Professional Documents
Culture Documents
June 2007
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4 ISTANBUL Conference
NATIO NAL
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Contents
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June 2007
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In this issue:
PUBLISHER IFATCA, International Federation of Air Trafc Controllers Associations. EXECUTIVE BOARD OF IFATCA Marc Baumgartner President and Chief Executive Ofcer Alexis Brathwaite Deputy President Cedric Murrell Executive Vice President Americas Henry Nkondokaya Executive Vice-President Africa/ Middle East John Wagstaff Executive Vice-President Asia/Pacic Patrik Peters Executive Vice-President Europe Dale Wright Executive Vice-President Finance Doug Churchill Executive Vice-President Professional Vacant Executive Vice-President Technical Jack van Delft Secretary/Conference Executive EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Philippe Domogala Editorial address:Westerwaldstrasse 9 D 56337 ARZBACH, Germany Tel: +492603 8682 email: ed@ifatca.org Residence: 24 Rue Hector Berlioz F 17100 LES GONDS, France CORPORATE AFFAIRS Kevin Salter (Germany/UK) WEB SITE Philip Marien (EGATS) REGIONAL EDITORS Moetapele D. Matale (Botswana) Al-Kadur Acosta (Dominican Republic) Phil Parker (Hong Kong) Patrik Peters (Europe) COPY EDITORS Paul Robinson, Helena Sjstrm, Stephen Broadbent and Brent Cash PRINTING-LAYOUT LITHO ART GmbH & Co. Druckvorlagen KG Friesenheimer Strae 6a D 68169 MANNHEIM, Germany Tel: +49 3 22 59 10 email: info@lithoart-ma.de
Foreword by Marc Baumgartner 4 Editorial by Philippe Domogala 5 IFATCA 2007 Conference Istanbul, where East meets West by Philippe Domogala and Helena Sjostrom .. 6 IFATCA 2007 Conference 2 Interview with Murat Ozdil The Challenge with Turkish Controllers .. 8 Future Air Transport and the Energy Challenge by Daniel Casanova . 10 Stripless Systems Working without Strips by Yves Le Roux ... 12 A380 The new Airbus A380 An Air Traffic Control view by Daniel Casanova 14 ATC Maastricht ATC Maastricht 2007 by John Levesley . 18 ATC Maastricht 2 What is COOPANS? by Philippe Domogala .. 20 CISM CISM Forum 2007 in Langen, Germany by Philippe Domogala .... 21 Human Factors Incident Voluntary Reporting System A success story at Maastricht UAC by Raf Vigorita .. 22 Spotlight by Kevin Salter .... 24 Focus Focus on Norway ATC by Philippe Domogala .... 26 Humor Back to the Future by Ayman Mahmoud ..... 27 Africa News 2 Africa/Middle East Regional in Johannesburg South Africa by Haske Jibrin ..... 28 News Shannon ... 30 News 2 FATCOA .. 30 Asia News Controller Consultation in New System Integration by Peter Leung . 31 Philip Marien Feature Landing the most complex Machine ever built by Philip Marien .... 32 Charlies Column 34
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA) only when so indicated. Other views will be those of individual members or contributors concerned and will not necessarily be those of IFATCA, except where indicated. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct, IFATCA makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the nature or accuracy of the information. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or used in any form or by any means, without the specific prior written permission of IFATCA.
Foreword
NATCA Testimony
What I find remarkable in the testimony, are the statements where Pat calls for a greater involvement of air traffic controllers in the design and creation of the future ATM system of the USA. He mentions as well, very good examples from the past where this collaboration between management, government, air traffic controllers and other aviation stakeholders worked for the benefit for the safe and efficient air transport system. I guess we are again, at a global level, at a crossroads with trying to create a future ATM system which is fit for the future challenges where as in the past we experienced tension between the various actors in particular the ATM providers and their most important asset (staff).2 One could actually believe that it is recognised that working together in the aviation sector is the way ahead to improve the ATM system, as initiatives like ATMCP at the global level and NGATS and SESAR at the regional level discuss this.
IFATCAS Successes
I would like to highlight a few recent examples where IFATCA has been successful at the highest level. Our experts have worked on some of the ICAO Assembly 35 decisions (in particular on Human Factors and the Global Concept of Operations). The newly endorsed changes of the PANS ATM where our representatives contributed in the drafting, and of course in the more trans-national issues in Europe where significant input is being given to the ongoing Single European Sky developments.
Recognition
However there is of course a negative side to this argument where the basic needs of the controller are denied and the staff are demotivated and lack pride when they are not recognized as the professional which they are. This is the most important fight for them. We see it currently ongoing in Brazil and Argentina or in all the ASECNA member countries. In other countries it is about involving the controllers in fundamental decision making which will shape the future of aviation in the respective countries. Pat Forreys testimony to the US Congress says it all. I invite you all to read the IFATCA Statement on the future global of ATM, as it gives a lot of guidance on how as a real stakeholder we as representatives of a highly skilled profession can assist the aviation community with our knowledge, expertise and vision. In countries where controllers are and were associated in all the changes in the working environment, national ATM and aviation policy, the results have shown the efforts to have been repaid a million times over in improved procedures, functional ATM equipment and happy customers from a staff perspective, the airlines and the traveling public at large. ^
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Communication
Therefore it is important that you the representatives of the profession of an air traffic controller at the national and/or international level are able to understand, translate and communicate to non-controllers what it is all about. What makes you proud and what makes you so passionate about your profession. IFATCA has always tried to assist aviation with the professional and technical input of our experts and delegates. Lately we are very pleased that the efforts of IFATCA again show some results. Our experts and representatives at all levels, national, trans-
http://www.natca.org/legislationcenter/ HouseTestimony2007.msp 2 Most of the CANSO members in their annual reports 2005 have mentioned that their most important asset is their staff in general and controllers in particular.
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Istanbul
A fascinating city of 18 million people, full of history and the border between Orient and Occident, between Asia and Europe. This was the setting of the 46th IFATCA annual conference in April, held in the Lutfi Kurdar Congress Hall, a large conference centre in the heart of the city. The Turkish controllers proved to be very dedicated hosts and the debates were interesting to follow.
ADS (Automatic Dependant Surveillance) was the subject of a very intense debate and resulted in a long series of recommendations. Finally, CPDLC (Controller Pilot Data Link Communications) was discussed extensively and a clear policy was passed: Implementation of CPDLC must be in full compliance with ICAO ATN. Non-compliant aircraft (e.g. FANS) can be accommodated in remote or oceanic airspace. In high-density airspace, FANS aircraft shall be handled via voice R/T for safety reasons.
