Capstone proves its worth in rescue of downed pilot | Aviation International News

Capstone proves its worth in rescue of downed pilot

You’ve truly made it in aviation when your accomplishments are included among the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s collection of historic firs

By Stephen Pope

January 9, 2008

You’ve truly made it in aviation when your accomplishments are included among the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s collection of historic firsts. That’s the prestigious accolade recently bestowed on developers of the Alaska Capstone Program, whose activities are chronicled as part of an exhibit devoted to ATC.

But the Capstone demonstration has been doing more than educating the museum-going public. This winter, as pilots flying aircraft fitted with Capstone avionics in remote areas of Alaska brace for the worst that mother nature has to offer, there is solid evidence that the program is proving its worth as an apt surrogate for ATC in places beyond the sweep of radar.

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