A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1038866
meetings. Eric Cole, Director of the Airport Surface Efficiency Office, outlined the CSIT meetings for the upcoming years starting with three airports in the fall of 2019, followed by an average of seven airports in each of the following three years. With a visit on average of slightly more than one every two months, it will be very important that the issues involving travel and schedule coverage be resolved for FAA members needing to participate. A high-level goal for the SCT has always been the implementation of Surface Metering at airports with long departure queue issues. It seems more and more likely that Surface Metering is simply the FAA creating automation to solve a problem that the airlines are creating for themselves through bank scheduling. At hub airports with one major carrier, the airlines could smooth out the peaks and valleys of queue length through their own scheduling, but instead they have abdicated responsibility, almost with the implication that it is the ATC's fault that queues are so long. The tangential benefits of SCDM – better predictability, more efficient slot use for planes needing release to high volume airports, updating equipment including electronic flight strips – still validate the program's existence, but the high-level goal of Surface Metering may never show benefits that could not have been more efficiently achieved through better airline scheduling. TERMINAL AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION REPLACEMENT (TAMR) Aaron Rose (NCT) is the TAMR Article 114 Representative for NATCA. His report is below: Waterloo, Iowa, Aspen, Colo., and Nashville, Tenn., transitioned to TAMR STARS. Aspen loaded R7 software which enabled it to continue to provide climb-out MSAW processing. Thanks to all BUMs and FacReps for working collaboratively with both NATCA TAMR and the program office. Due to Hurricane Florence, two IOCs were delayed at Florence, S.C. and Wilmington, N.C. New dates are being discussed with the facilities. The Common Terminal Digitizer (CTD) program manager, TAMR program manager, and Mr. Rose discussed how best to move forward with the outstanding Program Trouble Reports (PTRs) involving false weather and AP. It was agreed that weather processing from the CTD would not be sent to any facilities other than the primary TRACON. Other portions of the radar feed will be available to adjacent facilities. Mr. Rose briefed Devin Hunt (JCF STARS) about the upcoming meeting between the TAMR program and DOD reference STARS installation at Joshua Control facility. Devin is the new point of contact for NATCA. JCF is in good hands, and Devin is eager to dive right in and start work. Three trips occurred during this reporting period: Springfield, Ohio, and two trips to Washington, D.C. Springfield was an interesting stop to view the Ground-Based Detect and Avoid (GBDAA) UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) bus. There is a partnership between the state of Ohio, Raytheon, and DOD to provide a surveillance-based STARS system that can be plugged into a radar source or provide a stand-alone radar source to track and detect UAVs. This system

