Effective Data Communications for NextGen
On 09/05/2012, in NextGen, by mike@boeing
Beneficial Capabilities
Air traffic service (ATS) data communications provide benefits in terms of increased airspace capacity and improved operational efficiency while also enhancing the existing high level of safety.
• Increased airspace capacity. In continental/domestic airspace, capacity is primarily increased through basic controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) that reduce controller and flight crew workload as well as voice frequency congestion associated with routine communications. More specifically, basic CPDLC offers information exchange between the controller and flight crew for vertical, crossing constraint, lateral offset, simple route modification, and speed change clearance request and delivery. Effective strategic management of predictable and accurate aircraft trajectories in the future is also expected to increase continental/domestic airspace capacity; for example, delays due to convective weather will be mitigated by the ability to quickly supply complex route modifications to a large set of affected aircraft before departure. In oceanic, polar, and remote airspace, capacity is primarily increased through manual and automated reports that enable reduced aircraft separation by reliably providing surveillance data for separation assurance, flight plan conformance monitoring, and trajectory planning purposes.
Figure 1. Dynamic Airborne Reroute Procedure
• Improved operational efficiency. Operational efficiency is primarily improved through trajectory-based operations (TBO) that decrease aircraft fuel consumption and/or flight time, particularly in the face of constraints that would otherwise increase those parameters. Parallel integration of ATS provider ground automation, aircraft operator ground automation, and avionics (aircraft automation) and of controller, dispatcher, and flight crew operations enable TBO for rapid and accurate trajectory definition, coordination, and monitoring. TBO can be used, for example, to reduce flight time through user-preferred complex route modifications for in-flight aircraft as seen with Dynamic Airborne Reroute Procedures (see Figure 1) and to perform environmentally-friendly fuel-saving optimized profile descents as demonstrated by Tailored Arrivals (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Tailored Arrival
• Enhanced safety. Safety is primarily enhanced through accurate machine-to-machine exchange of precise data, such as complete three- or four-dimensional complex routes and latitude/longitude coordinates that resolve duplicate waypoint identifiers. These exchanges prevent gross navigational errors that could otherwise be caused by the flight crew manually transcribing detailed information.
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DCIS – What is this?
On 08/02/2012, in Buzzwords explained, by steve
It was a sunny and warm afternoon when American Airlines captain Russ Chew, IATA European Regional Director Phil Hogge and myself sat down in the little garden behind our house in Brussels to discuss AA’s dissatisfaction with the way the FAA was going about its air/ground digital link program and how AA may participate in EUROCONTROL’s highly successful Petal trials. This was the end of the 90s and controller/pilot digital link communications (CPDLC) were seen as one of the most essential elements in any future ATM system.
Right about that time a few European ANSPs were busy trying to kill Petal (simply because they were not yet ready for CPDLC) but Maastricht UAC was adamant and with the help of IATA, EUROCONTROL staved off the naysayers. AA became a Petal participant and the trials were concluded with success. Unfortunately, the implementation of CPDLC was slowed down to a crawl by events like the crisis following 9/11 and the other subsequent downturns in the industry. While there continued to be movement in Europe, the FAA actually shelved their CPDLC program in 2003.
Of course with NextGen in the works it could not be otherwise: the FAA had to revive digital communications work and this is now incorporated in the, not too imaginatively named, Data Comm program. What is more, bidding is open for the DCIS or Data Communications Integrated Services contract which is, of course, also part of the NextGen environment. The winner will establish and operate the Data Comm network for a period of 17 years with the service being fee based, to be paid by the FAA.
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An Opportunity We Should not Miss!
On 20/01/2012, in The future is now, by steve
I was talking to an old time, well respected colleague the other day discussing his view that instead of forcing the industry to implement yet another expensive capability, full use should be made of what was already there… Once the benefits start to accrue, airspace users would be much more inclined to take the extra steps and accept the costs associated with the extra functionality (assuming of course that there was a business case for it). This discussion was in the context of basic PBN and the addition or not of things like Constant Radius Turns in en-route airspace.
