OVERVIEW OF FREE FLIGHT
According to the co-designer of the National Airspace System:
- Under National Airspace Redesign, commercial air traffic will freely transit airspace currently reserved for military use. The impact will be greatest near large population centers on the east and west coasts, and will affect many major range/airspace complexes. The DoD Policy Board on Federal Aviation met in March and approved the creation of a flag-level joint DoD/DoT oversight group to address issues associated with allowance of free-flight navigation of commercial aircraft.
- Goal: To safely enable major increases in the capacity and productivity of the National Airspace System (NAS), in all weather conditions, through the development of revolutionary operations systems and vehicle concepts.
NASA research will provide:
* Safe, clear-weather airport capacity in instrument-weather conditions
* Hardware and software decision support tools to enable the "free flight" concept in the NAS
* Critical technologies to enable scheduled civil tiltrotor service, to add capacity and reduce delays
FAA research will provide:
* Surveillance, navigation and landing applications of Global Positioning System technology
* Enhanced aviation weather forecasting capabilities-knowing accurately when and where aviation weather hazards will occur
* Insight into the future roles of pilots and controllers as the NAS evolves towards free flight
* Redesign of the nation's airspace and airport approaches/departures to fully utilize the advances of technology
* Automation tools to support collaborative decision making between air carriers and the FAA and to allow more flexible flight planning
* Exploration of new wake vortex detection and tracking technology
- Introduction
The current air transportation system in the United States is experiencing significant delays, decreased efficiency, and increased costs. This is especially true during adverse weather conditions. Over the next 20 years, the demand for air travel is expected to double, making these problems much more severe unless new capabilities are developed and made operational. To assure that these problems do not become reality, major new improvements to the air transportation system are required. NASA and the FAA are collaborating in these efforts to ensure the efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness of the future National Airspace System.
Airplane taxing down runway
Airplane lined up on the taxiway awaiting take-off.
Goal: To safely enable major increases in the capacity and productivity of the National Airspace System (NAS), in all weather conditions, through the development of revolutionary operations systems and vehicle concepts.
NASA research will provide:
* Safe, clear-weather airport capacity in instrument-weather conditions
* Hardware and software decision support tools to enable the "free flight" concept in the NAS
* Critical technologies to enable scheduled civil tiltrotor service, to add capacity and reduce delays
FAA research will provide:
* Surveillance, navigation and landing applications of Global Positioning System technology
* Enhanced aviation weather forecasting capabilities-knowing accurately when and where aviation weather hazards will occur
* Insight into the future roles of pilots and controllers as the NAS evolves towards free flight
* Redesign of the nation's airspace and airport approaches/departures to fully utilize the advances of technology
* Automation tools to support collaborative decision making between air carriers and the FAA and to allow more flexible flight planning
* Exploration of new wake vortex detection and tracking technology
FAA POC:
Steven J. Brown
202-267-7111
NASA POC:
Dr. J. Victor Lebacqz
650-604-5792
vlebacqz@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Web Site:
www.asc.nasa.gov
Free Flight Phase I
The FAA's Free Flight Phase I (FFP1) program will introduce modernization into the national airspace incrementally-taking a building block approach to fielding new system to provide benefits to users as soon as possible. The goal of FFP1 is to move toward free flight operations by deploying systems based on current R&D prototypes that provide core free flight capabilities. The result will be near-term realization of air traffic management capabilities that have early benefits for service provides and National Airspace System users. FFP1 products will be operational at selected facilities by the close of 2002.
NASA has conducted the enabling research for 3 of the 5 tools under the FAA's Free Flight Phase 1 program.
Traffic Management Advisor-Single Center
Traffic Management Advisor-Single Center (TMA-SC) is based on the research and prototypes of NASA. As deployed under FFP1, TMA-SC provides enroute air traffic controllers and traffic management specialists with computer automation and graphical tools to coordinate arrival traffic. The TMA-SC reduces airspace system delays by enhancing arrival throughput and efficiency of air traffic operations in the extended terminal airspace surrounding major airports-without decreasing safety or increasing controller workload. Efficiency and throughput increases translate into fuel savings to airlines and reduced passenger delays to the public.
