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CFS 2018: Tuesday

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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NEXT GENERATION OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL THE AIRPORT The Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) was established in 1963 as a general avia on airport and is jointly owned and operated by the ci es of Fort Collins and Loveland in Colorado. Over the past 55 years, the airport has evolved from a small general avia on facility into a commercially-cer fied airport capable of suppor ng aircra ranging in size from single-seat recrea onal aircra to 200-passenger airliners. The area that the airport serves has more than doubled in popula on since 1990, which has created a need for an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower solu on to accommodate the growing demands. Northern Colorado con nues to experience tremendous growth, making FNL the busiest airport in the state without an ATC tower. The airport has supported airline services in the past, and most recently, Allegiant Airlines served the region with two des na ons from 2003-2012. The airline ci ed the lack of a tower as one of the reasons they are no longer providing air service at the airport. Since 2012, FNL has been seeking a solu on that would enable the return of commercial air service, accommodate the con nued growth in general avia on demand, and support regional economic development. THE TECHNOLOGY: PREP & INSTALL In the Summer of 2017, the Federal Avia on Administra on (FAA) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Searidge Technologies to install, test and cer fy a Remote Tower System (RTS) at FNL. "A Remote Air Traffic Control Tower is an innova ve and cost- efficient solu on that will support increasing demand at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport now and into the future," says Jason Licon, Airport Director, Northern Colorado Regional Airport. Since the announcement, a significant amount of prepara on work has taken place at the site in order to enable the non- towered airport to host Remote Tower evalua ons. From drilling and boring for new power and communica ons infrastructure, to installa on of the three airfield masts. A complete facility remodel was also completed which transformed a modular structure into a state-of-the-art Remote Tower facility that meets all of the FAA guidelines for a Federal Contract Tower. FNL is now fully equipped for Remote Tower evalua ons. This project is one of the first in the world to integrate both video and track-based surveillance (radar) to provide a comprehensive view of the airport surface and Class D airspace to air traffic controllers working in a remote facility. The track- based surveillance enables controllers to have awareness of aircra close to the airport, and integra on with the radar data ensures that flight data labels correlate with the aircra on the video display. The typical "out the window" view from a control tower is replicated by an array of cameras which provide a 360° view of the maneuvering area and airspace close to the airport. This is augmented by two further masts located close to each of the main runway thresholds. These masts provide panoramic views of the thresholds as well as zoomed views of the final approach paths, enabling the controllers to have enhanced observa on of these cri cal areas. Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) cameras are also installed to replicate the binocular func on required in a tower and as well as manual controls; the PTZ cameras have automated zoomed views of defined areas, such as runway sweep to check the runway is clear. The high-tech array will provide an enhanced view and situa onal awareness of the airport environment and Class D airspace that will be superior to that of a tradi onal airport traffic control tower, with construc on, opera onal, and staffing costs drama cally lower than necessary with a tradi onal control tower. "Searidge is fortunate to have the support of the Colorado Division of Aeronau cs, the FAA, FNL, our industry partners, and local contractors; they have helped us reshape FNL into what is already one of the most technologically advanced airport facili es in the United States," explains Rick Koller, Program Manager, Searidge Technologies. The Remote Tower System Project is a strong collabora on between the FAA, Northern Colorado Regional Airport, and the Colorado Department of Transporta on's Division of Aeronau cs, which provided the funding for the project. Pioneering Remote Towers in the United States Execute OTA: Complete Site Survey: Complete Site Prepara ons: Complete Install Equipment: Complete Site Acceptance Test: Complete System Op miza on (Phase 0): Nov. 2018 Passive Tes ng (Phase 1): Spring 2019 Ac ve Tes ng (Phase 2): Summer 2019 – Winter 2019 Ini al Opera ng Capability: Spring 2020 FNL REMOTE TOWER PROJECT SCHEDULE fnl camera mast fnl remote control room COMMUNICATING FOR SAFETY Tuesday, October 23 8

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