Morning AB, All.
Am here all morning with you guys.
Thank you AB for doing this thread, though sometimes you are a minute or two late....I am a patient soul.
;)
Anyway, Big, big news here for the Blue Bloods are rocking and rolling over my column. Got an offer to fly solo, including financing.
It’s what I was born to do.
For the fun of it, check out my most recent column....they loved it.
Even though this is local politics in Delaware, you guys will for sure know some of the politicos mentioned in this column....read my tease.
Put off offers until June as I am still in a learning curve but guys I have changed the behavior or some of those politicos and I am proud of myself. Later in the thread I’ll give some edxamples.
As for this week, guys I am super intrigued by this missing airplane! Yeah I’m a news junkee, that’s part of it.
But there’s something really weird about this.
Also, Obama changed the ACA again!
How long does he get away with this?
Why in the heck are King, McCain and Durben on there again? Don’t the people at the networks know there are congresscritters better informed—or not as poorly informed—and more articulate—or less inarticulate—on the issues than these?
Wow, must be going poorly for Dems as there are NO CONSERVATIVES on any show today.
Dan Pfeiffer on MTP spinning so fast I thought he was going to fall down.
I have never posted to your weekly post. It is a great post. I am an Aerospace Engineer and Pilot with 50 years of experience. I have been intriqued by the MAL 777 mystery. Using my background in both aircraft and satellites and engineering experience, I am posting the following thoughts.
Just the Facts, Please
I am astounded at the MSM ignorance about the search for the 777. Based on my 50 years of experience in the aerospace engineering field, let me give you the actual facts that have not been presented anywhere else. GET READY!
First there are 2 data systems on the Boeing 777 that send data, via the Iridium satellite system, to Boeing servers. This is very important. There are 2 separate systems. Both systems use the Iridium satellites to get to the Boeing servers. One system is called the ACARS. The second system is called the AHM or Airplane Health Management System. The difference between these two systems is crucial in our understanding about what happened to the 777. I will explain why this is important and what it means about the status of the 777.
First, though, you need to know about the data link from the 777 to Boeing servers. The data link is based on the Iridium satellite system. Anyone who uses satellite phones from remote locations would be familiar with the system. 60+ low earth satellites, at least one will always be visible from any location on the globe. The important thing to know about this low earth orbit system is that when someone on the ground or in the air pings or links to one of these satellites, your location on the surface of the earth is immediately known by the Iridium controllers/system to be somewhere within the field of view of that satellite at the time the ping was recorded. Since the field of view of the user is “horizon to horizon” that would be plus or minus 30 miles. Pretty good accuracy.
Now, about the two data systems. First, the ACARS. The system has been around since the 70s. It transmits engine data to Boeing/Rolls Royce servers through the Iridium satellite link. But here is the kicker. IT TRANSMITS ENGINE DATA REPORTS AT PRE-SPECIFIED EVENTS, NOT ON TIME. It will send a report at gear up, throttle back meaning cruise achieved (1:07am), and gear down. So what does that mean? The last ACARS data report was sent at 1:07, cruise achieved at 35,000 ft, as announced by the MSM. At least they got that right. The ACARS next scheduled data report should have been at gear down, NOT every hour. The ACARS was NOT disabled by anyone onboard. The gear never came down to trigger the last report. The ACARS WAS NOT DISABLED. THE GEAR NEVER CAME DOWN. So the plane came down on land or in the water without the gear down.
OK. Make sure you understand what you just read before you go any further. Do a google search on Boeing, ACARS, operation and look at technical discussions, airlines that use ACARS, etc. Do not look at news reports. They are all wrong, including FOX news reports.
Moving forward, just as important to understanding this mystery is the Airplane Health Management system. The AHM. The AHM is a Boeing product built into all Boeing aircraft since the 90s. It is built into every aircraft that Boeing builds. Every airline that buys a Boeing aircraft gets the hardware built into their airplane whether they “subscribe” to the AHM subscription service or not. The “AHM subscription service” provides real time data on the 777 flight systems to Boeing and the subscribing airline. If the airline chooses not to subscribe, they do not get the real time date, including GPS data. The mainstream got that right. MAL did not subscribe to this service. BUT, the hardware for the AHM was still in the airplane. NOW, HERE IS THE SECOND KICKER. The AHM will still ping the Boeing servers once an hour for the life of the 777. That is why the LSM, whoops, MSM is claiming that 5 or 6 pings were received from the aircraft during the flight. The Iridium folks and Boeing received and recorded the pings.
