It is known that the pioneers of aviation were men of different nationalities and of many countries: Deadalus and Leonardo de Vinci, Lilienthal and Bleriot, Mozhaiski and the Wright brothers and others. So the aeroplane is a creature of no one country's knowledge and efforts. A peculiarity of air transport made it clear from the start that the development of aviation was impossible without international agreement. That's why the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was created. It happened in 1944 at a conference of 52 nations held in Chicago. At present there are about 200 member States in ICAO. Its headquarters is in Canada, Montreal. The working languages of ICAO are English, French, Spanish and Russian. Russia has been the member of ICAO since 1970.
It is very difficult to describe all of ICAO's activities. ICAO solves many problems on the international level. ICAO has a coordination agency. One of its purposes is to gather knowledge widely scattered among nations and to standardize the equipment and operational techniques used in air navigation in and over the territories of its member-states. The main task of ICAO is the flight safety. The aims of the Organization are spelt out in Article 44 of the Chicago Convention. These are to develop the principles and techniques of international air navigation, to plan and develop international air transport; to encourage the arts of aircraft design and operation for peaceful purposes; to encourage the development of airways, airports and air navigation facilities for international civil aviation, and so on.
To ensure the safe and efficient worldwide aviation operation ICAO has developed technical specifications forming the basis for uniform rules and procedures. Standardization affects the air-worthiness of aircraft, facilities and services required for aircraft operations elsewhere. These include: aerodromes, communications, navigational aids, meteorology, air traffic services,.search and rescue, information services. ICAO is doing much to make the air more clear. There are special standards to reduce noise by designing new quieter aircraft. ICAO has set up standards for air crew and controllers as well. IAO is also doing much to prepare and train aviation specialists.
The second in its importance organization after ICAO for international civil aviation is IATA - International Air Transport Association founded in 1945. It is one of the international civil aviation organizations uniting world airlines. IATA is concentrated on the safety problem. Its main objective is to contribute to safe and regular development of civil aviation and to cooperation of world airlines. Its Technical Committee deals with the problem of safety, standardization of aviation equipment, training of flying personnel, communications, meteorology, aerodromes, navigational aids, etc. All IATA members report the data on flying, taxying and other ground incidents including maintenance deficiencies. Flight safety experts, aviation specialists and scientists of the member States investigate these accidents to prevent them in future. Russia is a member of IATA, it conforms to the IATA's standards, procedures and documents which is of great importance for studying and solving the problems which IATA deals with.
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International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Association (IFATCA) was founded in 1961 with the purpose to enable the national associations to study and solve the problems for the development of air traffic control art and to create a better understanding among the controllers serving international aviation.
Eurocontrol is the European organization working for air navigation safety. It was created in 1963 for better service of European airspace. Some European countries have signed the agreement of cooperation for the safety of air navigation and organized common air traffic services in the upper airspace.
Exercises
I. :
1. What is ICAO?
2. When and where was ICAO created?
3. How many member States are there in ICAO?
4. Is Russia a member State of ICAO?
5. How long has Russia been the member of ICAO?
6. Where is the ICAO's headquarters?
7. What are the working languages of ICAO?
8. What is the main task of ICAO?
9. Where are the main aims of ICAO spelt out?
10. How does ICAO ensure the safe and efficient aviation operation?
11. What for are the uniform rules and procedures required?
12. What other international Civil Aviation Organizations do you know?
13. What is IATA? IFATCA? Eurocontrol?
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active activity
standard standardize standardization
equip equipment
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efficient efficiency efficiently
require requirement
reduce reduction
control controller
investigate investigation investigator
prevent prevention preventive
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Aeronautical Information Services (AIS)
Standards and Recommended practices for Aeronautical Information Services were first adopted by the Council on 15 May 1953, and were designated as Annex 15 to the ICAO Convention. This Annex became applicable on 1 April 1954.