Prototypes of TMA have been deployed at five airports, and will be deployed to eight ARTCCs. Remote TMA displays (with no processing or TMA interactive capability) will be deployed to TRACONs and adapted airport towers associated with each TMA site.
American Airlines has expressed great interest in completing the deployment of TMA-SC.
FAA POC:
John Rekstad
202-233-2107
john.rekstad@faa.gov
NASA POC:
Dr. Heinz Erzberger
650-604-5425
herzberger@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Web Site:
www.ctas.arc.nasa.gov
Surface Movement Advisor
Surface Movement Advisor Free Flight Phase 1 (SMA FFP1) facilitates the sharing of aircraft arrival information with airlines to augment decision-making regarding the surface movement of aircraft.
* Although the SMA concept is based on the NASA research, the SMA FFP1 implementation is significantly different from the NASA prototype currently in use at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.
* Automated radar terminal system data is available to airlines so they will have predicted knowledge of aircraft arrival information that can be used to compute an aircraft's estimated touchdown time.
* SMA FFP1 information has been available at Philadelphia International and Detroit Metropolitan Airports since mid-December 1998.
* Future SMA FFP1 sites are: Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Newark, and Teterboro Airports.
* SMA FFP1 is expected to enhance airline gate and ramp operations that could lead to prevention of gridlock and reduction of taxi delays.
* Northwest Airlines is using one of FAA's proof of concept displays in their system operations center and reap tremendous benefit from it. NWA believes they can save between three and four aircraft diversions per week at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
FAA POC:
202- 233-2106
ken.klasinski@faa.gov
NASA POC:
Dr. Heinz Erzberger
650-604-5425
herzberger@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Web Site:
www.ctas.arc.nasa.gov
USER Request Evaluation Tool
The USER Request Evaluation Tool (URET) provides to air traffic controllers automatic conflict detection, trial planning for assistance with conflict resolution or user requests, conformance monitoring of current flight trajectory, and some electronic flight data capability.
Through URET's strategic notification and trial planning capabilities, a controller has more lead time to assess traffic situations and identify appropriate conflict-free resolutions. The additional lead time allows a controller to properly assess and confidently approve more pilot-requested flight plan amendments, knowing they will be conflict-free. URET will be deployed incrementally to seven ARTCCs in order to incorporate functional improvements and user feedback.
FAA POC:
Tom Spellerberg
202-233-2111
tom.spellerberg@faa.gov
Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool
Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST) is based on the research and prototypes of NASA. As deployed under Free Flight Phase 1, pFAST will provide decision-support and tactical management tools for TRACON controllers and Traffic Management Coordinators (TMCs). pFAST allows more efficient use of both arrival and departure runways during periods of peak load. It enhances the controllers' situation awareness, especially during heavy-demand periods. A NASA pFAST prototype is in use at the Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON. This will be replaced with the FAA's implementation of pFAST at Dallas-Fort Worth and several more TRACONs during FFP1. Remote pFAST displays (with no processing or pFAST interactive capability) will be deployed to adapted airport towers associated with each pFAST site.
American Airlines has expressed great interest in completing the deployment of pFAST. The improved efficiencies translate to fuel savings and more on-time arrivals.
FAA POC:
John Rekstad
202-233-2107
john.rekstad@faa.gov
NASA POC:
Dr. Heinz Erzberger
650-604-5425
herzberger@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Web Site:
www.ctas.arc.nasa.gov
Collaborative Decision Making
The ability to forecast and share airport and airspace demand is constrained by the unavailability of up-to-date intent information from NAS users. As a result, the FAA and NAS users lack an accurate common situational awareness on which to base flight planning decisions and improve NAS utilization.
The near term objectives for CDM are to:
* Validate estimated reduction in delays resulting from increased information sharing across all airports in the U.S.
