The FAA’s CPDLC Data Communication program delivers air-to-ground textual data that eases radio congestion and can reduce both controller and pilot workload. It’s not exactly new technology, and for airlines and corporate jet ops the system has been in play for a while. But Garmin recently released an upgrade for the GTN 750Xi navigator, along with the GDR 66 data comm transceiver, which is expanding the technology to more airplanes. But it’s still limited to high flyers. In this episode of the Smart Aviator podcast, airline captain and Smart Aviator contributor Sy Pinkert talks through the technology with Larry Anglisano, with also a few words on shopping for and owning the Cessna 310.
Many folks are not aware that the time required to listen to someone read an article (say, via a podcast or a video) requires 2 to 3 times as long as it does for a person to read the article for himself. Essentially, people read 2 to 3 times faster than they talk. Thus Avbrief’s decision to convey information via a podcast, instead of via an article to be read, is a decision to waste 2 to 3 times as much of the reader’s time. A video sometimes conveys information other than just by talking heads, but if it does not, then it too is wasting a considerable amount of the reader’s time. As a result, I almost routinely skip podcasts and videos on Avbrief and other websites because of the time constraint. I doubt this is what you want to achieve.
AvBrief has far more articles than video content—in fact, we post a wide variety of indepth, deeply researched articles daily. We also produce this podcast because it gives subject matter experts an opportunity to lead the discussion. One podcast per week—with topics hand-picked for open discussion—seems the right balance in the mix to a dozen or more technical reports we write weekly. There’s obviously a call for a weekly podcast, because our readers have asked for it. Our last podcast about flight testing safety has nearly 5000 views in just a few days.
Added note: Avbrief being fairly young and in need of a solid following warrants exposure on Youtube and other media platforms. As we all know, not all users and subscribers have migrated on over yet.