Each country provides aeronautical information concerning its own territory. It is published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and in Notices to Airmen (NOTAM). ICAO personnel engaged in aeronautical information services do not provide actual service, but check on whether these services are provided in ICAOs members States. NOTAM are classified into two categories, I and II. Both classes contain information concerning the establishment, condition or change in any aeronautical facility, service procedure or hazard the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations.
Information generated by AIS and AIP system is directed to pilots before taking off. NOTAM information might include advice that a certain airspace will be temporarily closed because of rocket launching, for example, or that a non-directional radio navigation beacon at a particular location is inoperative.
In addition to NOTAM ICAO adopted a SNOWTAM, a special series of NOTAM informing about the presence or removal of hazardous conditions at airport due to snow, ice, slush or standing water on the aircraft movement areas of airports.
A pilot planning a flight will prepare his flight plan according to the NOTAM information. What information does a pilot need? This information is quite varied. First of all he wants to know which airway to follow to the aerodrome of his destination. Further information needed by the pilot is that about facilities available en route and at the point of destination, the length of the runways, the communication frequencies, meteorological information, etc. He fills out a flight plan giving the route he is to follow and the description of the route, the name of the aerodrome of his destination and also the name of the alternate aerodrome and other information. He must indicate whether he will fly IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) or VFR (Visual Flight Rules) or, a combination of both.
Having the information received from the pilot Air Traffic Control can control the flight.
Exercises
I. :
1. When did Annex 15 become applicable?
2. What is NOTAM?
3. What information does NOTAM contain?
4. Where is aeronautical information published?
5. Is AIP an international publication?
6. What is the task of ICAO aeronautical information services personnel?
7. When is the necessary information directed to pilots?
8. When does the pilot need the information?
9. What information does a pilot need to plan his flight?
10. How is a flight planned?
11. What flight rules there exist?
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provide provider provision - provisional
inform informer information informal informality informative
direct direction directional directly director
locate - location - locally localize local
move movement movable moveless - mover
service serviceable unserviceable
change changeable changeability changeless
present presence presently presentable presentation
control controllable controller uncontrollable
vary variable variability variety variation variant
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Weather
Weather is composed of a number of elements such as the temperature and humidity of the air, atmospheric pressure, the speed and direction of the wind, air visibility and of special phenomena such as fog, storms and others.
Pilots need the information about weather conditions along the route of flight and at the destination aerodrome. The object of the meteorological service is to contribute to safety, efficiency and regularity of air traffic.
There exist some sources of aviation weather information: surface observation, radar observation, automatic meteorological observation, pilot reports and others.
At every airport there is a meteorological station which is equipped with special instruments recording all changes in the atmosphere. They indicate air pressure and temperature, record wind speed and direction as well as the movements of clouds. All the observations are summed up on special weather charts. The observations at the airports are made every 30 minutes and every 15 minutes if the weather suddenly gets worse or better.
Preparing for the flight the pilot is to get the latest weather information and weather forecasts along the planned route and at the point of destination and the alternates.
At agreat number of met. stations situated along the airways complete weather observations are made and then transmitted to weather forecast centres by telephone, telegraph, radio and thousands of miles of teletype circuits. Thus, the pilot has a complete picture of the weather.
20-30 minutes before entering the aerodrome area the controller gives the pilot full information about the terminal weather. At many airports the information helpful for landing and take off is continuously broadcast on a navigational aid frequency. Prior to descent the pilot requests the actual weather and aerodrome conditions for the airport he is going to land.
It is considered that landing of an aircraft is probably the most difficult operation which a pilot has to perform and the standards of visibility required are higher than for any other phase of flight.
It is known that fog, rain and clouds often affect the aircraft operation. For many decades attempts were made to make flying independent of weather conditions or, in other words, to allow an aircraft to land under very low or zero visibility.
Now there exist several categories set up by ICAO:
Category I - 200 ft ceiling and 1/2 mile visibility;
Category II- 100 ft ceiling and I/4 mile visibility;
Category III - landing under zero-zero conditions.
