Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers   project integrator

Typical that every year around this time, I end up writing a new story for my web site. Why don't I do this in between Worldflights?

The main reason is that in my professional life, most events that I could or would want to write about are sensitive in nature. Winning a contract with a major customer, completing an innovative project, finding technical solutions to challenging problems are all very much worth a posting. At the same time, they are the foundation of business success and need to be carefully 'managed'.

With events such as Worldflight, this is obviously different. We're very much looking for (small) contributions towards our charity, so the more publicity the better. I keep a detailed record on my Worldflight photo blog for those who are interested.

This year, my ACARS and CPDLC system will be used like never before. Most of the big simulators participating in Worldflight now have been equipped with this system, and ATC will use it regularly to reduce the amount of voice R/T. It gets close to the actual targets for CPDLC that the European air traffic management research programme, SESAR, has set when they made CPDLC a requirement for all aircraft above FL285 in three years time. Apparently, my simulator implementation of CPDLC is such a unique thing in the world that it attracts attention. It has already led to several spin-offs, including my first contract with an avionics company, and who knows what may follow.

Yesterday I learned that the Worldflight group has established presence on Twitter, and the clear parallel in message type between ACARS and Twitter sparked an idea. Two hours later, the ACARS-to-Twitter bridge was working. From now on, all aircraft participating in Worldflight will update their status on Twitter automatically. And their air crews can use ACARS to broadcast tweets directly from the flight deck. Don't forget that internet and 3G connectivity is limited at FL370 -- our mobile phones need to be switched off when flying. Ok, maybe not, yet this ACARS link does add to the realism of Worldflight.

One week to go!

Jeroen