A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/589908
ยท The entire NATCA SBS team traveled to Austin, TX this week for the quarterly face - to - face SBS Article 48 work group meeting. In attendance were Eric Labardini (ZHU), National SBS Article 48 Rep, Craig Bielek (A90) , Dan Hamilton (SFO), National Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) Rep, Andrew Stachowiak (I90) , and Tom Zarick (ZDV), National Inte rval Management Representative. As usual, there was a very full agenda wit h a variety of topics: o Austin Approach (AUS) site visit: The SBS Article 48 team visited the AUS facility as it is one of the first TAMR Elite sites to complete the transition to ADS - B and Fusion. Feedback from the site on the transi tion process was ve ry positive. Like many other sites that have transitioned to Fusion, AUS is now interested in expanding the number of radar inputs in their facility. Many thanks to AUS personnel, including FacRep Kevin Canipe, for allowing the visit. o SBS Program Overv iew: Agency budget concerns loom on the horizon with a number of potentially negative scenarios. Depending on the level of potential budget cuts, the Agency may be looking at which projects have to be stopped entirely versus cut back. o ADS - B surveillanc e expansion in Minnesota/Wisconsin : This came to light for NATCA SBS during the 2012 ADS - B flight inspecti on at Minneapolis Center (ZMP). Expanded industrial operations in the MN/WI area have led to a dr amatic increase in air traffic. Radar coverage is spo tty in the area, and the states continue to request an expansion of ADS - B. This appears to now be a potential thanks to state funding of the expansion; however, questions remain as to who pays for future subscription charges and whether expanded RCAG is ne cessary as well. o Third Party Flight ID (TFID) has been carried as an SBS risk for many years. Applications that require pilots to identify "target" aircraft via ADS - B also have the potential for confusion when ATC calls out another call sign during the clearance delivery. SBS has been pursuing a test of complex clearances, potentially in ZBW airspace, but NATCA SBS pointed out that a simplified test may be a better option and would not have to occur at ZBW. o CLT WAM continues to be a regul ar SBS Arti cle 48 agenda topic. NATCA SBS pointed out at previous meeting that there are a number of schedule risks as we attempt to reach an IOC by March 31, 2016. The Agency seems to be recognizing this, and all are working hard to reach the stated goal. Unfortunat ely, the primary schedule issues are more bureaucratic than technical as we ask Agency departments to speed up a typically slow, territorial SRMD and Notice approval process. o Fusion Feasibility Modeling: The Agency presented data on the number and type s of radars present for multiple approach controls with the intent to forecast which sites were potentially problematic for Fusion. However, during the review it was pointed out that one or more of the "problem" sites actually had no Fusion issues to repor t. The Agency hopes to identify problem sites that should not attempt to reach Fusion; however, this leaves them in a "catch 22" situation. The only feasible improvement for most problem sites to be successful with Fusion would be ADS - B, which isn't availa ble unless