Technical Discussions
The technical debates in committee B concentrated on a few hot topics. Converging Runways Operations (CROPS), which includes simultaneous operations of intersecting and converging runways and the infamous LAHSO (Land And Hold Short Operations), used in the USA. IFATCA opposes LAHSO as there are still many problems associated with this procedure. There were also long discussions about ASAS (Airborne Separation Assistance System), on the boundary of responsibilities between pilot and controller at any given time.
All photos: DP
We should invest more in human beings than in infrastructure: Mr Binali Yildrim, Turkish Minister of Transport.
4 Istanbul landmark:
the blue mosquee
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China
RVSM implementation in Chinese airspace next November is expected to cause major difficulties, as it will be a unique metric FL system. This is likely to have a have a vast impact on at least ten surrounding countries FIRs.
sues. The two organizations will from now on endeavour to coordinate their statements, especially regarding positions taken in ICAO and other international organizations.
Nepal
Controllers in Kathmandu that have continuously reported R/T communications difficulties after a system break down of ATC equipments in August 2004.This issue is causing them enormous stress and despite many reports the situation is still not resolved today.
Europe
IMPACT of FABs (Functional Airspace Blocks): There are too many FAB-initiatives, which are not coordinated. Some states find themselves in two, even three different FABs, while some others could declare their own state an FAB (e.g. Norway). Turkey is also not part of any FAB but said that since large parts of the Mediterranean and the Black sea are high seas (i.e. not belonging to one particular state) ICAO should be involved and any change in FIR delineation should be subject to ICAO agreements. Many member associations see the institutional problems with regard to military airspace as a major problem.
Brazil
Marc Baumgartner, President of IFATCA, made a poignant presentation on the situation of the controllers in Brazil, especially after the accident last September (collision between a Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy jet over the Amazon, extensively covered in the last issue of the Controller).
4 Turkish ag.
STAFF SHORTAGES IN EUROPE Dominating subjects at the informal European Regional Meeting held during Conference were the increase in trafc, the introduction of new technologies and equipment and the lack of air trafc controllers. Whilst few countries are sufciently staffed, the majority of our members declare shortages between 10% and 30%, resulting in a lack of ca. 1000 controllers in the region (32 of 45 associations participated in this survey). Salary and employment contract negotiations keep several associations busy. Other topics discussed were the lack of information about legal repercussions in case of incident/accidents and the ongoing privatization of ANSPs. The diversity of uncoordinated Functional Airspace Block initiatives is striking but at the same time worrying, as benets appear unclear. The suspicion that economical interests of the states rather than improved handling of air trafc are the drivers of these undertakings is prevailing amongst the member associations. Several states have experienced difculties with the compliance of EC laws, such as the required separation of service provision from regulation.
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[some] ANSP has not started or has not gotten very far with preparations for the language requirements.
4 Opening ceremony.
Next Conference
The 2008 IFATCA Conference will be in Arusha, Tanzania on March 10 14 2008 The 2009 IFATCA Conference will be in Dubrovnik, Croatia on April 20 24 2009 ^
Interview
Murat Ozdil, President Organising Committee from the Turkish Air Traffic Controllers Association
We are currently short of staff by 25-30% and trafc raised last year by 25%.
Philippe: Are you satisfied with the conference? Murat: We had 520 delegates, and while we expected between 600 and 700, they were from 89 different countries and 80 different Controllers associations were represented. This was higher than in previous conferences, so we are happy. It was also an opportunity for us to show the world our hospitality and our culture. It was an honor to carry the Flag of Turkey. Ph: will this conference change something for the Turkish controllers? M: It is too early to tell. But on the political side, we had the presence of the Minister of Transport and Communications
the first day, and he was impressed, so I guess there will be a positive attitude in the future regarding the status of controllers in Turkey. Ph: 2 years ago controllers got a new statute in Turkey, Are you pleased with it and are salaries and working conditions OK? M: The new statute was a huge improvement, Our salaries are good compared to the general population in Turkey, but we are still far below compared to our neighbors. Ph: You will also shortly receive a brand new ATS system. M: Yes, build by SELEX (Italy) It should be operational in 3 years. It is part of a complete change, as we will unite our country into a single FIR and a single ACC that will be in Ankara. Istanbul will only remain as an Approach unit.
Ph: were you involved in the development of this new system? M: Not directly but indirectly, as former Association EB Members are working on the project and we have feedback from involved colleagues. Ph: What is today the biggest challenge for Turkish Air traffic controllers? M: The number of controllers versus the traffic increase: We are currently short of staff by 2530% and traffic raised last year by 25% domestically and 9% in overflights. A few years ago some traffic forecast estimates were made, but in 2006 were already reached the same figures that were predicted for 2015 We also will get shortly a separation of the ANSP from the Airport Authority to create an autonomous body. A draft law on this separation is expected to be approved by our Parliament soon. That issue is important as it will affect our future professional life. ^
Turkey Statistics as published by the Ministry of transport: Civil aviation growth: +30% in 2006. Between 2002 and 2006 (4 years) number of passengers increased 239% domestically and 31% internationally. Trafc movements over the same period +185% domestic, +31% international, overights +42%, making an total average trafc increase of 72% .
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Fully equipped for the present; already planning for the future. If youre looking for the safest route forwards, call Thales.
4 Future
The Problem
The problem facing air transport in the 21st century is, more than anywhere else : Energy density is the key economic concept. Consequently, hydrogen should never be able to replace liquid hydrocarbon for automotive transportation (estimations in liquefied H2 usage). However, hydrogen could replace jet fuel, whether ex-refinery or synthetic, for aviation (possibility to use liquefied H2). This possibility would become more probable if carbon emission costs became higher than anticipated today, say above 100$/ton of CO2 in the present $ terms. For the aviation industry, the choice between liquid H2 and/or synthetic kerosene should occur between 2020 and 2030 in order to define the new generation of airplanes to be constructed from 2040-2050.
Nuclear propulsion has no future for air transport, except maybe if a new ssion concept can be developed
(IP spool) generator, and power transfer technology) Radical Options: Advanced cycles to alleviate thermal efficiency constraints (Intercooled cycle to enable ultra-high overall pressure ratio, up to 5% sfc improvement, NOx reduction through reduced compressor discharge temperature) and Novel LP system architectures to alleviate propulsive efficiency constraints (Open rotor 10-15% sfc improvement) Revolutionary options: Change to propulsion system most likely to be driven by radical change to energy source and/or aircraft architecture
Boeing
Boeing vision is first an aggressive technology investment to accelerate efficiency improvements like engines, aerodynamic, materials, system, airframe integration and of course air traffic
ot Ph N o: A AS a T.L is nd
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4 Future
management. On this point, Boeing hopes for accurate paths to improve airspace capacity and efficiency, like options to sequencing, reducing inter-arrival spacing, improved reliability in poor weather and more efficient routing via path of specified width. Continuous descent approach procedure is a solution for the noise. formance is potentially interesting for its efficiency but with its current characteristics, especially for the specific power and the reliability, it cannot compete with the conventional aero-engines. If an improvement of factor 10 is achieved on stack specific power, then the issue could be revisited. The fuel cell aircraft is a type of cryoplane and therefore it depends on the availability of massive amounts of hydrogen. A hybrid concept could be proposed for a long range aircraft: a fuel cell working at its maximum efficiency and sized for cruise and conventional aero-engines for take-off, working at idle at cruise. In conclusion, Nuclear propulsion has no future for air transport, except maybe if a new fission concept can be developed. The synthetic biofuel produced from biomass is technically attractive in the medium term. Fuel cell propulsion technology must be improved to be considered for a long term vision.
