A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1131016
The NWP Function Qualification Test (FQT) 5 Test Readiness Review (TRR) was conducted at Raytheon May 7-May 15. Twenty tests were run and the FQT was very successful with 174 of 175 requirements passing. The Human Factors Workgroup (HFWG) continues to work with Raytheon on build 7.2 of the AWD. The current build focuses on overlay features on the AWD. The HFWG continues to make sure the AWD will function as expected and the information is presented in a manner easily relatable to the controller. Airport alerts and overall design of the overlay features and search will be worked on during build 7.3, taking place in June. The HFWG is also working on improving the way that text weather will be displayed and present information in a more concise way on the AWD. The current format that the National Weather Service (NWS) sends messages includes data that was used to interpret for older programs and is no longer necessary to display. The installation of Build 7.1 of the AWD at the William J. Hughes Tech Center was scheduled to be installed the first week of June and will take approximately three or four weeks to complete. Once installation is complete, a user evaluation will be developed. The evaluation is still planned for some time in the late summer. ZTL and ZDC Base Mosaic Generator (BMG)/Selectable Mosaic Generator (SMG) On May 29, a meeting was held at ZDC to discuss a timeline to switch from BMG to SMG weather display on the scopes. ZTL and ZDC are the last two centers to run BMG. ZTL will test SMG later this summer alongside BMG. Analyses showed that lowering the threshold levels of the altitudes from FL240 to FL200 provided a more accurate depiction of the weather. ZTL is set to switch to SMG later this year pending a successful test this summer. The NEXRAD site at Morehead City, N.C. has a conflicting frequency with the ASR-8 at Wilmington, N.C. Switching to SMG would cause ZDC to lose radar coverage offshore if the Morehead City radar is not included with SMG. The issue has been identified and a mitigation is planned to change the frequency for the radar site. Unfortunately, the NWS is the agency that needs to change the frequency and the FAA is waiting for NWS to fix the problem. Until this problem can be fixed, or analysis is shown to prove that the SMG will provide an accurate depiction of the weather compared to the BMG, ZDC does not want to change. SMG mosaics have a greater range versus BMG, and analysis is planned to show the difference in radar coverage if the Morehead City radar is removed from SMG until the frequency issue can be resolved.