In the opening prologue of The Sun Kings, I describe how the solar flares of Halloween 2003 forced aircraft to be re-routed in order to avoid exposing the passengers and crew to potentially larger than normal radiation doses.  There is now an excellent article describing the importance of solar activity to the aviation industry on-line at the Flight Safety Foundation.

Called Forecasting a Star, the article by Wayne Rosenkrans begins, “Scientists urge aviation professionals to obtain space weather training before intense solar radiation and geomagnetic storms expected around 2012.”

To download the article, click here. You can also read an extended version of the piece online by clicking here.