Fuselage LH2 Tanks, Blended Wing Body, Continuous Moldline Flaps, Distributed LH2 Propulsion, and Forward and Aft Noise Shielding Air Traffic Control
About ATM, Eurocontrol presented the SESAR program to improve flight efficiency. If we could remove delays in Europe, the problem will not be that acute. (15 million minutes not necessary, 1,5 B$ of wasted operational costs, fuel and more than 1 Mt of CO2 emitted) If we try a synthesis, the main objectives for next twenty years are reducing weight and drag for new aircraft, use bio-fuel or liquid hydrogen and improve the ATC system. This last objective will stay very difficult in Europe without a common government with a common ATC system. Its not only a question of technologies, but a human factors question! European ATC system has to advance with the controllers.^
Photo: EUROCONTROL
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4 Stripless Systems
proach to technological innovations often produces far-from-favourable results. If some such transitions do succeed, that success is often only achieved with major investment or generous lead times, or with the less-than-total acceptance of the users concerned. In view of this, it was decided to adopt the new stripless system gradually, in a series of subprojects or functional batches. This progressive and dynamic approach not only helped raise user acceptance; it also greatly facilitated the requisite training of the operations staff involved. None of these processes would have been possible, however, without the active involvement of working controllers throughout the projects development, from the first preliminary analyses through to the new systems implementation. Similarly, the projects success could not have been achieved without controllers tolerance and acceptance of the sometimes substantial inconveniences at certain transition points along the way.
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4 Stripless Systems
Assistance in determining exit parameters The new systems Exit Condition Automation Tool (ECAT) alerts the planning controllers for each sector to any potential conicts that are detected by the system at the points where the trafc being handled will leave the control centres airspace. In this example, ECAT is agging an exit conict for ights EZS1094 and RYR973G, which both have an XFL of 280 at the Dijon exit point (DJL), and is suggesting resolving the conict by assigning Flight Level 260 to one of these ights.
4 Conict detection The new systems conict detection tools the Horizontal Scanning Tool (HST) and the Dynamic Scanning Tool (DST) help controllers in the scanning they conduct for their medium-term trafc planning. In the HST display below, a conict has been detected for ights AZA9F7 and HLF807, which have both been cleared to y at Flight Level 370. In 6 minutes and 19 seconds, these ights will cross paths with a minimum separation of 8.9 NM.
4 Electronic coordination
As it is now performed electronically, the coordination between planning controllers and executive controllers within each sector and between sectors can now be effected silently and in real time via the radar screens. All such actions are based on proactive trafc monitoring and suggesting ight levels using a downstream-upstream approach, rather than via upstream-downstream requests. In other words, it is the next or downstream sector in the sequence that will suggest a ight level (possibly with conditions) to the upstream sector, which is currently in contact with the ight or is about to begin managing it.
that a technical malfunction might take. One particular innovation has been the development of a new Emergency Display (EMDIS) screen, which would compensate for the lack of paper strips in the event of a major failure of the principal system.
per movement partly by enabling the controller to focus solely on the screen, but also thanks to the efficiency of the systems human-machine interface. This working comfort has itself translated not only into a tangible increase in performance, but into enhanced safety, too.
Job satisfaction
Results with the new system to date have been convincingly positive. This is confirmed by the controllers, who appreciate the convenience that the new tools provide, and the flexibility with which they can be adapted to any traffic situation and any controllers needs. Above all, the new tools have greatly reduced workload
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4 A380
The A380 is the largest airliner ever built. The A380 is certificated to carry as many as 853 passengers; however most A380 customers have chosen a three-class configuration with a typical capacity of 500 seats.
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Experience
With over 3300 flight hours of A380 flying to date, the controllers unit of Toulouse-Blagnac has gained extensive experience on the new aircraft. From the point of view of performance the A380 is very easy to integrate in a radar vectoring approach. The speed range of the A380 provides good opportunity to the controllers to accommodate it with other aircraft, regardless of their size or speed. According to airline crew who have flown the A380, it is as manoeuvrable as an A319! Even at maximum takeoff weight, the A380 can directly reach the initial cruising altitude of FL350 in 28 minutes and 204 nautical miles, and cruise at 0.85 Mach. Runway performance and occupancy times are also very good. During the recent A380 route proving flights to the United States, the A380 landed at JFK at very close to maximum landing weight, yet spent less than one minute on the runway after touchdown. On the ground, the Blagnac taxiways intersecting at 90 are no problem for the A380, and following certification by the EASA, there are no operating restriction on the 45-meter wide runways. A useful aid for A380 crews is an on-board taxi camera that provides an external view of the position of both the nose and the main gear wheels.
Flight Testing
During the flight test for certification, the five A 380 flight test aircraft (4 Trent 900 powered and 1 GP7200 powered) have flown a large part of the test program in the Toulouse-Blagnac TMA. The Toulouse Approach Centre provides the ATC services in this TMA. Around 70 civilian controllers plus 10 test and acceptance traffic controllers serve in the centre. For civilian IFR traffic, controllers provides normal ATC services. They also provide tower services and radar control during controller training. Part of the IFR approach room is reserved for CER (a French test and acceptance navigation control center). Blagnac is also a flight test centre with air traffic control officers specialising in CER. These controllers are trained for this specific role under the authority of DGA (French Defense Procurement Agency). The CER is used by the French flight test center to conduct flight tests for aircraft and navigation system tests as well as acceptance flights.