* Evaluate and institutionalize new procedures that improve flight routing under severe weather avoidance conditions and congestion
* Continue the expansion of joint FAA/Industry information exchange mechanisms
* Release FAA real time sensor and resource status data to improve efficiency
The FAA's Free Flight Phase 1 Special Program Office is addressing the goals and objectives of CDM by continuing to engage the user community to achieve the consensus capabilities articulated by RTCA. Specifically, FFP1 continues to interact with the operational community to ensure that all capabilities deployed address real operational concerns.
FAA POC:
Steve Alvania
202-233-2142
steve.alvania@faa.gov
Safe Flight 21
The Safe Flight 21 program is a joint government/industry initiative designed to demonstrate and validate, in a real-world environment, the capabilities of advanced communication, navigation, and surveillance, and air traffic procedures associated with free flight. The program will demonstrate the following free flight operational enhancements selected by RTCA, using automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) as an enabling technology:
* Weather and other information in the cockpit.
* Affordable means to reduce controlled flight into terrain (cfit)
* Improved capability for approaches in low visibility conditions
* Enhanced capability to see & avoid adjacent traffic
* Enhanced capability to delegate aircraft separation authority to the pilot
* Improved capability for pilots to navigate airport taxiways
* Enhanced capability for controllers to manage aircraft and vehicular traffic on the airport surface
* Surveillance coverage in nonradar airspace
* Improved separation standards
The Safe Flight 21 program will also take safety, efficiency, capacity, certification, pilot/controller situation awareness, human factors, spectrum, and affordability issues into account over the course of demonstrating these nine operational enhancements.
The potential market for ADS-B implementation is huge. If ADS-B, FIS-B, and TIS-B are included in the NAS Architecture, over 10,000 aircraft and thousands of ground stations may need to be equipped. The international marketplace is just as large. Success of the Safe Flight 21 demonstrations are critical to opening these markets up.
As an enabling technology, ADS-B will provide the means for airborne aircraft to broadcast their position to other aircraft and to ground stations. ADS-B avionics will periodically transmit aircraft location, altitude, velocity and other data derived from either GPS or flight instruments via a digital link. On-board aircraft, ADS-B information will be displayed on a multifunction display, such as a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI). The intent of broadcasting this information is to increase the pilots' situational awareness of ADS-B equipped aircraft. ADS-B can also be used to provide air traffic controllers a consolidated picture of the controlled airspace. The information provided to controllers will be more frequently updated than that provided by other surveillance equipment. In addition, ADS-B can be used as the enabling technology for Flight Information ServicesÜBroadcast (FIS-B) and Traffic Information ServicesÜBroadcast (TIS-B), which will allow weather and other data available on the ground to be provided to the cockpit. As a result, ADS-B capabilities have the potential to significantly increase flight safety, system capacity, and overall efficiency of flight operations.
The Safe Flight 21 program is based on the principle that government and industry will share in the development of a global air transportation system, as we move into the free flight era.
* The FAA is collaborating with industry via RTCA to ensure that the scope, resources, schedule, and execution of the Safe Flight 21 program reflects government/industry consensus. The vehicle for this collaboration is the RTCA Safe Flight 21 Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the Aircraft Operators and Pilots Association (AOPA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), National Air Traffic Control Association (NATCA), Cargo Airline Association (CAA), U.S. Airways, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and the FAA.
* The FAA and the CAA are entering into a partnership to pool their resources, in a collaborative effort to conduct an operational evaluation of ADS-B capabilities in the Ohio Valley. The CAA began equipping its aircraft in late 1998 as a prelude to in-flight evaluations, focusing on the air-air use of the equipment for see and avoid applications. A subsequent operational evaluation, currently scheduled for Summer 1999, will employ both avionics and ground stations to demonstrate expected operational enhancements to be provided by ADS-B, including the broadcast of TIS and FIS information, and at the same time gather critical data on the three candidate ADS-B links (Mode Select (Mode S) Extended Squitter, and Universal Access Transceiver (UAT), VHF Data Link (VDL) Mode 4) and operational procedures.