Although I have always preferred a more all-out approach, his pragmatic views make perfect sense and is also something airline bean-counters are likely to accept more readily. Investing in speculative functionality when the existing stuff sits idle most of the time is difficult to justify. Of course focusing mainly on use-what-is-already-there-first will not speed up progress but will make the simpler things happen with a higher degree of probability. Aim for too much, and nothing happens. I hate to admit it, but he is right…
Having given credit where credit is due, my incorrigible drive for wanting the whole thing kept chewing my soul. There was something here that we could turn to our advantage. But what was it exactly?
Then I remembered… The thousands of A320NEOs and Boeing 737MAXs. Airlines have ordered these more fuel efficient versions of the old favorites to basically replace a large part of their fleets almost overnight. Now if only those new babies could come with all kinds of goodies fitted right from the start…
What are we talking about? From an air traffic management perspective, there are three items that I would have on my wish list: air/ground digital link and CPDLC, ADS-B in and out and a full set of PBN capabilities.
I can almost hear opponents shouting: with those new versions not due for another three years or so, what technology should the manufacturers use for ADS-B for instance? Stay with Mode S Extended Squitter or go for something else? But what? Would it not be better to wait until the technology debate settles? We have of course heard this in the past. Waiting is equivalent to doing nothing and missing the boat. We have also seen that in the past… and suffer the consequences in the present day.
No Sire, this time we should be smarter.
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American Airlines in Chapter 11 Protection – Memories of Another Day
On 30/11/2011, in Airline corner, by steve
It was a sunny afternoon in Brussels when we gathered with Russ Chew of American Airlines and my boss from IATA in our little garden in Zaventem to discuss how to proceed with the implementation of air/ground digital link and controller/pilot digital link communications (CPDLC). American was deeply unhappy with the way the FAA was handling the subject and they wanted to join the EUROCONTROL Petal trials which were booking good progress (in spite of repeated efforts on the part of some European States that wanted to kill the whole thing). The rest is history… American Airlines’ 767s were the first to be equipped with VDL Mode 2/ATN avionics and they played an essential role in ensuring that the US and Europe kept their respective digital link programs synchronized and fully interoperable.
This bold and unconventional step was typical of the spirit and attitudes of this great airline which traces its routes to the 1920s when it started to carry mail for the US government. Then in 1936 AA was the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-3, notable as the first aircraft designed to carry enough passengers to generate a profit even without revenue from mail or cargo.
But the list of innovative firsts tied to the name of American Airlines is almost endless. 1942 the catering service Sky Chefs was started to provide meals to AA passengers and in 1948 American introduced coach class service and family fares to make flying accessible to more people.
1957 saw the opening of the world’s first Stewardess College and in 1959 the first non-stop coast to coast service was introduced using the new Boeing 707.
Sabre, American’s state of the art computerized reservation system became an icon in itself first being made available to travel agents and later evolving into the core element of internet based reservation systems like Travelocity.
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Old habits that refuse to die
On 29/11/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Things like the Single European Sky (SES), SESAR, even the FABs were supposed to bring a fresh air to European ATM, dispensing once and for all with bad habits and procedures that kept making life for airspace users unnecessarily hard and expensive.
Among those old habits, the persistent mismatch between mandates to equip aircraft and adding the capability concerned to ANSPs was one of the most striking and expensive. What did this mean? The industry, sometimes all on its own but more often after “gentle persuasion” by the service providers “agreed” that a new piece of kit had to be bolted on the airplanes and a date was set by which time the new kit had to be operational. There was never a mandate for the ground to also equip, this happened in a haphazard way if it happened at all and often aircraft flew around for years with totally useless boxes on board that had cost a fortune to install with no benefit at all (just think of Mode S enhanced surveillance if you want an example).
One would think that under SES and its Implementing Rules (IR) this kind of mismatch is a thing of the past. Fat chance.
A few days ago two new SES IRs were published in the EU Official Journal.
Regulation No 1206/2011 prescribes that air navigation service providers must make use of the aircraft identification down-linked via Mode S by the second of January of the year 2020. This is a cool 17 years after the corresponding airborne retrofit date which was in 2003. Oooops….
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FAA Funds ADS-B for JetBlue
On 04/02/2011, in NextGen, by steve
Low-cost carriers are not known for their willingness to pay for extra equipment that may be required to improve air traffic management. In this respect they are very much similar to their legacy brethren… Even when there is a clear business case, the mad rush to equip is usually conspicuous by its absence. There are exceptions to rule though. Southwest had announced earlier that it will equip all its fleet with RNP capability and the news is out now that US low-cost carrier JetBlue is equipping 35 of its Airbus A-320 aircraft with ADS-B Out capability, including the ACSS SafeRoute suite of applications. The catch? This is a demo project funded by the FAA to the tune of 4.2 million dollars.