Performance Max cruising speed M 0.88 Long range cruising speed: 0.85 Mach Range: 8,000nmTake off eld length at MTOW: 2,970 m, Sea level, ISA+15C conditions Landing eld length at MLW: 2,010 m at seal level Can reach FL350 in 28 min as an initial cruise altitude. Max cruise altitude FL430 Approach speed at MLW: 138 kts, same as the A320
Powerplants Four 311kN (70,000lb) thrust class Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance (General Electric-Pratt & Whitney) GP-7200 turbofans
Capacity Standard seating for 555 passengers on two decks in a three-class arrangement. Qantas plans to t its aircraft with 501 seats (in three classes). A380 has 50% more oor area but only 35% more seats (in 555 seat conguration) than the 747-400, allowing room for passenger amenities such as bars, gymnasiums and duty free shops
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4 A380
Wake Turbulence
There have been many questions about A380 wake turbulence. Airbus has accordingly performed an unprecedented amount of wind tunnel and flight tests. In November 2005, with the first international flights of the A380 imminent as part of the flight test programme, ICAO issued highly conservative interim guidance on wake vortex separations based on the very limited data available at that time. For approach, the guidance stated that any aircraft following the A380 should maintain a 10nm separation. In order to replace the very restrictive November 2005 Interim Guidance before the start of A380 Technical Route Proving, ICAO agreed to issue a new State Letter. This new set of rules was based on the recommendations coming from the A380 Wake Vortex Steering group, a group consisting of the FAA, Eurocontrol, JAA-Ops and Airbus, with ICAO as an observer. Several flight tests and simulation were conducted to produce these recommendations. This letter was issued on 9th October 2006. In the new State Letter ICAO classified the A380 as a member of the Heavy aircraft category, but with additional separation between it and following aircraft for the arrival and departure phases of flight. In all other respects the A380 would be treated like any other Heavy aircraft. The Toulouse Blagnac controllers currently uses the following set of separation rules which reflect the October 2006 State Letter. Radar separation minima
Follower A380800 A380800 Heavy Leading Medium Light 4 nm 4 nm MRS MRS Heavy 6 nm 4 nm MRS MRS Medium 8 nm 5 nm MRS MRS Light 10 nm 6 nm 5 nm MRS
Where MRS is the Minimum Radar Separation applicable at the airport. Horizontal and vertical spacing (cruise) Same rules as for other aircraft.
Where MRS is the Minimum Radar Separation applicable at the airport. Time separation minima:
Follower A380800 A380800 Heavy Medium Light No restriction No restriction No restriction No restriction Heavy 120 sec No restriction No restriction No restriction Medium 180 sec 120 sec No restriction No restriction Light 240 sec 180 sec No restriction No restriction
Departure
(interim values, currently under review)
Follower A380800 A380800 Heavy Medium Light No restriction No restriction No restriction No restriction Heavy 120 sec 60 sec * No restriction No restriction Medium 180 sec 120 sec No restriction No restriction Light Leading 180 sec 120 sec No restriction No restriction
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ICAO classied the A380 as a member of the Heavy aircraft category, but with additional separation between it and following aircraft for the arrival and departure phases of ight.
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4 A380
Photo: Airbus
First Flight
The author has flown on the A380, and it was an exciting experience. The cockpit is very spacious and uses the same cockpit philosophy and operating procedures as the A320 and A330/A340 families, while also benefiting from advances in technology for displays, flight management systems and navigation. The growing numbers of pilots already qualified on Airbus fly-by-wire aircraft will feel right at home on the A380 flight deck. The new Airbus airliner uses the same cockpit philosophy and operating procedures as the A320 and A330/A340 Families, while also benefiting from advances in technology for displays, flight management systems and navigation. The A380 cockpit will have eight large identical, interactive displays on the
Photo: Airbus H.Gousse
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4 ATC Maastricht
4 SENSIS stand
Photo: JL
The Exhibition
The Exhibition hall had a real buzz to it: lights, action and even music! What particularly caught my eye (and ear) amongst the stands? The superb quality of the natural warmth, colour and detail of the new Imagine graphics on the Micro Nav airfield simulator. The eavesdropping speech recognition system designed to drive Frequentis integrated tower tools and EFPS system. ADS B displays of London terminal and enroute traffic by both Qinetic and FRA. An intriguing system called The Intelligent Airport an integrated approach to providing an Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems by Transtech Airport Solutions.
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Drawback: the dates are almost exactly the same as the 2008 IFATCA Conference! ence for the sessions. Registration and Entry to the Exhibition was however free. consider intervening before the European Commission chose to impose FABs from the top. There was also a lot of frustration that so far SESAR output lacked detail and was rather un-ambitious. There was an expectation, (almost a demand), in some quarters that the forthcoming SESAR Operational Concept be much more detailed and ambitious. There was quite a lot of information on the new NextGeneration Air Transportation (NGATS) System project from US sources, but again the impression was that it was very much top down and lacked detail. There was also frustration expressed that the US/SESAR liaison was ineffective, more a political gesture than a real process.^
The Conference
The Conference lasts for two days and this year was looking very much at the future of ATM. There was a truly international range of speakers and some useful question and answer sessions each day. The scope of the Conference, taken from their web site was The key political challenges to developing trans-national ATM services. The key technologies, ground-based and airborne, which will be required. How appropriate safety management systems will be integrated. Views of developing new ATM solutions from dynamic aviation growth areas such as the Far East. How aircraft operators view the current plans how they want to see the next generation of ATM service provision improved. The implications for mitigating the impact of aviation on the environment for ATM service providers. The evolving role of controllers. The current state of ATM research. The changing relationship between manufacturers and ANS service providers. How airports will work to improve their aircraft throughput rates. The impact of emerging new aircraft on the developing ATM infrastructure.
IFATCA Presentation
Controllers views were presented by IFATCA. One criticism was that there was no day or part day registration for Conference, which perhaps limited the size of the available audi-
There was also a lot of frustration that so far SESAR output lacked detail and was rather un-ambitious.
4 RAYTHEON
stand
Photo: JL
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4 ATC Maastricht
What is COOPANS?