* The FAA is working with air carriers in the Bethel, Alaska region, through the "Capstone" initiative, to improve aviation safety while offering greater efficiencies to operators. "Capstone" will concentrate on the evaluation and implementation of three operational enhancements in the region: Weather and Other Information in the Cockpit, Affordable Means to Reduce CFIT, and Enhanced Capability to See and Avoid Adjacent Traffic. An initial operational evaluation is scheduled for Summer 1999, with limited equipage and subsequent operational evaluations following in 2000.
* The FAA is working with United Airlines to evaluate Paired Approach and Runway Incursion Protection ADS-B applications at San Francisco. Simulation studies have been performed, and an operations concept is being developed; Further operational evaluations of these applications are currently in the planning stages.
* The FAA has started soliciting inputs from major potential avionics providers on how to make ADS-B equipment affordable enough to promote wide-spread voluntary equipage.
FAA POC:
Richard Lay
202-267-7768
Richard.Lay@faa.gov
Global Positioning System
Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
Wide Area Augmentation System
The WAAS is a geographically broad augmentation to the basic GPS service designed to improve the accuracy, integrity, and availability of the basic GPS service. Initial benefits will be provided by Phase I WAAS.
When Phase I is operational, WAAS will provide pilots with an en route through precision approach capability. Enroute through non-precision approaches will be available throughout entire service area with an availability of 99.9 percent. Precision approach coverage will be provided in central regions of the continental United States (CONUS) serving approximately 50 percent of CONUS airports. Availability for precision approach is designed to be 95 percent.
Although WAAS offers the potential to replace Very-High-Frequency Omni-Directional Radar (VOR), Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), and Non-Directional Beacons (NDB) in the U.S., further enhancements are needed to the Phase I WAAS before this is possible.
The commissioning of Phase I WAAS for public use will take place in the Fall of 2000; however, in mid-1999 a signal capable of supporting non-safety applications, such as an aid to Visual Flight Rule (VFR) flight, will be available.
Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS)
Wide Area Augmentation System
The other augmentation to the basic GPS service is the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS). Similar to the WAAS concept, which incorporates the use of geostationary communication satellites to broadcast a correction message, the LAAS will broadcast its correction message via very high frequency (VHF) radio datalink from a ground-based transmitter.
The LAAS will meet the more stringent Category II/III requirements that exist at selected locations throughout the U.S. LAAS is intended to complement the WAAS and function together to supply users of the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) with seamless satellite-based navigation for all phases of flight. In practical terms, this means that at locations where the WAAS is unable to meet existing navigation and landing requirements (such as availability), the LAAS will be used to fulfill those requirements. In addition, beyond Category III, the LAAS will provide the user with a navigation signal that can be used as an all weather surface navigation capability. This will enable the potential use of LAAS as a component of a surface navigation system and an input to surface surveillance/traffic management systems. It is fully expected that the end-state configuration will pinpoint the aircraft's position to within one meter or less, and do so at a significant improvement in service flexibility and user operating costs.
Additionally, both the WAAS and LAAS have the backing of aviation's main user groups-the Air Transport Association (ATA) representing air carriers, and the Aircraft Owner's and Pilot's Association (AOPA) representing general aviation. These groups confirmed their support in an April 1998 press release which stated-"the joint recommendations ask the Federal Aviation Administration to proceed with both wide-area and local-area augmentation systems for Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation." Encouraged by these recommendations and the benefits that can be provided by WAAS and LAAS, the FAA remains strongly committed to these programs.
FAA POC:
Carl McCullough
202-493-4722
NASA: Beyond Free Flight Phase 1 Tools
NASA is developing, with the help of FAA, new tools for even greater efficiency gains for the future National Aviation System:
Free Flight Diagram
Tools for Free Flight Phase I and Beyond
* Active Final Approach Spacing Tool (aFAST): Active FAST is a decision support tool designed to achieve more accurate aircraft separation on final approach. As a follow-on to the previously developed and implemented Passive FAST, aFAST will provide active advisories, namely heading and speed. In addition, aFAST will generate sequencing and scheduling information. Expect 10% additional capacity improvement from pFAST.