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Met. services for aviation require much work to collect data and prepare weather charts. This work is especially difficult for long-distance flights over vast areas with different climatic conditions.
Nowaday met. services for aviation are almost fully automated. Automated Surface Weather Systems are installed at the airports of many countries. The System provides for the measurements, processing and display of the following meteorological parameters: wind direction and speed, air temperature and dew point t, runway visual range, minimum cloud height, barometric pressure.
The use of lazers makes it possible to give pilots all the necessary information when they land under low visibility conditions. The introduction of these systems has greatly increased the reliability and safety of flights.
Satellite meteorology has become an independent area of science. Weather forecasts based on information from outer space make forecasts more accurate and help to save a great sum of money annually.
At present the work of meteorologist becomes easier thanks to computers which make calculations quicker and due to them the weather forecast service is becoming more reliable. The use of satellites and computers greatly increases the accuracy of weather forecasts.
Exercises
I. :
1. What elements are included in weather report?
2. What is the object of meteorological service?
3. How often is weather observation made at the airport?
4. What do the instruments at the meteorological stations indicate?
5. What weather information does the pilot get before the flight?
6. Do the pilots obtain weather information while in flight?
7. When does the controller give the pilot full information about the terminal weather?
8. What phase of flight does especially depend on weather conditions?
9. What weather phenomena affect the aircraft operation?
10. What categories are set up by ICAO?
11. What does Automated Surface Weather System provide?
12. When do lazers help the pilots?
13. What is the advantage of satellite meteorology?
14. What other instruments make weather forecast service more reliable?
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visual visually visibility
observe observation observer
equip equipment
transmit transmission transmitter
regular regularity
depend dependence dependent independent
provide provision
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Airport
There are airports in every country.
In theory, an aircraft can fly an infinite number of paths through the air from any surface point to any other. In practice, paths of flight lead from airport to airport. Aircraft not only need proper landing and take off facilities. Moreover, those who use aircraft need services and accommodations which the airport must provide.
In the early days of aviation when aeroplanes were small a cow pasture could be used as a "flying field". But with the continuous increase of air traffic and the introduction of high-capacity aircraft it became necessary to expand airport facilities, to build new terminal buildings and to construct new airports.
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In the interest of aviation safety and air traffic assistance and control air traffic rules were established. The rules relate chiefly to weather minima, flight altitudes and traffic patterns which are to be used under different circumstances. Much can be learned about the nature of a specific airport from aeronautical charts which pilots use. For example, the chart reveals the type and size of an airport, the radio facilities it uses and its altitude and location.
The modern airport is a complex structure, a centre of most diversified services. Millions of passengers and thousands of tons of airfreight are handled by modern airports. Thousands of people are working at airports.
In practical any airport can be divided into two main parts: the landing area (runways and taxiways) and the terminal area (aprons, buildings, car parking areas, hangars, etc.). There is also a third part - terminal air traffic control. The landing area includes runways and taxiways. The number of runways, their length and location depend on the volume and character of traffic, the prevailing wind direction and other factors.
The runways and taxiways should be arranged so that to prevent delays on landing, taxying and take off operations.
Aprons are required for aircraft to make final checks prior to departure.
The main function of the terminal buildings is to handle the departing and arriving passengers and their baggage.
Among the airport services are: flight assistance service, air traffic control services - airport traffic control, approach control, air route traffic control, radio communications and weather observation and forecasting service.
At every airport there is a number of supplementary services such as rescue and security services, an airport clinic, a fire brigade, special vehicles and equipment units (water trucks, tow tractors, etc.).
Other services include maintenance, overhaul and repair of stationary and mobile equipment, the supply of electricity, water, heat and air conditioning.
The facilities include runways, air navigational aids, passenger and cargo terminals. The airport has a hotel, a post office, bank offices, restaurants, car rental firms, etc. In the terminal there is everything for quick passenger handling: check-in desks, electronic flight information board of departure and arrival times, the baggage claim carousel and many others.