^ by Philippe Domogala, Editor
During the Maastricht ATC 2007 exhibition 3 ANSPs CEOs, together with the manufacturer Thales, gave a press conference on their alliance, called COOPANS (For Cooperation between ANSPs). The CEOs from Denmark, Sweden, Ireland explained that as they bought the same system (Thales Eurocat) they decided to co-operate on the customisation in order to save costs. In Denmark, for instance they say they saved between 30 and 50% of development costs because of this common standardization. They agreed to make updates every 18
4 THALES stand
Photo: JL
months only. They said We have to resist the urge to develop, or even build our own systems just on the argument that we have a complex and unique airspace or problems. Thales said: We are not developing standards outside ICAO. It seems that ICAO wants to stay away in the future from setting standards, but wants to concentrate on applying those that already exists. The aim is to be compatible and inter-operable .The aim is to implement identical systems in the 3 countries by 2009.^
4 The 4
COOPANS CEOs: M.Dambaek (Denmark) E.Brennan (Ireland) Th.Allard ( Sweden), and A. De Juniac (Thales)
Photo: Thales
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4 CISM
Suicide
Germany CISM peers had to deal with such an event in the form of a suicide of a colleague. In a close environment such as a Control team in an ACC, this can have devastating effects. It was also a traumatic experience for the CISM peers involved with this event in February 2006 in Frankfurt ACC. The biggest question that came out of this experience is: how to inform other colleagues. Most of these colleagues felt both guilty (why have they not been able to foresee this?) and Anger (Why this?). Some of the CISM Peers themselves knew personally the person, and that added to the difficulty. controllers involved in the Collision last September (covered extensively in the last The Controller).This was a very emotional presentation that revealed many issues. Isabel had to forget everything she had learned and improvise from day one. She was so overwhelmed by the requests that she said she worked on auto-pilot for the whole duration of her visit, only sleeping 3 to 4 hours a night. (Brazil controllers involved were all military, and all in desperate need of help). The lessons learned from her experience: It was unique, very challenging but emotionally very demanding she said. a Team should provide CISM, not only one person and there is a need for a coordinator To maintain confidentiality is important, and one has to be careful about the level of personal involvement. And she concluded by saying: After such a CISM intervention, there is a need for your own debriefing and for a period of rebuilding yourself If one does not take care, one can become also a person in need of CISM! perceive that culture. As Aviation is already a multi cultural environment, it is essential for everyone to recognize the differences, especially when dealing with CISM. The forum was followed by a traditional dinner where everyone brings a specialty from its own region, and that also was definitively another good intracultural experience! ^
Lessons Learned
The lessons learned from that experience were: In order to get rid of those guilt feelings, Psychiatrists will tell you that when someone has decided, or planned to commit suicide, there is almost nothing anyone can do verbally (i.e. with small talks ) to reverse his decision. Peers should try not to be alone when talking to staff, should prepare well beforehand, should deal only with the facts (not rumors), should not overdo it, should offer help, and should ask for full cooperation of management.
Multicultural Differences
The rest of the Forum consisted of many small presentations in which each countrys representative had to present their own cultural strong and weak points, and how other
To maintain condentiality is important, and one has to be careful about le level of personal involvement (I. Cambraia)
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4 Human Factors
It was only a couple of years ago when our Controller Association EGATS with the effort and knowledge of Philippe (yes, the Editor, but back then a center supervisor at Maastricht UAC and EGATS valuable asset) started seriously thinking about reporting voluntarily and in total confidentiality incidents that did not qualify for mandatory reporting.
Non Punitive
The ever increasing traffic and complexity at the center, along with the experience of other associations, showed the need of this project to be developed and implemented in order to maintain a certain level of safety. It was about giving a voice to controllers in a direct and non-punitive way on every aspect of our profession, with special attention to safety related matters. We felt that listening actively to the end users of our system were the primary ways to prevent mishaps from happening rather than tackling problems after they had happened.
sues came into play, not least an organizational and logistical problem. This process obviously took up some time, as it was not only a matter of finding a proper place for the Reports incoming box where controllers could drop their forms or where to find those forms and make sure there is always a proper availability, but also who was responsible for taking out the forms. For this we created a small group of 3 controllers Peers, known as trustees.
Finding Trustees
They are the only ones to know the identity of the reporting persons. They then de-identify the reports (by removing the top part of the report containing the identity and returning that part to the controller, as proof of confidentiality and receipt). They then pass the de-identified report to an Occurrence manager who then distribute them to the right management person. An answer is expected within the following six weeks, a length of time necessary to give a comprehensive answer and eventually find solutions to a reported problem. Unfortunately not every problem has a clear and possible solution. Both management and the controllers welcomed the idea of having three EGATS board members acting as trustees, and a very professional and qualified colleague was identified and chosen as Occurrences Manager. The project is known in Maastricht UAC as INREP
Implementation Difficulties
The road towards implementation hasnt been always as easy as we all hoped for, with few setbacks and delays along the way. Meetings were held with management, the centers Safety Manager and Eurocontrols legal services to find a satisfactory common legal agreement on which we could base the foundations for this important project. A pivotal point was the protection of the identities of the reporting controllers. This proved to be a tough point to agree upon, as the legal systems of the 4 countries were are providing ATS for, had to be taken into consideration together with the special European status of the Eurocontrol agency. But in all fairness, even if all the parties involved in the discussions were after different goals, the commitment shown by everyone played a key role to unblock this complicated situation and agree on a common set of rules. When everything was set and done, other is-
Convincing Staff
Then the whole procedure had to be prepared and explained clearly to both management and controllers, in order to win everyones trust and make the result a success. For this, a series of briefings were set up, with all controllers and other personnel including management invited to attend. Although the very first briefings didnt see a high level of attendance, word spread quickly within the operational staff and the following briefings saw a very active and interested attendance.
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4 Human Factors
So, finally, in June 2006 the INREP project was up and running, with the blessing of all personnel who saw a valuable way to have an impact on safety in a more direct, personal way. It was felt (expecially within the controller community) that too often in the past their opinions and concerns were bypassed or simply put on hold. Now, they would be able to express their concerns on a series of issues and they would get an answer within a limited time frame. easy task. The difficult part consists in giving a comprehensive answer to a report by both not giving away the identity of the reporting person by remaining as general as possible with the wording, but at the same time trying to clearly explain what was reported in order for the answer to make sense to everyone. The last bulletin, especially, drew some criticisms from all parties precisely for not being as clear as all hoped. Its obviously a learning process, and all the feedback is welcome to improve communications between parties. The last bulletin, has already addressed this problem and will surely be more satisfactory for everyone. But, nevertheless, the criticism shows that INREP is taken seriously by everyone, and how people are waiting for the problems to be addressed and answered.
Share experiences, [.] to prevent mishaps to happen rather than tackle problems after they had happen.
Management Approval
Furthermore, INREP enjoyed the approval from both management and operational personnel, which is more rare than a seeing a DC8, nowadays. Getting the input from our controllers or engineers, and having the commitment of management to follow up the important issues is gold. At much the same time, the TRM (team resource management) was introduced into Maastricht UAC, along with a brief introduction on INREP to their attendees and thus even more exposure to the project. For myself, being both an INREP trustee and a TRM facilitator, its been a great satisfaction to see the INREP project taking shape and enjoy a high level of professional input by our colleagues.