* Collaborative Arrival Planning (CAP): CAP is focused on improving air carrier hub operations. Today, arriving aircraft are handled on a first-come, first-serve basis, without regard to air carrier business concerns. Inevitably, air carrier arrival timing miscues, caused by aircraft maintenance, airport congestion, or severe weather, lead to air carrier inefficiencies, such as missed flight connections, inefficient hub operations, and aircraft diversions. Providing air carriers with improved predictive information on their arriving flights and the ability to alter arrival times to prevent timing miscues, are the principal objectives of CAP. The potential annual savings-$75M.
o Enroute/Descent Advisor (E/DA): Enables conflict-free "direct-to" routing and fuel-efficient descent profiles for enroute and transition aircraft.
o Expedite Departure Path (EDP): Provides speed, heading, and climb advisories providing unrestricted climb profiles, reduced near-airport fuel emissions, and increased airport capacity.
o Surface Movement System (SMS): Builds from SMA to achieve additional reductions in surface delays and optimize surface movement, and enhance airport situational awareness of aircraft movements.
NASA POC:
Dr. Heinz Erzberger
650-604-5425
FAA: Beyond Free Flight Phase 1
While FFP1 lays the foundation for addressing many of the efficiency problems of the National Airspace System (NAS), it does not address all of the user needs that will exist in the future. Many of these needs will be generated by the growth of air traffic in the U.S. and worldwide. According to the FAA, air traffic in the U.S. will grow steadily over the next decade. Activity at towered airports in the U.S. in 1998 exceeded 65 million operations. By 2010, the FAA estimates, this number will exceed 81 million.
NASA is working hand-in-hand with FAA and its Federally Funded Research and Development Center (MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development) to address future air traffic Management (ATM) needs of the NAS. Air traffic management research and development continues to be a critical element of full modernization of the NAS as we move beyond FFP1. In both the near- and the long-term, the FAA is working to expand FFP1 capabilities geographically and to increase functionality. Building on the frame-work of FFP1, the FAA also seeks to increase the level of integration among various FFP1 components to achieve greater efficiencies, redesign the airspace, and add further procedural enhancements. Among current research and development efforts underway are:
FAA Air Traffic Control Facility
FAA Air Traffic Control Facility.
* Flight Management System/Area Navigation Routing (FMS/RNAV)-will provide shorter paths to the runway to minimize flight time variations caused by vectoring and airport delays. This program utilizes advanced equipment in aircraft cockpits. (The figure below illustrates the route definition tool under development.)
* Flow Management Restriction Reduction: Designed to reduce the level of restrictions in place in the NAS at any time. Analyses are being performed to determine which restrictions can be safely eliminated.
* Enhanced En Route Conflict Resolution Capabilities: To assist controllers in constructing flight plans more quickly, especially in situations of heavy workload or complex traffic patterns. Work is underway to develop and evaluate this logic, building on existing URET capability.
* Collaborative Decision Making (CDM): Continued research to better provide common information that enables traffic flow managers and airspace users to make more informed decisions. Multiple activities are underway to develop tools that will be needed beyond FFP1.
* Operational Concept Development: Provides a structural set of relational responsibilities and actions for controllers, traffic flow managers, pilots, and users' operations centers to achieve a desired operational enhancement. The concept is used to define required procedures, information flows, communication bandwidths, and decision support systems required for the successful evolution of the NAS.
* Traffic Flow Management Impact Assessment: Will assist traffic flow managers and airspace users in understanding the potential results of proposed TFM actions on a NAS-wide basis. A fast-time simulation capability is under evaluation to identify requirements and to develop a prototype capability.
* Collaborative Routing Coordination Tools (CRCT): Provides information for traffic flow managers and airspace users to recognize, analyze, and resolve traffic flow problem situations. (The graphic below illustrates a small segment of CRCT capabilities.)
