines have only replaced bad design with larger bad design. Useless and fragile tubes attached to wings with hot engines hanging on them, just a few feet from the fuel, causing more drag and turbulence, reducing the wing's efficiency. The A380 is the ultimate in the continuation of this bad design with tragic consequences should there be an accident.

The replacement is this: Vincent Burnelli's early 1960's design that even has the potential to go supersonic while still boasting savings in production, fuel and maintenance while increasing safety by huge factor.

Take a look at this "old" design on the front page of http://www.burnelli.com then take a look at this NASA 2002, mach 7 design http://www.kctechnews.com/x43b.jpg . This NASA design took almost 4 decades and billions of tax dollars to get to the same conclusion as Burnelli.

The efficiency of this design was proven long ago yet no manufacturers have been willing to make the tooling changes to make this plane a reality. The closest they've come is the Boeing BWB that they say could be produced by 2020. This design, also a Burnelli copy http://www.aircrash.org/burnelli/megajet.htm , has been on the drawing board since its introduction in 1995. Nothing was done with it until the airline business was on the verge of collapse. Considering their troubles with the 787 I seriously doubt Boeing will make good with their BWB target date.

Here's a comparison of the BWB to Burnelli's Lifting Fuselage design. Estimates have been made with the BWB from wind tunnel test. Estimates for the Burnelli have come from wind tunnel and actual flight data of past designs.

BWB-Lift=20% Burnelli-Lift=50%

BWB-Fuel efficiency increase +25% Burnelli-Fuel efficiency increase +50%

BWB-Prod. Cost-Less?-Undetermined Burnelli-Cost=1/2 or less current costs

BWB/Burnelli cruise speed high .8 to .9+mach (Burnelli possible supersonic)

Added Burnelli features: Take off and landings at approx. 110mph, noise reduction, vertual elimination of fire risk, safety increased by at least 85% in survivable accidents, water landings possible with little or no damage to fuselage, 1st production could be in less than 10 years because of proven flight history of Burnelli design.

With few changes, this Burnelli design could go supersonic and do it profitably. Cargo, passenger and military heavy lift planes would all increase loads by 100% with the same fuel economy, cutting air fare, food and product costs and cutting the gigantic carbon footprint of the world's airlines by half.

Isn't this what everyone has been crying out for? Because Burnelli's work has been lost to our collective consciousness, there are few that even know about it to do any studies.

This is my goal, to bring this man's work out of the darkness and let the aerospace community make judgments on "new" studies and testing. I've heard enough of the nay-sayers who only pass on old stories they've "heard" about Burnelli's work or judgments they've made based on their own knowledge. Some even say it isn't worth building because nobody ever built it. What kind of logic is that?!

With the potential of this plane, isn't it worth the time and effort to find out for sure if it can deliver on these claims and build on the knowledge from passed flight and data already available?

I'd like to think someone is out there with the curiosity, the vision and the means to see the opportunity and take the leap to make this their passion in life. To save the airline industry from its foreseeable demise, help the environment in a major way and make the world a little better place to live seems to me a noble cause.

Larry Pope, Austin, TX