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TERMINAL AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION AND REPLACEMENT TAMR 18 NextGen Now | Summer 2015 On June 4, the Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement (TAMR) Common Automated Radar Terminal System (CARTS) in Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) team completed the final installation of STARS equipment in a Segment 1 facility at Newark Tower (EWR). This means that STARS hardware is now installed at every major TRACON in the country, including New York TRACON (N90) and all of its associated towers, including EWR, John F. Kennedy (JFK), and LaGuardia (LGA). The installation is another milestone along the road to full conversion to STARS for the terminal side of the NAS. Dallas, Denver, Louisville, Ky., and Northern California have fully transitioned. Atlanta, Potomac (Washington, D.C.), Minneapolis, Southern California, St. Louis, Chicago, and New York will complete the transition between now and June 2016. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tried to transition to a single automation system for nearly 40 years, and conversion for the large TRACONS was long thought to be an insurmountable task. The FAA, NATCA, and PASS have collaborated to turn a mission once thought to be impossible into reality, proving once again that collaboration is the key to success moving forward. "This is a momentous accomplishment, and evidence of our progress," NATCA Terminal Automation Representative Mitch Herrick said. "Cutover of the remaining seven facilities to STARS will happen between now and next June, when N90 transitions over to STARS. There are 131 towers associated with these 11 TRACONs, and this is representative of a massive amount of work." Across the country, many facilities have made successful installations in recent weeks and months. South Bend, Ind. (SBN), is the most recent STARS Elite facility to transition under Segment 2. SBN completed its transition on June 15. Collaboration and preparedness were cited as the main reasons for what SBN FAA management called a "seamless transition." "Our transition was really smooth," SBN NATCA Facility Representative Matt Walters said. "I'm really impressed with how hard our cadre at the facility worked. I'm also really happy with the all of the assistance we received from the TAMR program folks. It was really refreshing to see everyone pitch in and work together, including air traffic, tech ops, engineering services. Everyone helped each other, and it felt like a genuine team effort. Collaboration defined." Two other recent transitions to STARS, at both Harrisburg, Pa. (MDT), and Savannah, Ga. (SAV), were "wildly successful," says Herrick. "MDT was an amazing story because it can only be termed as flawless. Every part of the automation and adaptation worked perfectly from the moment we turned it on. That has never happened before. At SAV we experienced a few minor things that had to be fixed, but that is to be expected at all sites. "SAV is another great story of on-time and schedule and the collaborative efforts of everyone coming together

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