FAA POC:
Diane E. Boone
703-883-5861
dboone@mitre.org
FAA's Aviation Weather Research Program
The FAA's Aviation Weather Research (AWR) program focuses on mitigating the effects of winter weather, turbulence, inflight icing, ceiling and visibility, and convective weather on aviation. The AWR program provides more accurate and accessible weather observations, warnings, and forecasts. It is structured through a team approach to performing the research work. There are currently eight meteorological product development teams (PDTs), each targeted toward solving specific prioritized operational weather problems. Products are implemented on systems within the National Airspace System and on operational platforms of the National Weather Service (NWS).
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
Web Site:
http://www.faa.gov/aua/awr
Winter Weather Research
Aircraft and runways require de-icing during winter weather conditions for safe operations. De-icing operations typically reduce the airport capacity by a factor of two, resulting in delays. Lack of accurate, real-time and forecast winter weather information results in unnecessary delays. Snowfall rate during previous de-icing accidents was found to be highly correlated with the liquid equivalent rate, rather than snow intensity based on visibility. Holdover times of de/anti-icing fluids (critical safety consideration) also correlate with liquid equivalent rate.
The solution to these problems is WSDDM, a winter weather forecasting system that provides real-time and 30 minute forecasts of winter weather information, to include: liquid equivalent snowfall rates every minute and the vector location of snowbands every 30 minutes. WSDDM allows better planning for intense periods of de-icing , more effective use of de-icing fluids, improved decision making on holdover times, and greater shared situational awareness. These benefits as well as increased safety and capacity have been demonstrated at New York's LaGuardia, Denver International, and Chicago's O'Hare airports, and is presently operational at LaGuardia.
WSDDM technology has recently been transferred to a commercial vendor that will make the system available to airlines and airports. Future research that will be incorporated into WSDDM includes improved detection and real-time reporting of precipitation rate and type; 1- to 12-hour forecasts of snow and other precipitation; detection and real-time reporting of in-flight icing and ceiling and visibility in the terminal area.
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
Turbulence
Clear-air turbulence is hazardous to passengers, crew, and aircraft and is the number one cause of injuries in non-fatal plane accidents. Unexpected encounters can cause structural damage to the aircraft. Avoidance of light and moderate turbulence results in a more comfortable ride. Current forecast products give a broad view in time and space. Large regions potentially containing turbulence are warned. Forecasts are made every 6 hours, with updates triggered by pilot reports. Unfortunately, pilot reports are few and sometimes ambiguous.
The program is investigating new methods of detecting turbulence, developing better algorithms and systems for 1- to 9-hour forecasts, and establishing innovative techniques for disseminating weather information.
The AWR program has developed a means of getting quantitative turbulence measurements without the use of pilot reports, using a algorithm integrated in the ACMS software for commercial aircraft. It has been installed on several United Airlines' 737s and 757s, and will be installed on approximately 100 by the end of the physical year. ICAO has approved this in-situ algorithm as an international standard. This will result in aircraft being guided out of the way of clear air turbulence. Another product under development is the Integrated Turbulence Forecast Algorithm, which combines multiple. complex numbers of observations and diagnostic information into a more precise and accurate turbulence forecast product for use by commercial and general aviation.
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
SOCRATES
Turbulence in the airspace system presents one of the greatest dangers and capacity constraints to air transportation. Project SOCRATES addresses technologies necessary for the development of sensors and instruments for the detection, location, and tracking of aircraft-generated wake turbulence, clear-air turbulence, and other related turbulence phenomena. Project SOCRATES applies acousto-optic techniques, previously developed for undersea warfare, to the detection of air turbulence hazards in aviation. Solutions for minimizing these hazards have been difficult to achieve in the past, in part due to the lack of sensors suitable for operational deployment. A solution to the wake turbulence problem will be required in any future airport capacity enhancements. An all-weather wake turbulence sensor capable of locating the vortices generated by landing or departing aircraft is essential.