Nowadays there exists one more pressing problem - that of air piracy. The number of acts of unlawful interference resulted in deaths and injures of some hundreds of persons. So the ICAO Council has adopted Amendment 8 to Annex 17 (Security). The Amendment covers security screening and inspecting passengers, checked baggage, security control over cargo, courier and express parcels and mail. Every airport has new specific detection systems capable to screen airline passengers and their baggage within less than 8 seconds.
Exercises
I. :
1. Why was it necessary to build new terminal buildings and construct new airports?
2. Why were air traffic rules established?
3. What do these rules relate to?
4. What does the aeronautical chart reveal?
5. What are the main two parts of the airport?
6. What is the third part of the airport?
7. What factors influence the number of runways, their length and location?
8. What does the aircraft crew do on the apron?
9. What is the main function of the terminal building?
10. What airport services do you know?
11. What supplementary services are there at the airport?
12. What does the electronic information board indicate?
13. What equipment is used at the airport for preventing piracy?
14. How many airports are there in Petersburg?
15. What is the distance between the center of the city and Pulkovo-1?
16. How can you get to the airport?
17. Is there an airport in your native city?
18. Is it an international or domestic?
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prevent prevention preventive
detect detection detective detector
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arrive arrival
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AIRCRAFT
During those years which have passed since the first aeroplane was built, aviation has enjoyed phenomenal progress. At present aviation influences many aspects of social life.
In the dynamic world of today, aviation provides a rapid transportation link between different population centres. In many places the aeroplane is the only known vehicle for the large-scale movement of passengers and freight over large distances. The airplane has made it possible to patrol the forests, to fight their fires, to assess their timber resources and to plan their harvesting. It has made an enormous contribution to the photographing and mapping of the vast territories, to exploring and prospecting for mineral wealth and to studying and assessing the water resources.
As for the helicopter, besides its use for passenger transportation, this type of aircraft has proved its value in special applications where vertical take off-landing are required. Helicopters are widely used in search and rescue operations in emergency situations or when some accident occurs.
The main components of airplanes are as follows:
1. The fuselage is the main body of the airplane and contains the pilot's compartment (cockpit) and passenger and baggage compartments. The cockpit contains the flight controls and instruments.
2. The wings are the main lifting surfaces which support the aircraft in flight. Aircraft may be divided into monoplanes and biplanes.
3. The tail unit or empennage consists of a vertical stabilizer and rudder and the horizontal stabilizer and elevators to provide the necessary stability in flight.
4. The three basic flight control surfaces are the ailerons, the elevators and the rudder.
5. The power plant is the heart of the airplane. There are many types of engines: turboprop, turbojet, turbofan, rocket engines, etc.
6. The landing gear or undercarriage is used during manoeuvering of the aircraft on the ground while taxying, taking off and landing. In flight the retractable landing gear is retracted into the wing or the fuselage structure.
AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS
Aircraft instruments are basically devices for obtaining information about the aircraft and its environment and for presenting that information to the pilot. Their purpose is to detect, measure, record, process and analise the variables encountered in flying an aircraft. They are mainly electrical, electronic or gyroscopic. Modern aircraft have a computer on board. They are concerned with the behavior of the engines, the speed, height and attitude of the aircraft and its whereabouts. Instruments concerned with the whereabouts of an aircraft are navigation instruments.
An aircraft usually takes the name of the designer or manufacturer. Here are some of the Russian designers: Tupolev, Ilyushin, Antonov, Yakovlev. Manufacturer's names are represented by Boeing, Douglas, Lockheed and others. The name of the designer or manufacturer is followed by a type code, known in some airlines as a class. For example: Ilyushin-96 (designer's name and type code), Boeing-747 (manufacturer's name and type code).
