"The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has begun implementing a system, nicknamed NextGen, in which GPS signals would transmit an aircraft's precise location to air traffic controllers via ground receivers.
The system would allow planes to fly more direct routes instead of zig-zagging between radio beacons. The FAA is testing the system in pockets of the U.S. and plans to be using it by the end of the year in the Gulf of Mexico, much of which is out of radar range. The agency hopes NextGen will cover the entire country by 2013. Roelandt says a similar system will be implemented in Europe by 2015. "It means planes will automatically transmit the GPS position to the ground and surrounding aircraft within about 150 miles," he said. "In the far future the idea is to be in a free flight condition," where pilots have more flexibility in their routes while GPS keeps planes safely separated." It will cost 4.6 Billion dollars to change to a Satellite based system in the US alone, and lives aren't worth that much. The war in Iraq is worth Trillions, however. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:298114 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