In 1998, an early SOCRATES system was installed at JFK airport where it demonstrated its ability to detect acoustic signals from aircraft wake vortices. It has since been recommended that the SOCRATES project support the planned closely spaced parallel runways at the San Francisco International airport. The FAA is working closely with NASA and other partners (Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and Lincoln Laboratories) to research and validate the SOCRATES sensor technology.
FAA POC:
Dr. George C. Greene
757-864-1905
g.c.greene@larc.nasa.gov
In-Flight Icing
In-flight icing is a factor in numerous fatal aircraft accidents and causes significant disruption to domestic flight operations. Current products do not adequately control these dangerous and disruptive events. Avoidance of in-flight icing would be possible with improved high-resolution forecasts of aircraft icing conditions.
The solution is the in-flight icing diagnosis algorithm, IIDA, which presents a gridded depiction of current or forecast in-flight icing. The IIDA depictions include icing characteristics, such as severity and type and the probability of icing in a specified region and is currently available on the aviation digital data service at the Aviation Weather Center. Recently, IIDA was demonstrated/evaluated successfully for the regional airlines, Air Wisconsin and Atlantic Coast Airlines. Other recent successes in the in-flight icing program include:
* A collaborative research effort with NASA Glenn Research Center on supercooled large droplet research produced improved diagnosis and forecasting and documented the severe aircraft performance degradation in freezing rain. The results will be used to develop specifications for de-icing and anti-icing equipment.
* Remote icing sensing methods developed in the FAA-supported Winter Icing and Storms project will be evaluated at Mt. Washington Observatory (NH) this spring.
Benefits to the Aviation Community:
* More accurate and timely information for flight planning and icing avoidance
* Detailed routing by flight dispatchers is possible using higher-resolution IIDA output
* Remote sensor research to lead to ground-based terminal area or airborne ice detection systems
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
Ceiling and Visibility
Marine stratus, trapped cool, humid air from sea breezes, in the San Francisco Bay area cause frequent low ceilings at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). During these events, the airport cannot use independent parallel approaches and imposes delay programs to regulate the arrivals. The SFO has the highest number of imposed delay programs in the United States. Marine stratus is also a problem at other major coastal airports.
Operational analysis shows that most of the unnecessary delay and a significant portion of the holding could be eliminated if the Traffic Management Unit has accurate 1-hour forecasts of the onset and burnoff of the Marine Stratus. The approach taken is to improve the forecasting capability of the Center Weather Service Unit by providing additional weather information that is critical for better forecasts and an automated forecast guidance system.
Studies indicate that up to one-quarter of the summer delay at SFO would be eliminated by an accurate 1-hour forecast of the time of burnoff. A successful product could annually save $7M of air carrier costs at SFO. In addition, techniques developed will provide the foundation for ceiling and visibility products for several other high-impact coastal airports.
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
Aviation Digital Data Service
Accurate, timely and user-friendly forecasts of icing, turbulence, thunderstorms, and clouds are required to support flight operations. The Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) enables aviation decision-makers to easily and inexpensively acquire graphics, text, and grids of the latest weather observations and forecasts of icing, turbulence, and thunderstorms.
The first version of ADDS is being operated and maintained by the National Weather Service's Aviation Weather Center located in Kansas City, Kansas. This version enables users to access both standard and experimental aviation weather information. Among the experimental information are forecasts of clouds and turbulence. The next version of ADDS will generate graphics of forecasts of icing, turbulence, clouds and thunderstorms for specific flight routes requested by users.
ADDS is a very cost-effective method of enabling aviation decision-makers and automation systems to acquire up-to-the-minute weather observations and state-of the-art forecasts based on techniques developed by the FAA AWR Program and operated by the NWS. The digital format of ADDS facilitates interaction among computers, a key requirement to support free flight. To get timely, accurate, user-friendly aviation weather information via the internet, go to http://adds.awc-kc.noaa.gov/
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
Convective Weather
Convective weather is the primary cause of national airspace delay and is the cause of half of the serious turbulence injuries. Existing operational forecast products are limited, only providing 10- and 20-min extrapolated positions of storms with no accounting for storm evolution and only hourly updates of the manually created Convective Segments.