Once equipped, JetBlue’s aircraft will be able to fly more precise trajectories under ADS-B surveillance from Boston and New York to Florida and the Caribbean although this latter will have to wait until 2012 as there is no ground ADS-B infrastructure there just yet.
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The Story of Alpha Mike (Part 2)
On 04/02/2011, in Women in ATC, by arminda
The Road to Becoming an En-route Air Traffic Controller
To continue with my story, let me just go back to that time when, in 1981, I received an Order transferring me to the Manila Area Control Center (ACC), eight years after I graduated from an air traffic control training course. The ATC staffing crisis – brought about by the exodus of ATCs to the Middle East for better pay – had given way to my dream of working as an air traffic controller; this time, the ATC units are more welcoming when it comes to accepting women in the workforce. I began my certification or rating process only a few weeks after I reported for work, it seemed that there was a rush to put ATCs into jobs that require years of training.
Arminda with the first Manila radar
Back then, the Manila ACC had no radar systems yet; separation of aircraft was done using procedural or conventional control – where ATC’s main tools in controlling traffic were just paper strips mounted on plastic strip holders, a ball pen, and a radio transceiver. The flight progress strips, as they’re called have all the information ATCs need – aircraft call-sign, type of aircraft, airspeed, route to be flown, and altitude, among others (all handwritten); color of strips depends on the direction of flight – white strips for eastbound, buff or yellow for westbound traffic. You don’t have to have a high IQ to get this job done; it’s more of imagination and guts you need. Imagination in this case means being able to make a picture in your mind of what’s going on up there as you look at those information on paper strips with a map or chart already ingrained in your mind, as if seeing aircraft moving across the skies; and have the guts, as you separate aircraft from each other though not actually seeing them; then, based on this mental picture you either climb or descend aircraft converging or on opposite direction – with no doubt in your mind that they had indeed passed each other after you clear one through the altitude of the other; that your mental calculations were correct when you make split second decisions.
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Incentives for Early Airborne CPDLC Equipage
On 13/12/2010, in Shop floor talk, by steve
The LINK 2000+ programme has been working on the definition of incentives schemes for early airborne equipage since 2005. Various creative schemes were explored with stakeholders, such as reduced route charges for those that equip early. However, it proved impossible to get stakeholders to commit to such schemes even though the principles of the route charge system were modified to accommodate them.
Following an economic analysis by the industry consultation body for the Single European Sky, several short-term projects were recommended for funding to accelerate early ATM benefits and to provide the launch pad for SESAR.
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Equipping for NextGen – where does the cash come from?
On 24/11/2010, in NextGen, by steve
If anything, the LINK2000+ program in Europe has shown what a bit of free cash can achieve. Equipping aircraft for Controller/Pilot Digital Link Communications, the raison d’être of LINK2000+, was proving difficult as in the initial phases those who spent on the required avionics would see few benefits and hence there were no takers. Then, with part of the money coming from EC funds things suddenly took off and some 700 aircraft got promoted to CPDLC-enabled status.
But the funds needed to equip for NextGen (and SESAR for that matter) far exceed the budget of LINK2000+ yet the vicious circle of low initial benefits, reluctance to equip is exactly the same. It now looks that at least for NexGen, a novel solution is being offered for funding avionics upgrades.
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Air/ground digital link and CPDLC – Airworhtiness and compliance
On 19/11/2010, in Shop floor talk, by steve
Stakeholders have expressed some uncertainty about how to comply with EC 29/2009, the Data Link Services Implementing Rule.
In partnership with the European Commission and EASA the EUROCONTROL LINK Programme has been working to address those concerns. A stakeholder workshop was held in March 2010 to address the issues and a brochure is now available on the LINK website explaining how Certificates issued by EASA will be accepted as an EC Declaration of Conformity or an EC Declaration of Verification. It also lists and answers frequently asked questions.
You can find the brochure here.