So what do the pings, via the Iridium satellites, tell us? The field of view of an Iridium satellite is about 60 miles on the surface of the earth. That is horizon to horizon. Image a 60 mile circle on the surface of the earth fixed to each satellite. As the 777 is flying, it is continually flying through these moving circles, each representing the field of view of an Iridium satellite. Every-time the AHM pings, the Iridium folks should be able to reconstruct where the receiving satellite was and likewise where the 60 mile circle was on the surface of the earth. With 5 or 6 pings, I would have a very accurate ground track of the 777.
Is anyone doing this? Hello? I have listened to countless expert 777 talking heads, pilots, scientists, NSTB folks, and etc. No one has mentioned the AHM. Everyone is confusing the ACARS with the AHM. No one has explained how the pings can be used to track the 777. No one has mentioned Iridium. Not one of these experts has taken the time to do google searches on ahm, acars, iridium, etc. Please do a google search on these terms. Do not look at any news media hits. They are all wrong. Read the google hits about these systems from Boeing, Wikipedia, technical papers, Cathy Air, airliners.net, etc.
Now, one more item I just saw on TV. There are now apparently TWO ground tracks they are searching. Why TWO? Because the pings must have been accidently picked up by a geo comm sat. It was able to compute the range to the aircraft from the geo comm sat position at 22,000 miles each time a ping was sent. If you imagine a sphere around the geo comm sat, with a radius equal to the range to the aircraft, the sphere would intersect the earth in two places for each ping; therefore, the two ground tracks. They need a second satellite to triangulate. Now, the next question to ask is: why isn’t anyone analyzing the Iridium data to obtain the accurate ground track? Why haven’t any talking heads or experts mentioned this? No one on your show has discussed any of this.
In summary, here is my theory of what happened. It is the KISS (keep it simple stupid) theory:
1. The ACARS sent engine data reports at gear up and cruise throttle back (1:07 per MSM reports). No further data reports were sent by the ACARS because the gear never came down.
2. After hand-off to Viet Nam ATC, one of the crew took over with a goal of committing suicide. He was a coward and could not nose dive. Easier to just fly southwest into the Indian Ocean until you reach the point of no return, then it is out of your hands.
3. The only thing done to the aircraft by this pilot was to turn off the transponders. He did nothing else to the aircraft.
4. As the 777 flew on, it sent a ping via the AHM once per hour. The pings were recorded by the Iridium System and Boeing.
5. It finally ran out of fuel and ditched without the gear being lowered. Since the gear was not lowered we never got the final ACARS data report.
6. End of story.
Howard Kurtz, Media Buzz on FoxNews, is complaining about the media speculation on the missing Malaysia flight.
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Sorry, Howard, but that is what the media considers to be news any more. Makes no difference whether it is a missing airliner or a building explosion or a mass shooting, the media speculates. If they stuck to hard news, their reporting would be shortened to about 60 seconds, and they would have to go to commercials to fill up the remaining airtime.
How about make Over-time pay Tax-free, that way the working poor, who actually need the income from over-time, benefits.
Those who agree to a salary job usually aren’t underpaid anyhow or they wouldn’t take the job.
And tax free doesn’t force a business to lower wages or hire part-time instead.
FACE THE NATION (CBS): Schieffer dialog comment on the Senate being on vacation, ‘vacation from what’. (Evidently meaning they aren’t doing anything anyhow and might as well been on vacation.)
If you haven’t noticed Schieffer, we don’t want Harry Reid’s Senate to pass another bill, Stimulus, Affordable Health Care, Cash for Clunkers, ect...
Just saw the piece on MTP with Bill Maher - DNC Dave tee’s it up as Maher has been hitting both Dems and Repubs equally recently and has alot to say about this country. Not surprised that it turned into a total hit piece on Republicans - the dude from Heritage should have spoken up and slammed the piece as an example of NBC bias in reporting but I guess he wants to be invited back.
Kerry to Russia: U.S. Will Not Accept Outcome of Crimea Referendum
Judy “Skeletor” Woodruff? Good gawd.....
Lookin’ fer two hunnert here Larri.