A Success
All considered, and taking into account the high number of INREP forms received in nearly a year since implementation, (more than 80) this project continues to be a success. It was hard work to shape it and bring it to life, but now the important thing is to keep the momentum. The feed back bulletin is to be as clear and professional as possible in order to keep our colleagues interested and involved. Some reported issues have been already addressed and corrective measures taken, and the satisfaction amongst our personnel was rather clear. Issues now can be addressed and prevented rather than be fixed only after a serious problem has occurred. Most importantly, finally everyone involved feels responsible for safety in any form and shape, and this is the culture we always hoped for at our center. ^
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SPOTLIGHT
Slater
Welcome to our popular Corporate Members feature Spotlight. In this issue I have chosen to revisit a dynamic company based in the south of England who are at the forefront of ATM simulation for training, design and evaluation tasks. Since we first turned the spotlight on them two years ago, they have won major international projects and have launched a suite of revolutionary visualisation tools. Because I feel the information Micro Nav has provided will be of great interest to you, our readers, I have decided to make this the first of a two-part feature on
es and customised emulations to BEST so that the new systems being introduced at Heathrow are included in the training with high fidelity. These include: the electronic flight strip system; the lighting control panel; the ground movement display and approach monitoring system. Simulator ground traffic automation and pseudo-pilot facilities have also been enhanced to meet the operational needs of the new Heathrow airport. The simulation covers: day; night and dusk; reduced visibility; a wide range of weather conditions with rain, fog and snow; emergencies and unusual situations. The eye point can be jumped into different working locations as well as into aircraft and ground vehicles. Integrated area, approach, tower and ground operations can be trained and evaluated. Powerful data preparation tools allow NATS to cover different aircraft performance capabilities, traffic levels and operating conditions with full recording and replay capabilities. The new tower at Heathrow went operational in April. Meanwhile, the BEST tower simulator continues to work hard supporting the next phase of the airport development programme.
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SPOTLIGHT
Irish Aviation Authority, Ireland
The IAA placed a major order with Micro Nav for BEST ATC simulators in 2005. A ten sector radar simulator and two 3D tower simulators were commissioned in August 2005. They are being used for a range of in house and third party commercial training. Micro Nav are emulating the Thales Cairde radar displays to give the IAA the operational look and feel that they need for their training. (see below).
Skyguide, Switzerland
Skyguide, the joint civil and military ATC authority of Switzerland, is a long term user of Micro Nav simulators. Their new training and operations centre at Dbendorf, near Zurich uses BEST extensively for their training. They will have two 360-degree tower simulators, six combined 3D-2D tower simulators and large radar simulators all driven by BEST. Further 3D-2D simulators are housed in two vehicles delivering mobile simulation across Switzerland. BEST is also being widely used by Skyguide as a stimulator in their training and development systems for their operational radar workstations. Micro Nav have developed interfaces so that BEST stimulates the Skyguide systems with radar data, flight information, AFTN and OLDI messages that match the operational standards and formats.
NAVIAIR, Denmark
Naviair are using BEST to drive their training and development system as part of the DATMAS programme. BEST inputs a range of radar, flight plan and information data including Asterix, OLDI, AFTN and CPDLC. An adjacent sector workstation has also been developed to support OLDI transactions and associated controller training.
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4 Focus
4 Oslo airport
Photo: DP
Periods of Unrest
But Norwegian ATC has been in the news for some time, especially after the decision to close down some facilities and airports, but especially after the sudden announcement of the closure of Royken the main ACC in the country, south of Oslo. A few years back, the closure of Fornebu airport, close to Oslo in favor of Gardermoen, some 65 Km away caused some waves, it was followed by the closure of Trondheim ACC, in the middle of the country. This combined with an acute controller shortage and a few unfortunate management decisions by a newly appointed Director, who was a lady with a vision, but a vision that was not shared by the controllers, and confrontation followed. This led to a period of unrest that made the headlines. The controllers remained united behind their Association President, Rolf Skrede, who became a television and media star in the Country, as a result. One has to realize that Air transport in Norway is essential. The country is very large (over 2000Km long) with mountainous areas, cut by fjords, making ground transportation difficult and lengthy. Also the country location at the far North of Europe means that business connections and holiday travel is mostly done by plane. Therefore any serious ATC disruption is particularly felt by everyone inside the country. Finally the old management resigned and a new director was appointed, who immediately restored peace (as well as a substantial increase of salaries for controllers) and today the working relations are once again harmonious. Smiles are back on faces of staff going to work.
glass elevator running on the side. (not good if you are afraid of height) It is equipped with latest technology, bright displays, no strips, no paper. The working positions are variable in height, so that controllers can choose to work sitting or standing up, and adjust the height of the table according their preferences and own height. The large displays can also electrically be tilted to avoid sun glare . It is a pleasant atmosphere and controllers working there are happy. Working with electronic displays (and strips) poses no problems to the controllers I spoke to, and the ergonomics looks very good as well. Traffic in Norway is booming thanks to a strong economy driven by oil, and when we know the price of petrol today, we understand why.
Photo: DP
Safety Issues
The new Management and the controllers have decided to concentrate their efforts in the future on safety related issues, especially when introducing changes. Basically how changes affect safety, how to discover latent failures (those which are buried inside the system for years waiting to pop up one day) and how to interpret incidents and act upon them. A long term study has been initiated, and everyone is interested in the results. Eric Lofquist, a former US navy pilot, married to a Norwegian controller, is currently preparing a PhD on this subject and explains part of his work as the art of measuring nothing meaning how to measure safety in an already ultra safe environment, and how to draw meaningful conclusions when you have an accident is the challenge in safety monitoring.^
Photo: DP
Gardermoen Tower
Visiting Gardermoen Tower is impressive. The Tower is 92m above ground, and has a
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4 Humor
It was afternoon when I back home after long day of hard work, I was taking my lunch while watching TV it was the film Back to the Future, I like this film although I have seen it several times.
The ACC
When I went to ACC I saw every one working through keyboard, yes it was data link communications between aircraft and flying cars and air traffic controllers, but there was some thing strange, how could this few number of controllers manage this huge quantity of traffic, so I went to the supervisor screen to see it. I found a big surprised waiting for me, I discovered that a lot of controllers were working at home, yes believe it or not they are separating at home through data link communications by their personal computers and the few numbers of controllers in ACC was only to coordinate between the controllers at their home and for emergency cases.
The Dream
I fell asleep and had a very strange dream, I was inside the events of the film, yes, inside the film of back to the future, I met Marty driving his time machine. I introduce myself and asked him to enter date of 2050 into the keypad to see the air traffic control in the future, and after few seconds I found my self in the year 2050. I went to my ACC, I was surprised, there were a lot of screens, a lot of traffic in each one but very few controllers, what is going on? I asked my self and went to see the radar screen, I saw the map of many FIRs, yes it was the map of Africa FIR, It was a map of entire continent so I decided to check what is going on. I went to the library, I didnt find anybody but I heard an electronic voice: can I help you I said yes, I want to read the current ATC manual, the electronic voice said please take a seat I take a seat and suddenly a screen appears on front of me, then a map of the world appeared in the screen with only six (6) ACCs, yes only one (1) ACC for each continent.