Exercises
I. :
1. What does aviation provide?
2. Where are helicopters used?
3. What types of aircraft do you know?
4. Name the main parts of the aircraft.
5. What does the fuselage contain?
6. What for are the wings required?
7. What are the components of the wing?
8. What does the tail unit provide?
9. What is the power plant?
10. What types of engines do you know?
11. When are the landing gears used?
12. What is the purpose of aircraft instruments?
13. What Russian and foreign designers do you know?
14. What name does the aircraft take?
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transport transportation
move movement movable
possible possibility impossible
apply - application
power powerful
retract retraction retractable - unretractable
require requirement
provide provision
measure measurement
contribute contribution
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Safety
Safety is the most important problem in aviation. The prevention of collisions between aircraft in the air and on the ground is the main task of aviation specialists.
The achievement of aviation safety is the result of progress in many sciences and disciplines including engineering, aerodynamics, meteorology, psychology, medicine and economics.
Safety is ensured by thousands of ICAO and governmental regulations, by high standards in the design and manufacture of an aircraft and by rigid (strict) procedures of airline safety practices.
The aviation industry is constantly taking steps to prevent accidents but the crashes do occur time after time. They result from different causes: failure in the aircraft structure, human errors, navigational failures, malfunctioning of airborne and ground aids, hazardous weather conditions and so on.
Poor knowledge of English can also contribute to or result in an accident or incident. Therefore ICAO revised the provisions related to the use of the language for radiotelephony communications and demands good discipline to follow more closely to standard phraseology in all air-ground exchanges.
Experience has shown that phraseology alone is not sufficient to cover all of the potential situations, particularly in critical or emergency situations. Thats why proficiency in common or plain language is also of great importance.
One of ICAOs chief activities is standardization in all spheres of aviation operations. The main ICAO document is SARPS (International Standards and Recommended Practices). Its main task is to provide the necessary level of standardization for safe and regular air operations.
Exercises
I. :
1. What is the most important problem in aviation?
2. What is the main task of aviation specialists?
3. By what means is safety ensured?
4. What factors may cause accidents?
5. What can you say about the role of language in the problem of safety?
6. Can radiotelephony alone cover all of the potential situations?
7. What is the main document ICAO?
8. What is the main task of SARPS?
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terror terrible terribly terrific
danger dangerous dangerously
care careful careless carelessness
safe safety unsafe
prevent preventive prevention
collide collision
special specially specialist speciality specialize specialization
achieve achievement
ensure insurance
govern governor government governmental
regular regularly regulation regularity irregular
differ different differently difference
fail failure
navigate navigator navigation navigational
hazard hazardous
know knowledge unknown
provide provision provider
relate relation relative relatively relativity
communicate communication communicative community
sufficient sufficiently sufficiency insufficient
proficient proficiently proficiency
necessary necessarily necessity unnecessary
critical critically criticize criticism uncritical
close closely
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Air traffic Control
The ATCs first concern is safety, that is the prevention of collision between aircraft in the air and orderly flow of traffic.
To perform their exacting duties air traffic controllers need adequate facilities. The introduction of radars greatly assists in expediting the flow of traffic reducing the separation minima. Computers are also a powerful tool. They give assistance by taking over routine tasks but they must not dominate the system. The human controller is much more efficient than any current system because it is he who takes responsibility for controlling aircraft and it is he who takes final decisions in all situations including conflicting and emergency.
During periods of heavy traffic controllers work under high stress. They may control several aircraft simultaneously, their number sometimes exceeding 15 and even more. Controllers slightest error may cause loss of human lives and property.
Top physical and mental condition is a vital requirement for atc controllers. Therefore they undergo strict medical examination which are repeated at periodic intervals.
The problem of the selection and training of ATC personnel is extremely important. The controllers should possess a number of qualities which are absolutely necessary for them: a high degree of morality, a very good nervous and emotional balance, a sound critical judgment, a readiness for decisions and an instinct for team work. To become a highly professional controller one must be proficient not only in specialized aviation English but also in plain language because aviation safety depends on accurate pilot controller communications.