If users had accurate, automated 1- to 2-hour forecasts of storms, they could use the airspace more efficiently and thus reduce delays. Longer-term (2 to 6 hr) national forecasts are needed for flight planning and traffic flow management.
The solution is to take advantage of FAA-funded research conducted on thunderstorm evolution to provide fully automated storm predictions 1- to 2-hours in advance. The FAA is demonstrating two automated forecast products tailored to user needs, and plans to continue to improve them based on user feedback. The Terminal Convective Weather Demonstration at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, begun in March 1998, provides the first automated 1-hour forecast operation. For information contact: webmaster@wx.ll.mit.edu for user-id and password.
June 1998, the FAA began a National Convective Weather Demonstration, which provides enroute advisories of convective weather to airline dispatchers via a webpage interface at: http://www.rap.ucar.edu/projects/awc/awc.html.
FAA POC:
Dave Sankey
202-366-8985
dave.sankey@faa.gov
NASA Aviation Weather Technology Improvements
Atlanta Demonstration Technologies
Atlanta Demonstration Technologies.
NASA's Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) program is developing technology to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft movements on the surface during landing, roll-out, turnoff, and taxi operations.
A flight demonstration of a prototype LVLASO system was conducted in August 1997 at the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport in cooperation with the FAA. Both airborne and ground-based components were integrated to provide the flight crew and controllers with additional information to enable safe, expedient surface operations. This demonstration validated the concept and enabled assessment of technology performance in an operational environment.
Technologies demonstrated included:
Airborne
* Moving map display
* Head-Up Display
* Data links Global Positioning System
Ground-based
* Surface surveillance systems
* Airport traffic identification
* Data links
* Air Traffic Control (ATC) interface
Benefits
* Supplemental guidance cues and increased situational awareness
* Runway incursion avoidance
* Low visibility surface navigation
* Reduced runway occupancy time and improved braking efficiency
* Reduced controller/pilot misunderstandings (visual display of ATC instructions)
* Improved situational awareness in low visibility
* Reduced controller/pilot misunderstandings (parallel electronic instruction transmissions)
NASA POC:
Steve Young
757-864-1709
s.d.young@larc.nasa.gov
Web Site:
http://tnasa.larc.nasa.gov/lvlaso
Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing
Now, instrument meteorological conditions routinely reduce the capacity of closely spaced parallel runways less than 4,300 feet apart. These capacity losses result in landing delays and inconveniences to the traveling public, interruptions in commerce, and increased operating costs to the airlines.
The Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing (AILS) concept uses flight-deck-centered technology to enable approaches in instrument meteorological conditions to runways spaced as close as 2,500 feet. There are two aspects to the concept: (1) provide accurate flight path management and (2) provide monitoring, alerts, and procedures in the event of an intrusion.
A joint NASA/Honeywell flight test is planned at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in August 1999. A demonstration at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will follow in September 1999.
NASA POC:
Wayne Bryant
757-864-1690
Aircraft Vortex Spacing System
AVOSS Facilities
AVOSS Facilities at the DFW International Airport.
NASA's Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) provides weather-dependent wake vortex spacing criteria for maximizing airport capacity while maintaining safety. An AVOSS concept demonstration will be performed at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 2000, where an initial version of AVOSS is currently installed.
The AVOSS technology has the potential to reduce takeoff delays as well as increase single-runway throughput by 10 percent or more during conditions requiring instrument approaches. AVOSS project results are being explored for application to proposed instrument parallel runway operations at the San Francisco International Airport.
NASA is responsible for the scientific development of AVOSS, research system integration, and concept demonstration. The FAA and industry will establish safety criteria and implementation priorities. The FAA is developing a plan to facilitate AVOSS technology transfer to the operational environment. Partners and supporters include the FAA, Air Transport Association, Boeing, the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Lincoln Laboratory, Transport Canada, and Volpe National Transportation System Center.
NASA POC:
David Hinton
757-864-2040
Web Site:
http://avsp.larc.nasa.gov/avoss
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