GPS

The government is at it again. This time they are on a mission to change from radar tracking for airplanes to GPS - global positioning system. The reasoning is reasonable. Air traffic controllers will have more accurate readings on airplane locations. And, all planes, equally equipped will be able to see the position of other aircraft. All this means that planes will take off and land faster and safer. Good idea? Maybe not.
The problem with GPS is that it is used to track everything from dogs to grandmas. It’s true. You can buy devices to keep up with your pets, your kids, criminals, cars, products, and the list goes on and on, including grandma if she is prone to wonder off.

I can just see it now. The battery that controls the GPS on an airplane goes dead. Now, what are we going to do? Air traffic controllers will have to scramble. Do they track the cell phones of the passengers on the plane? Cell phones have GPS unless you turn them off. Maybe they can check the location of Fido if he is in the cargo bin. With just a little thought you can see my point. With radar you send out a radio wave and it comes back. With GPS and a dead battery, you got nothing.

I suppose we will have a better system to keep up with grandma if she has wondered onto a plane.

PMO
©2011