guage is not English language fired most of the controllers who didnt pass level 4. Now the controllers of this federation are working in private companies which offer separation services for a cheap price but below flight level 100. When I read about the new federation IFFATCA I decided to return to the Future, so I left the library and asked Marty to enter date of 2007 into the keypad. When I came back I heard a human voice say wake up dad its 8 oclock it was my little child Rahma waking me up. It was just dream. ^
IFATCA in 2050
But, what about IFATCA in 2050, so I decided to go back to the library again, I told the electronic voice that I wanted to read some thing about IFATCA I take a seat again and on the screen I saw the web site of IFATCA. The home page was the same as 2007 IFATCA has been representing Air Traffic Controllers for more than 83 years, and has more than 50,000 members in over 200 countries. I asked my self how could the number of the controllers be the same as 2007, it is supposed to be more than that number with this density of traffic of flights and flying cars, and I discovered the bad news: it was the existence of a new federation, it called IFFATCA International Federation of Fired Air Traffic Controllers Association, it was established in 2010 after applying level 4 of English language in March 2008. The civil aviation authorities in the countries whose native lan-
The Airspace
The airways are straight lines from any aerodrome to another one inside the continent, no restricted, prohibited or dangerous areas, few conflicts points and all the flights seem to be above flight level 450, and with just 200 feet vertical separation. Then I saw the map below flight level 450, totally different and another type of separation, it was separation between flying cars from the ground till flight level 300 with vertical separation of 1000 feet because it was a new technology and it will be 500 feet in 2055. The gap between flight level 300 and flight level 450 was reserved to military flights. Suddenly I remembered some thing, there
Now the controllers of this federation are working in private companies which offer separation services for a cheap price but below ight level 100.
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4 Africa News
Photo: GATCSA
Attendance
The meeting was graced by eminent personalities, top government officials , the military, pilots, air navigation equipment manufactures, training institutions, university dons, researchers as well as delegates from 25 IFATCA member associations. Zimbabwe and Morocco were also in attendance as observers. Equally impressive was the presence and robust participation of reputable corporate organisations mainly concerned with the growth and development of the aviation industry in the region as well as globally. Some of these organisations were involved in the Meeting as sponsors or exhibitors while others yet participated fully in the deliberations that took place during the meeting. Some of these organisations included ICAO, IATA, CANSO, SWEDAVIA, ATNS, South Africa Weather Service and ASECNA. Others were Flight Craft Aviation, Thales, SAAB Grintek, Denel Aviation, SACAA and AlPA-SA.
The urgent need for African countries to make the nancial investments required to bring up to international standards the 500 national airports and 117 international airports.
Opening Ceremony
The meeting was declared open by the Honourable Minster of Transport, South Africa, Mr Jeff Radebe signifying the importance the South African Government attached to the meeting. In his opening comments, Mr Radebe identified with IFTACA position on the application of Human factors Knowledge being of high priority. He stressed that the goal of the
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4 Africa News
Photo: DP
velopment of a safe and orderly system of air traffic control and upholding a high standard of knowledge and professional efficiency among air traffic controllers. In achieving this, IFATCA cooperates closely with national and international authorities and institutions concerned with air navigation. Mr. Taylor also said that the region offers vast and untapped business opportunities for visionary leaders who could see that the region ,with the saturation in the Western trading block, represented the next phase of explosive economic growth after Asia.
Co-Operation
The meeting therefore was aimed at sensitizing all the stakeholders in the region to the challenge and to stimulate cooperation in the development of strategies and the sourcing of the resources required for the enthronement of aviation safety upon which the expected economic growth and development will be based. He told the meeting that a cream of aviation experts and reputable organisations were at hand to provide participants with latest ideas in their areas of expertise and therefore urged delegates to fully take advantage of the occasion for their professional development by not being passive observers but rather active contributors. He commended the excellent relationship existing between ATNS and GATCSA while urging similar arrangements in other countries of the region. He also commended the management of ATNS for providing a full scholarship for one of the Ugandan controller who was recently pardoned by the Government of Uganda following the intervention of IFATCA. The President and Chief Executive of IFATCA, Mr. Marc Baumgartner who joined the opening ceremony shortly after arrival expressed pleasure for the impressive gathering at the Meeting. He commended GATCSA for accepting the challenge of hosting the meeting and expressed the hope and confidence that it would be worth the while. The guests and delegates at the opening ceremony were thrilled with the impressive performances of the cultural troupe at the occasion .Participants were exposed to the rich cultural heritage of the people of South Africa.
(IFALPA). Others were Koumassou Coulibaly (ASECNA), Patrik Peters (IFATCA EVP Europe), Dr. Glen McDougall, Peter Marais, Colonel E.Zimmer and Dave Gleaves. Some of the topics that were addressed at the meeting by these experts were as follows: State Sovereignty/Airspace Re-organisation Military Coordination ATC Commercialization Policy: Has it Been Effective? Human Resources Safety and regulation Risk and Hazard and Analysis Incident Reporting Systems Business Cases for Africa ATNS, IATA, CANSO
Resolutions
At the end of the robust and incisive discussions at the meeting a number of resolutions were made with a view to improving some of the situations that were found to be of concern to the delegates as they militated against the positive development of ATM in the region. The meeting encouraged national aviation authorities in the region to embrace regional integration of ATM systems. The meeting, while upholding the endeavors of CANSO member nations in the commercialization of air navigation services, cautioned that the process should ensure viability of the concerned organisations through a clear economic and legal regime and that a transition period for the commercialization processes be instituted.
Presentations
The meeting was blessed with the presence of top brass experts and resource persons who freely availed the delegates their expertise and specialties. These The speakers: IFATCA President/CEO Mr. Marc Baumgartner,Mr. Apollo Kharuga (ICAO), Prof Sidney Dekker (University of Lund, Sweden), Mr. Sture Ericsson (Swedavia), Mr. Zephaniah Baliddawa (Uganda CAA), Mr. Alexander ter Kulie (CANSO),Mr. Arthur James Bradshaw (ATM System) and Capt. Mohammed Kheir Hassoun
Photo: ATNS
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4 News
Shannon
On 22nd, 23rd and 24th January 2007, the Technical and Operations Committee (TOC) and the Professional and Legal Committee (PLC) met in Shannon, Ireland. Both Committees were welcomed by Mr. Pat Ryan, Director of Operations for the Irish Aviation Authority. Mr Ryan highlighted the need for an active voice representing the Controller community, and welcomed the IFATCA Committees and wished them a fruitful meeting. After these kind words, the committees went to work and had three long meeting days in preparation for the Istanbul conference. Both committees also had a combined session on the second morning, extensively discussing working papers on new ATM Tower concepts.^
Photo: IAA
French overseas territories to get involved into the four regions of IFATCA, not in the prospect to be more powerful but with the willingness to provide our members with more information that could be useful to improve their working conditions on the technical, professional and legal levels. This could be as well a good opportunity to share their experiences with other people (neighbors sometimes) from the same area.