The training of ATC personnel is carried out by different methods using various teaching aids, systems and simulators. Modern simulators can reproduce the whole ATC task from take-off to landing including all manoeuvers even the dangerous ones.
Exercises
I. :
1. What is the main task of ATC activity?
2. How can controllers expedite the flow of traffic?
3. What aids and systems do controller use to control air traffic?
4. Can any aids or systems substitute a human controller? If not, then why?
5. What are the working conditions of controllers?
6. How many aircraft may controllers control at peak traffic periods?
7. What is one of the vital requirements for ATC controllers?
8. How often do they undergo medical examinations?
9. What qualities should a person possess to become a controller?
10. What can you say about the role of the English language in controllers work?
11. How are controllers trained?
12. Can modern simulators reproduce conflicting and emergency situations?
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prevent prevention preventive
provide provision provider provisional
order orderly
perform performance
exact exactly exactness
introduce introduction introductory
reduce reduction
power powerful powerless
efficient efficiently efficiency
responsible responsibility response respond
decide decision decisive
strict strictly strictness
necessary unnecessary necessity
depend dependent dependence independent
train trainer trainee training
carry carrier carriage
differ different indifferent differently
simulate simulator simulation
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Human factors in aviation
Human factors is a critical aspect of aviation safety, one that ICAO began to address more than a decade ago.
ICAO convened the first in a series of global symposia on flight safety and human factors in 1990. From the beginning, when the first event was held in a city known then as Leningrad, there was a conviction that international aviation could make enormous progress in improving safety through the application of human factors knowledge.
The first symposium was a turning point and the stage for following meetings in the United States in 1993, in New Zealand in 1996 and, finally in Chile in 1999. There have been encouraging developments since 1990, but we still have challenges to pursue: after the Leningrad symposium, human error remains a significant safety concern.
The purpose of the worldwide symposia and 10 regional seminars which were held in the past decade was to increase the awareness of States, industry and organizations in all ICAO regions about the importance of human factors. The ongoing implementation of the ICAO communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems concept has introduced new challenges, and also new possibilities for human factors. The reason the community must respond to is, of course, to ensure that civil aviation continues to achieve its ultimate goal: the safe and efficient transportation of passengers and goods.
The ICAO flight safety and human factors programme is safetyoriented and operationally relevant. Moreover, it is practical since it must deal with real problems in a real world. Through the programme, ICAO has provided the aviation community with the means and tools to anticipate human error and contain its negative consequences in the operational environment. Furthermore, ICAOs efforts are aimed at the system not the individual.
The global aviation safety plan (GASP) was developed by the ICAO Air Navigation Commission in 1997 and subsequently approved by the ICAO Council and endorsed by the ICAO Assembly. GASP was designed to coordinate and provide a common direction to the efforts of States and the aviation industry to the extent possible in safety matters. It is a tool that allows ICAO to focus resources and set priorities giving emphasis to those activities that will contribute the most to enhancing safety. Therefore the flight safety and human factors programme is among the six major activities that comprise the plan.
Exercises
I. :
1. When did ICAO begin to address to the aspect of human factors?
2. When and where was the first symposium on flight safety held?
3. What can improve aviation safety?
4. How many symposia on flight safety were held by ICAO?
5. What was the purpose of the symposia and seminars?
6. Where can the knowledge of human factors be applied?
7. What is the ultimate goal of civil aviation?
8. What is the ICAO flight safety and human factors programme?
9. What for was the global aviation safety plan developed?
10. Why is the flight safety and human factors programme so important?
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navigate navigation navigator navigable navigability
operate operation operative operator operational - operationally
industry industrial industrious - industrialist industrialization
communicate communication communicative communicable communicator
progress progressive progression progressionist
improve improvement improvable improver
organize - organization organizer - disorganization
efficient efficiency inefficient efficiently inefficiency
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