FAA History

[Tom/CalClassic]

Hi all,

I often wonder when this or that regulation was enacted, and Jesse found this great document that puts almost everything from the USA in one place. Thanks!

www.faa.gov/about/media/b-chron.pdf

Some tidbits:

July 1952: Knots and NM are adopted.
1952: Started converting Radio Ranges to VOR's
1955: Installed 1 VOR at Manila (Philippines), 3 in Formosa, 1 in Bangkok, and 10 in India
1955: DEW Line assistance begins
June 30, 1956: Grand Canyon collision of L-1049G and DC-7
Nov 1956: 23 long range radars bought for en route traffic control
Dec. 1957: designates all airspace above 24,000 ft as "continental control area", but VFR traffic still allowed (by law)
April 21, 1958: T-33 collides with DC-7 at Las Vegas
June 15, 1958: sets up 5 "positive control routes" - IFR only, no VFR, 17,000 to 35,000 ft
June 15, 1958: GMT to be used in all air traffic control
Aug. 1958: CAA becomes the new FAA, with new powers
Oct. 1, 1958: NACA becomes NASA
July 30, 1959: requires one crew member of jet aircraft operating higher than 25,000 ft to wear oxygen mask (41,000 ft by 1965)
July 1, 1960: weather radar required for turbine aircraft
Jan 1, 1961: weather radar required for DC-7's and Super Connies
Jan 1, 1962: weather radar required for all large airliners
March 15, 1960: max age for airline pilots - 60 years
Sept. 8, 1960: British RAE visual glide path indicator lights adopted as standard
Mar 1, 1961: adoption of first area-wide positive control areas (no VFR) at Chicago and Indianapolis Centers (between 24,000 and 35,000 ft)
Dec. 16, 1960: DC-8 and L-1049G collide over New York (DC-8 making fast approach to airport).
Dec. 18, 1960: airliners must reduce speed to below 250 KIAS when below 10,000 ft.
April 6, 1961: "continental control area" lowered from 25,000 ft to 14,500 ft
May 25, 1961: portable radios banned on airliners
June 5, 1961: DME procedures used for the first time in air traffic control
August 13, 1961: The first SID was adoped (for new York Idlewild)
Feb. 1962: TWA first carrier to be approved to use Doppler navigation system instead of celestial navigation across the Atlantic
Oct. 21, 1961: intoxicated passengers banned from boarding airliners
Dec 26, 1961: standards set for airport control areas at controlled airports
July 1, 1963: DME required on all airliners flying higher than 24,000 ft (ALL airliners by 1964)

Take care,

[Randy_Cain]

Hi

Cooool, Tom! Thanks!

You really need to sticky this in..... maybe the "Flight Tips" section? ...or at very least, add it to the page for "Classic Flight Tips". It's a very handy and convenient reference for planning a flight.

Yours,

[Lockheed]

July 1952: Knots and NM are adopted.

One of my favorite av stories is a TRUE one. I knew this guy.

-------------------------------

Years ago when the transition from Statute Miles per Hour to Nautical Miles per Hour was taking place in the aviation industry there were obviously airplanes with the "older" MPH Airspeed gauges still installed.

One such airplane was a Beechcraft Twin Bonanza, N5636D.

Seems like 36 Delta was enroute somewhere and the Center asked him for his airspeed.

36 Delta replied, "160 Miles Per Hour, Sir."

The Controller came back with, "What is that in Knots?"

36 Delta replied: "I dunno, this is a Beechcraft, not a Chris Craft, you figure it out!"

[Defender]

A great find thanks Jesse and thanks for the summary Tom. The answers to so many questions are in there. A huge contribution to realistic retro flights.

Must remember to remove the DME from the panel when using your CA59/62 Tom and the other historic airports before 64/65.

...........On second thoughts I'll keep it a wee bit longer. Could take a bit of practice!!

Bill

[Tom/CalClassic]

Yeah, DME started to be used in 1961, so you can imagine that your airline was particularly progressive.

[ashaman]

Jan 4, 2010 22:26:13 GMT -5 Tom/CalClassic said:

Dec. 16, 1960: DC-8 and L-1049G collide over New York (DC-8 making fast approach to airport).

It was New York? And here I was convinced (read it somewhere) it happened on Denver...

Jan 4, 2010 22:26:13 GMT -5 Tom/CalClassic said:

Dec. 18, 1960: airliners must reduce speed to below 250 KIAS when below 10,000 ft.

This actually made me laugh... and I hasten to add it was a bitter laugh. There in USA: two days to make a decision like that... here in Italy? ...after two... DECADES they would still be squabbling on the why and the hows.

[Tom/CalClassic]

Hi,

Yes it was over New York City, and the planes crashed into the city itself. The Grand Canyon crash occurred earlier (and is also listed).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjiyMqU_zqE

Hope this helps,

[ashaman]

Plane disasters are never pretty... but over a city they're even worse...

Have to thank the Mythbusters clips I've downloaded for having bettered my understanding of spoken english. I actually understood everything. Now, if only I could get around to speak it decently too...

[Tom/CalClassic]

Then you are doing very well indeed!

[ashaman]

Nothing so great. My understanding of spoken english is pretty much the same of my understanding of spoken spanish (and maybe portuguese, though this remains unproved at this time). ;D

Of your language, I learned in the years of various readings (technical and not) a good vocabulary of words and the grammatical rules (school was useless, as usual hereabout... the most I learned there was to say and write "the cat is on the table" and maybe the use of some adjective to add "color" to the phrase), all I had to do i this instance was to learn the sound of words out of the mouth (as you have this strange habit to change the sound of vocals and make endings of words disappear in a speech black hole... and the occasional high-speed slurring of some parts of the words doesn't help either)... not going in a english tongue land to do full immersion, as sadly enough I lack money, but helping myself with recoded TV programs coming from... here and there (I suppose I could use the BBC airings too, but they so rarely broadcast anything even remotely interesting to me, and I rarely watch TV nowadays).

Whatever I do not understand directly, I can bridge with the brain inbuilt bridging software all humans have, that with high speed educated guesses fills the voids of what I still do not get and allows me to follow a discussion...

While for the spanish... their words and grammatical rules (most of them at least) are similar to italian (coming both from the same ancient latin)... and that allows me to understand the flow of the speech... mostly... but while I can boast a good understanding of written english (or so I think, at least) I would be a sitting duck in spanish.

So in the end I can make myself understood in spanish speaking the similar italian (and without trying to ape my way out like so many my fellow countrymen try to do... like the ridiculous belief that adding of a "s" at the end of every words you'll be speaking spanish some still have, that even hearing it in comical movies makes me want to declare myself dutch to those asking), and at the moment hope not to embarrass myself too much chewing and spitting a passable english.