PCA, formerly representing French controllers in IFATCA, has done a very good work during all these years of activity for IFATCA. APCA was at the very beginning of IFATCA and its contribution to the ATC world is tremendous. Famous characters like J-P Lesueur are still vivid in the memories as the pillars of IFATCA.
ur association is growing fast. The executive committee is now made of a solid and efficient team actively working into the technical, professional and legal commissions. We are seeking representatives from
ctions for the future involvement are quite simple: To improve our membership To increase our influence upon the French CAA To help as much as possible weakest countries to voice out their problems and concerns To stick to IFATCA actuality and be more involved in the increasing challenges IFATCA will have to face in the coming years We are really happy to be back. We look forward to working with all of you. FATCOA Team ^
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4 Asia News
Information Overflow
A great deal of information can now be displayed to the controller. Is all this information useful? Is it assisting the controllers or causing false alarms? Is there too much information presented to the controllers? Professor Sidney Dekker, in his article Human Factor: Conflict Detection and Human-machine Coordination, has pointed out in the conflict detection scenario about what should have been the correct information possibly turning out to be something that may cause mis-interpretation, ending up with a wrong conclusion and the associated human factor issues relating to conflict detection. Therefore, to design a good ATC system, apart from the hardware reliability, one of the most important elements that should be considered is the selection of those functionalities available suitable to the controllers and their operational environment. Who are the best people to do this? Nobody other than the controllers themselves.
Controllers Involvment
With the replacement system, apart from ensuring that there will be good reliability from the engineering side, it is intended there will be wide spread consultation with the operational controllers relating HMI issues, functionalities and ergonomics of ATCC design, etc. Apart from conducting consultation sessions during the various stages of the project stage, an ATC forum has been set up on the intranet to collect frontline inputs and suggestions from the operational controllers. Hong Kong still has a mixture of expatriate and local controllers in the operational force
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The Procedure
With the landing site chosen, the orbiter is rotated tail-first into the direction of travel. The two orbital manoeuvring system engines (in pods on both sides of the tail) are fired for 3 to 4 minutes depending on the path towards the landing site. This not only flips the shuttle to the correct angle for re-entry into the atmosphere, but also slows it down so gravity can start pulling it back towards the ground. This firing is called the de-orbit burn. This typically happens an hour before landing and on the opposite side of the planet to where the landing is foreseen.
Everyone has heard of the Space Shuttle: after it launches into space, it returns to earth landing seemingly as a normal aircraft to be re-used a couple of months later. But describing return to earth a normal flight is a bit too simple
The Runway
The runway 15/33 at Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) is longer than the average runway, about 4,5 km and nearly twice as wide, 91 meters. The Shuttle doesnt need such a long runway, but with only one shot (a go-around is not an option as it has no propulsion when it lands), some extra space is needed just in case. In principle, the Shuttle will land at some 700 meters past the runway threshold. Several different navigation systems help the Orbiter and crew to find their way. First off theres a TACAN that provides guidance from about 145,000 ft altitude. As the Shuttle gets closer (about 18 to 20,000 ft), a Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS) updates the Shuttles navigation systems. The Shuttles crew also use a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) and a Ball-Bar Light System to fly the correct glidepath. In addition to the traditional runway edge and approach light system, the Shuttle Landing Facility has 16 xenon lights that produce 1 billion candlepower with an effective range of about 10 km. These are located at before the threshold and light up the whole runway when needed.
Birds
Birds are of special concern at KSC because most of the Center is a national wildlife refuge that provides a home to more than 330 native and migratory species of birds. Special pyrotechnic and noise-making devices, as well as selective grass cutting, are used to discourage birds around the runway. The runway is checked for foreign objects which could damage the landing Shuttle up to 15 minutes before landing.
The Shuttle lands at 350 km/h, considerably faster than a commercial airliner.
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Approach Speed
To slow down further, the orbiter performs a series of four steep banks, rolling over as much as 80 degrees to one side or the other. The series of banks gives the shuttles track toward landing an appearance similar to an elongated letter S. In the lower atmosphere the orbiter flies much like a conventional glider, except for a much higher descent rate, over 10,000 feet (3 km) per minute. At approximately Mach 3, two air data probes, located on the left and right sides of the Orbiters forward lower fuselage, are deployed to sense air pressure related to vehicles movement in the atmosphere. At about 45,000 ft altitude, the Shuttle will start manoeuvres to intercept the approach corridor. Although it can be flown manually, computers control the craft up to this point a re-entry has only been flown manually once. Although the landing could be done automatically as well, the Shuttle commander assumes manual control, assisted by a Head Up Display, for the last 1,5 minutes of the flight, steering the ve-
Final Approach
During the final approach, the vehicle drops toward the runway 20 times faster than a commercial airliner as its rate of descent and airspeed increase. Around 32 seconds before landing, at around 2000 ft, the pilot flares to a 1.5 degree glide slope, further reducing the speed. At the end of this manoeuvre, the landing gear is lowered: some 15 seconds before touchdown at about 100 ft, it is locked in position. The Shuttle lands at 350 km/h, considerably faster than a commercial airliner. Once the main gear is on the ground, a 12 m drag chute is deployed to help slow down the spaceship. The nose gear touches then touch-
In the lower atmosphere it ies much like a conventional glider, except for a much higher descent rate, over 10,000 feet (3 km) per minute
Photos: NASA
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Charlies Column
Charlies Column
4 If you intent to break the rules,
better be good at it!
Photo: INT
This is why bulldozers and helicopters in that order need two. Further, if helicopters are so safe, how come there are no vintage/ classic helicopter fly-ins? He also had something to say about following the rules:
But then came the showstopper: When asking some questions we found out that an emergency crew sat in the cockpit of the BAC 1-11 just in case, and also performed the take-off and landing phases. Ah.. the full automatic airliner with passengers inside is not for tomorrow I guess!
The rules are a good place to hide if you dont have a better idea and the talent to execute it. But if you deviate from a rule, it must be a flawless performance. (e.g., if you fly under a bridge, dont hit the bridge.)
Automatic Aircraft:
A 1960 old BAC one-eleven airliner was flown last October over England with no pilot in the cockpit in order to test a technology to control UAVs aircraft. The flight lasted 2 hours, and as the BAC 1-11 did not crash it was deemed a success. What I found interesting is that under the British civil aviation law, the pilot controlling the jetliner still had to be on board the aircraft. But he sat at the back of the plane using only a remote control to fly the aircraft. Interesting technology, which was mostly aimed at proving how a fighter pilot can eventually control an UAV at the same time as flying his own jet.
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Next issue will be published on 1st September 2007 4 European Single Sky (SES) and SESAR Will it work? 4 Including an exclusive interview with Luc Tytgat, Head of ATM and of SES, as well as a review of the forthcoming High level group conclusions.
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Photo: AVDP