Will our generation realize NextGen benefits? In the United States, the air traffic control (ATC) system has been – and still is – based on 1940s-era radar technology, which means it runs slowly and inefficiently by twenty-first-century standards. In an effort to address this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under the U.S. Department of Transportation, is implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System – or NextGen for short – which is the new National Airspace System (NAS) designed to transform ATC in the U.S. In fact, the research and planning portion of NextGen began as far back as 2003.
Simply stated: NextGen is a modernization initiative that is moving U.S. aviation away from a radar-based system with radio communications to a satellite-based system, including global-positioning satellites. By design, this should allow ATC to handle three times the volume of air traffic. The phased implementation began in 2012 and will continue until 2025 at least.
The global positioning system (GPS) will take a leading role in ATC moving forward by facilitating shorter routes, less air time, reduced fuel burn, and fewer delays, with increased capacity and smoother traffic flow. Eventually, the system will yield greater safety margins that will permit aircraft to fly closer to one another, take more direct routes and avoid scenarios like aircraft stacking at airports while waiting to land.
The NextGen initiative consists of four main components:
1. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B): ADS-B is a satellite-based surveillance system that will replace the outdated radar-based system currently in operation. ADS-B Out allows aircraft to broadcast data regarding location, airspeed and other information to a network of ground stations, which then relays that data to air traffic control and other aircraft nearby. The system uses GPS technology. The FAA has mandated that all aircraft operating in the U.S. above 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) must be equipped with ADS-B Out equipment by 2020. ADS-B In requires receiving equipment, including an antenna that will allow aircraft and ground facilities to receive data from aircraft operating nearby. The 2020 mandate for aircraft compliance, however, does not apply to ADS-B In.
2. Next Generation Data Communications (Data Comm): Data Comm is a whole new method by which air traffic controllers and pilots will exchange in-flight information via air-to-ground datalink and is intended to supplement traditional voice communications. It will use digital text-based messages and leverage equipment that is already installed in most aircraft. Initially, the system will focus on flight instructions, like flight departure clearance information, for instance, communicated from the airport tower directly to the flight deck but ultimately will include other forms of instruction, requests, and reports. The FAA plans to have Data Comm services fully operational in 56 U.S. airports by the end of 2016.
3. Next Generation Network-Enabled Weather (NNEW): NNEW is a four-dimensional (4-D) weather model that incorporates all points, lateral, vertical, and time dimensions – also known as the 4-D Weather (Wx) Data Cube. The system will be designed to provide fast, reliable access to aviation weather, which in turn will improve efficiency and safety while increasing capacity. The 4-D Wx Data Cube will include a virtual weather network developed and maintained by the FAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), along with commercial weather data providers. All weather-related data will be affixed to coordinate systems as designated units. The system should greatly reduce the need for interpretation and should better enable air transportation decision-making.
4. NAS Voice System (NVS): NVS will be a new voice communications system with flexible networking capabilities. It is a central enabling program for NextGen as it will revolutionize the current voice switch bases that are plagued with supportability issues at present. Seventeen separate switches are currently used in the National Airspace System, which uses a geographic infrastructure to manage it. These switches are static and are limited in their ability to manage varying workloads. Also, many are nearly obsolete or altogether obsolete. NVS will effectively manage the allocation of air traffic controllers to step into overloaded situations without requiring the physical relocation of ATC staff, dynamically reconfiguring the airspace based on the actual workload.
To plan and develop the new modernization components of NextGen, the FAA first consulted with a NextGen Advisory Committee, who then consulted with the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Task Force to map out next steps. The task force is comprised of government entities, the FAA, Department of Defense and NASA as well as industry players: Air Line Pilots Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Boeing, GARMIN, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Stanford University, Lockheed Martin, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and several others.
I will go on to explore some of the challenges to date with the implementation process and some early feedback that the FAA has received regarding their performance-based navigation procedures in major U.S. metroplexes in a future blogpost.
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Niamh McNamara | - 05/13/2020
Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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