Thanx for clarifying Tom :)I think the next step up from TCAS would be GPS.Its already in place and a GPS-derived display in the cockpit showing the locations of all other planes in say a 50m "bubble" around the airliner would work great I think.

Almost there. There is something called ADS-B.http://www.ads-b.com/

Thats most interesting!!Thanks for that KevinAu :)

This is effectively Differential GPS (DGPS) applied to aircraft. It has been used in the oceanographic research community for years. There are many issues associated with this technology, not the least of which is "selective availability", which allows "authorities" to flip the system to a lower accuracy state at a minimum, or for DGPS, entirely off, if they so desire. The EU has agreed to a form of selective availibility and so it is effectively a global issue. To remove radars from the navigation equation and rely on this type of system is one that I would have a problem with. GPS and DGPS are great tools, but to rely on them as sole sensors, removing radar from the equation, is not good.

Hi,You're almost describing a future and realistic scenario.Air Navigation Services are working on projects which will allow pilots to have a much better situational than given by TCAS and new displays will show other planes in the area. This will also allow airplanes to maintain a comanded spacing with another aircraft.Regards,Francois

Thanks you all for your interesting replies :)The skies are getting more crowded as you read this and improving SA for airline crews will be the next big step I think.Pilots sorely need a big screen on the flightdeck showing a birds-eye view of all other airplanes in the area - with altitude, speed & heading info tagged to each one of them.As you all say, this is being worked on, will be interesting to see what comes out.

>The skies are getting more crowded as you read this and>improving SA for airline crews will be the next big step I>think.One way to fight crowded skies would be to build more aeroplanes of the size of the A380. This is one of the reasons, which make me confident, that the A380 will be a sucess.Wolfgang

>>>The skies are getting more crowded as you read this and>>improving SA for airline crews will be the next big step I>>think.>>One way to fight crowded skies would be to build more>aeroplanes of the size of the A380. This is one of the>reasons, which make me confident, that the A380 will be a>sucess.>>WolfgangThat's one of the dumbest reasons for buying the Airbus. Airlines are not a charity for the benefit of ATC. If they do buy the A380, it will be because they think they can make money from it. Nothing more, nothing less. The only way they would buy the A380 to help the controllers is if somebody like the EU mandates that only A380s can fly in their airspace. I wouldn't put that past them.

Kevin,On the occassion of the A380 launch there were numerous intrviews of pilots, airline CEOs and other aviation experts on german and austrian TV stations. In these interviews the argument that the usage of big planes is an effective measure in the fight against crowded skies, was one of the most used. And the people stating this were very serious about it.And beleive me, airline bosses know what they say, because crowded skies costs them lots of money. Just take the european summer holiday season for example, when airports and skies are full with scheduled charter planes. Allready today delays of several hours are quite common during these summer months, because there are no more slots available.

They had all sorts of reasons why the Concorde would be an economic success too when they rolled that out. However, I do see the EU forcing even more stringent slot controls in place so that the only economical way to serve Europe would be on an A380 sized aircraft...like I said, I wouldn't put it past the EU to force airlines to buy this plane.

Kavin,In some points you are right I guess, but I don't want to discuss gevernment practics ad politics here.My statement wasn't actually aimed on the A380 in specific but generally on big planes. Wolfgang

>>One way to fight crowded skies would be to build more>aeroplanes of the size of the A380. Wolfgang,Just for your information the average size of a passanger airliner have been shrinking in the last 20 years. For example where before over Atlantic 747 would be the king today they are 767-class airplanes. So this sky "overcowding" is not exactly what you think it is. A380 will only fly between very few city pairs. The trend seems toward smaller airplanes.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2