A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1177430
Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) - A Test Coordination Meeting for the STARS S6.R9 Drop 4 and STARS S6.R10 Drop 1 was held on Sept. 17. The goal of the meeting was to discuss TSLE test plans, and to obtain approval of the test approach from key stakeholders. The OT&Es will be conducted simultaneously in a different string, Nov. 13-22 and continue from Dec. 3-12. The requests for STARS SMEs have been submitted. Mr. Rose traveled to RDD (Redding, Calif.) Sept. 18-20 for the IOC. RDD transitioned from LITE to a Remote Tower off of NCT G4. He participated as a floor walker to assist RDD controllers with the transition. System Technical Reports Working Group (STRWG) – Stakeholders are still reviewing In-trail Distance for ghost targets in ATPA processing volumes. Further discussion is needed. Mr. Rose, Kyle Ness (M98), and Mike Sanders (SCT) are planning travel to Raytheon in November for a white boarding session. Rules Trouble Reports Working Group (RTRWG) - Stakeholders reviewed STARS-O- 005 to remove the rule. NCT is the only site that uses this rule. After discussion with the site, it was decided to restrict the use of this site rule to NCT while they go to R8, then remove from the site and the SRD when NCT transitions to R9. Mr. Rose traveled to Raytheon in Marlborough, Mass., Sept. 23-26, for the ARV/S6.R10 playdate. Stakeholders were shown demonstrations of ARVs responses to S-Turns on approach, short approaches, crossing through the volume of a parallel runway, and drift on final. During the last month, Mr. Rose has participated HEWG, TAMR Standardization Site Survey in-briefs, TAMR Article 114 Meetings, and STARS SRM Panel. Ross Costa (RSW), NATCA TAMR Training Lead - I began the month travelling to Santa Fe, N.M., as a floorwalker to convert the Santa Fe STARS LITE system to a remote tower off of the Albuquerque Full G4 STARS system. The transition had several adaptation issues that have been documented and most have been corrected. The facility was well-prepared for the transition and the air traffic controllers on-site did a great job working through some of the issues. We will continue to work with the site to ensure that their adaptation is continuously improved. Mr. Costa also travelled to CFS to help demonstrate Raytheon's new MARS display and other technologies. We did get a good amount of feedback on the display and the new equipment, such as the track pad and tablet. This was a great way to interact with the end user to ensure that we can capture what is working and what could be improved. We also had a good amount of discussion about the current systems deployed throughout the NAS.