Aircraft loading systems rely on an 85 year old paper
based system called the manifest weight & balance system or
load sheet. More modern systems have been rejected by
airlines as being inaccurate. Government has not shown
leadership by making these systems madatory. Inventor Geoff
Ogilvie, a retired airline captain has come up with a system
that he believes is better than both the present system and
the onboard system rejected by the airlines. His system,
named avibridge measures aircraftb weight & balance
externally by means of a patent pending aircraft
weighbridge. Opposition to his project was made plain by
large aviation interests in Australia when he went in search
of development funding.(PRWEB) April 28, 2005 --
Avibridge.com CEO Geoff Ogilvie announced today that he is
seeking development funding in Asia in preference to
Australia.
“There is just too much resistance to changing the status
quo,” stated Geoff.
“Qantas and other major airline interests were happy with
the present system and made it plain to Sydney investment
broker Peter Chapman that they would fight the introduction
of the Avibridge ™ system.”
The Minister of Transport and Regional Affairs (DOTARS) Hon.
John Anderson appeared happy with the present system on
advice from Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) according
to correspondence received by Avibridge.com CEO Geoff
Ogilvie
The system proposed by Avibridge.com is an Australian
invention, patent pending, that would allow aircraft to be
physically weighed and their balance checked prior to take
off. The present system uses a single calculation called a
load sheet that is prone to error and has no final check or
verification system.
“I don’t think the public or many in the industry realise
the ludicrous situation that the industry finds itself in
after 85 years of using the load sheet system as the primary
and only system, “said Geoff Ogilvie.
“Nobody knows for sure the true weight or balance of
commercial aircraft. They are never weighed or balanced by
external means except during a hangar check every few years,
and then the aircraft is weighed empty.” Continued Geoff.
The aviation industry has relied on a paper based system of
computation to determine aircraft weight & balance prior to
take off. The system is colloquially known as the load
sheet.
Over twenty years ago US FAA produced a report that
recommended that an on board weight & balance system using
the aircraft’s flight management computer and load sensors
in the landing gear replace the current load sheet system as
the primary system.
Today a handful of aircraft out of the thousands of
commercial aircraft have the on board system. This is mainly
as a result of leasing companies buying the optional extra
system. There is no requirement to have an on board system,
so airlines save money by not purchasing the software that
makes the system work.
Pilot’s groups have for a long time asked for these on board
systems to be installed. The most common reason given by
airlines for not installing them is given as system
inaccuracy and false warnings causing delays.
Even the on board system needs a check and verification
system. As none exists, Geoff Ogilvie invented one and
formed Avibridge.com to manufacture and market his patent
pending external aircraft weight & balance system.
Avibridge takes all the guess work out of the present system
and provides the pilot with accurate, independent and
verifiable weight & balance information just before take off
and after landing.
Where is the evidence that errors in the load sheet kill?
Plenty according to Geoff Ogilvie’s research. Airlines are
allowed to use a number of assumptions when computing the
load sheet. One of them is the use of an average passenger
weight table. This table assumes all male passengers are the
same weight based on average weight surveys. Similarly all
females, children and infants are assigned average passenger
weights.
Smaller transport aircraft are easier to point the finger at
for overweight or out of balance operations because they are
easier to reconstruct and weigh following a crash. A recent
crash of Georgian Express flight 0126, which crashed off the
western shore of Pelee Island, Ontario, at approximately
16:30 on January 17, 2004. at Pelee Island, Nova Scotia,
Canada highlighted the concern for many.
The aircraft took off 1270 pounds overweight and crashed
shortly after take off.
Large transport aircraft tend to be nearly impossible to
completely reconstruct following a crash due to a number of
factors including post crash fire and impact damage.
This gives rise to the Ice Berg Effect on accident
statistics. The small aircraft accident causal factors are
visible but the large aircraft crashes are too often not or
are ascribed to other causes.
It is assumed that the load sheet is correct.
Transport Canada and US FAA have recently (October, 2004)
issued instructions prohibiting the use of average passenger
weight tables for aircraft with nine or fewer seats as a
result of the high number of aircraft accidents caused by
loading errors.
In March, 2004 Singapore Airlines SQ 269 almost crashed at
Auckland International Airport in New Zealand as a gross
error in transferring data from the load sheet to the flight
management computer.
MK Airlines Flight 1602, which crashed shortly after takeoff
from Halifax International Airport at approximately 3:56
a.m. local time on October 14, 2004.crashed on take off at
Halifax Airport in fine weather. The investigation is
proceeding but what is known is that the aircraft failed to
get airborne on take off.
The tail struck the runway and separated when it hit a berm
on the runway end. After that the aircraft crashed in a
quarry killing the seven persons on board. The accident is
still under investigation.
On Wednesday 12 March 2003, at 1547, flight SQ286, a Boeing
747-412 registered 9V-SMT, started its take off at Auckland
International Airport for a direct 9 hour flight to
Singapore. On board were 369 passengers, 17 cabin crew and 3
pilots.
When the captain rotated the aeroplane for lift off the tail
struck the runway and scraped for some 490 metres until the
aeroplane became airborne. The tail strike occurred because
the rotation speed was 33 knots less than the 163 knots
required for the aeroplane weight.
The rotation speed had been mistakenly calculated for an
aeroplane weighing 100 tonnes less than the actual weight of
9V SMT. The 389 persons on board had a very lucky escape.
This aircraft did not crash mainly because there was no berm
at the end of the runway. A transfer of data from the load
sheet to the flight management computer caused this
occurrence.
Acting Chairman Mark V Rosenker, of US National Trasport
Safety Board, agrees that it is almost impossible to
accurately check large aircraft weight & balance data post
crash because of the lack of alternative information.
“The Avibridge ™ system is at the development stage and an
initial customer has agreed to model and prototype trials.
All that is required is development funding. Apparently no
one in Australia is prepared to take on Qantas and the other
industry heavy weights who appear happy with the status
quo.” Stated Avibridge.com CEO Geoff Ogilvie.
Press Release authorised by Geoffrey K Ogilvie, CEO
Avibridge.com
PH: +662 261 7440
MOB. +6641353324
Email:
e-mail protected from spam bots
www.avibridge.com
|
