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ASHEVILLE FUSION ROCKS NextGen radar and ADS-B technology is helping to remove blind spots in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, easing the workload for controllers and boos ng efficiency and safety for the airline, military, and general avia on pilots who use the airport and airspace. The very ingredient that makes Asheville a magnet for vaca oners and re rees — mountains — can also make the western North Carolina city more challenging for those arriving by aircra . Mountains have a bad habit of blocking radar, crea ng surveillance blind spots for controllers and forcing instrument flight rules (IFR) aircra to take inefficient flight paths. NextGen radar and ADS-B technology is helping to remove blind spots, easing the workload for controllers and boos ng efficiency and safety for airline, military, and general avia on pilots who use the airport and airspace. The ac on started in June 2018 when the FAA installed the Fusion upgrade to the Standard Terminal Automa on Replacement System (STARS) in the terminal radar approach control facility (TRACON) at the Asheville Regional Airport. Before Fusion, STARS relied on only one airport surveillance radar at the airport. Fusion blends mul ple radar feeds from other loca ons as well as input from seven ADS-B radio sta ons distributed throughout the Asheville area. The ADS-B radios receive surveillance data from ADS-B Out-equipped aircra and transmit that data to the TRACON. Fusion combines all the surveillance inputs and displays the most accurate informa on to controllers. Benefits will increase as more aircra equip with ADS-B Out ahead of the 2020 deadline. "What we do has always been safe," said Asheville Air Traffic Manager Michael Silvius, "but this upgrade improves efficiency in addi on to giving us a safety boost." For controllers, Fusion provides aircra posi on informa on at lower al tudes and farther from the airport. In many cases, controllers can see aircra equipped with ADS-B Out all the way down to the ground, even at some distant airports. Bill Curcie Jr., the NATCA FacRep at Asheville TRACON, said before Fusion, IFR aircra arriving into Asheville's airspace at 6,000 feet al tude from the east would not show up on controllers' screens un l 5-8 miles into Asheville airspace. Similar issues at higher al tudes occur for aircra arriving from the north and west. When controllers do not have surveillance data on a flight, they have to block rela vely large tracts of airspace around its expected path. "Now when they're at 6,000 feet, we see them about 5-8 miles outside of our airspace," said Curcie. With surveillance, he and the other 14 controllers at the facility are able to be er use the airspace by reducing separa on between aircra to as close as 3 miles to either side of the course. He said the upgrade eliminates the workload of remembering aircra that they can't see on the display. "It makes us far more comfortable," he said. For the many general avia on and military aircra flying in the Asheville area, the enhanced surveillance in the TRACON means they can receive more effec ve flight following, which means controllers can point out more traffic. Along with military and Civil Air Patrol aircra that train in the mountains, Gulfstream Aerospace also tests some of its new business jets in the area. "We can now see aircra that are out there playing at low level, and we can provide them with advisories on traffic," said Silvius. Aircra equipped with ADS-B Out get an addi onal surveillance advantage – coverage that in many cases extends to the runway. Thirty miles north of Asheville is a private airport called Mountain Air, located within a golf course in the shadow of mile- high Mount Mitchell. "A lot of aircra fly in and out of Mountain Air," said controller Ryan Chase. "We see them and can point out traffic. We couldn't do that before." The efficiency boost should also be a boon for airlines serving Asheville, including Allegiant, American, Spirit, and United. It's too soon for quan ta ve data, but Silvius has seen a qualita ve bonus. "Playing Monday morning quarterback, we can see that controllers are able to be er u lize the airspace, which is a benefit to airlines," said Silvius. "If we see the aircra sooner, we can turn them sooner and get them a more direct path to the airport, saving me and fuel." By John Cro , Federal Avia on Administra on asheville radar display ASHEVILLE RADAR DISPLAY ASHEVILLE TOWER/ TRACON COMMUNICATING FOR SAFETY Tuesday, Oct. 23 9

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