Air-ground voice communications – the vital and often weakest link. New guide from EUROCONTROL for GA pilots
On 11/10/2010, in Bookshelf, by steve
It is a curious fact of life in air traffic management that it is impossible to do ATC without proper communications yet the air-ground voice communications system as we know it to-day is both a hindrance to increasing capacity and a potential source of serious incidents. The former is due to the fact that a controller can only speak to aircraft in a sequential manner and hence he or she will run out of talking time relatively soon when traffic increases beyond a certain level; the latter is due to the relative ease with which the spoken word can be misunderstood, even if it is in a standardized form like the standard radiotelephony prescribed by ICAO. From call-sign confusion to misunderstood clearances resulting in near-misses or runway incursions, communications is a major source of problems.
Of course there are many things the aviation community can do to mitigate the risks inherent in voice communications. Air/ground digital link supporting Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) will enable more capacity while also reducing the possibility of misunderstandings.
Where voice remains, better training and discipline in the application of the relevant procedures can go a long way towards improving the situation.
EUROCONTROL has now published a cute booklet, available in electronic format, entitled “A Guide to Phraseology for General Aviation Pilots in Europe”. As the title says, the book does not cover peculiarities applicable only in the United States or other parts of the world but it is still a useful addition to the library of any GA pilot. Since aircraft operations in Europe are mostly subject to strictly ICAO compliant procedures, this book is also a good reference to check what the ICAO rules say in certain communications related situations.
You can access the guide here.
A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 2
On 18/10/2009, in Buzzwords explained, by steve
The clash of VDL Mode 4 and VDL Mode 2
Following years of testing and discussions on countless forums, VDL Mode 2 was emerging as the solution that, combined with the ATN protocol, could support the initial implementation of Controller Pilot Digital Link Communications. There was nothing else it could do but it had a huge advantage over everything else. There was agreement that it would do the trick! Some people tended to consider this virtue as being of little value but in fact it was as important as the link’s ability to perform. Achieving consensus on the scale needed to decide which link to use is an epic hurdle and when agreement is there, it should not be put in danger.
But that is exactly what was being done by the promoters of another technology that goes under the name VDL Mode 4. VDL Mode 4 can do everything, they claimed… It does voice, text messages and also ADS-B! Most of the claims were of course true and the initial hiccups with the system were no reason to discard it. Yet it never made it into the mainstream and the hard push did only one thing: delayed the inevitable, the final agreement on Mode 2. VDL Mode 4 lacked the most important element: industry agreement for implementation.
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A short (unofficial) history of air/ground digital link – 1
On 12/10/2009, in Buzzwords explained, by steve
Introduction
Talking to a group of young controllers the other day I suddenly realized that Controller Pilot Digital Link Communications (CPDLC) and its enabler, air/ground digital link were a kind of given for them… Their centre has either already implemented it or had plans for it and while their opinion diverged on the usefulness of the thing, they certainly did not consider it as anything exciting. In a way this is good. The more everyday air/ground digital link becomes, the more we can consider having cleared a major hurdle in implementing an important capacity enabler.
But not being familiar with the history of a particular development reduces our ability to understand its shortcomings and its future potential.
With this article I would like to put on the table a few, sometimes amusing, sometimes incredible, details from the last 15 years of so about air/ground digital link development in the hope that it will be provide some insight into what is after all a very exciting development in air traffic management.
The story will not be comprehensive; it is only a summary and is based mainly on my recollections. I was pretty close to the fire but possibly for that very reason I may have seen things in a light that was colored differently from the actual reality. If you have better information, do comment on my version of the tale.
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Anniversary – First European STC for CPDLC on VDL Mode 2
On 03/10/2009, in Anniversaries, by steve
5 year anniversary on 12 April 2010
The issuance of a Supplementary Type Certificate (STC) is not normally an event that we commemorate years later… except of course if the STC is the first instance in Europe of Controller Pilot Digital Link Communications (CPDLC) using VDL Mode 2 being approved on an aircraft type.
I this case, EASA accorded the STC to the Airbus A300F4-608ST and the date was 12 April 2005.
EUROCONTROL’s Petal trials followed by LINK2000+ were groundbreaking activities that proved the technical and operational feasibility of CPDLC on VDL Mode 2 while also creating the basis for interoperability between the US and European digital link services.
The Airbus STC was an important milestone recognizing the maturity of the system. In subsequent years many other aircraft types received similar certification, all important milestones in their own right but the first one stands out as a beacon of success certainly worth remembering with pride.
