Alaska Air tests fuel-saving landing procedure

[rsmith6621]

By JOHN GILLIE, The News Tribune
SEATAC, Wash. (AP) — Long after dark one night last week when few planes were in the air, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 descended toward Seattle-Tacoma International Airport its engines at idle power. Aboard were Alaska pilots and technicians and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

The occasion was the latest test of an experimental landing procedure at the airport that promises to save millions of gallons of fuel, lessen residents' exposure to jet noise, cut pollution and save airlines' precious dollars.

The new procedure, dubbed Optimized Profile Descent by the airline industry and its regulators, is a measure that uses high technology satellite-guided navigation, the power of computerized aircraft flight management computers with the oversight of the FAA to change the decades-old procedures for bringing aircraft from cruising altitude to a landing on the runway.

The technology itself is 15 years old, but it has never been applied so completely in a complicated urban airport setting with all of its air space conflicts, political considerations and airborne traffic jams.


http://www.komonews.com/news/local/56243327.html

[Old and In the Way]

1. Sounds reasonable to me.

Basically a controlled glide in at idle power...

[sam sarrha]

2. WOW..!! NOW O'bama and the F'n Liberals want to land our planes for us..??!!! DEATH LANDINGS.!!not.

only the Tea Baggers can save from this one.. :sarcasm:

sorry, but i've been watching CNN, O'bama conspired to release admitted Terrorist with the English in trade for oil.. now he wants to land the planes ..!!!:sarcasm: i can not believe we let the Reich Wing create such a firestorm of Hysteria.

i am reading a couple of books by Andrew Newberg MD and Robert Waldman that explains the very simple Technology the Reich Wing is using to alter the structure of peoples Brains thru hate and fear mongering in the media. it literally creates a parallel Universe where the Freepers and Morans, and my brother live... Fuck up our world.. just amazing and sooo simple.!!!