A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/624148
o Upcoming Phase 1 Deployment Schedule § A90 Trainin g for ATC Special ist (planning window) 1/15/16. Typically ATC training begins 30 days out from I.O.C., to prevent having to do recurring training. § F11 Training for ATC Specialist is targeted for 1/28/16, I.O.C. date is 2/27/16 (proposed). § SBA Initial S i te Survey set to begin 1/7/16. SBA is an ELITE opportunity site. All logistics will be handled by the Seg 2 group. o Surveillance Engineer Joe Yannone (Region - X) leads many of our engineering initiatives . o Common Terminal Digitizer (CTD) Testing: The CTD is an integral part of the back end of the TAMR Segment 2 waterfall to digitize the remaining ASR - 8 radars, as a STARS system only accepts a digital radar feed. In - plant DTE testing of the CTD system starts at the Telephonics facil ity on January 13. This will provide the FAA the first long - term opportunity to observe the performance ca pabilities of this new system. Follow on testing at the Technical Center ASR - 8 will commence mid April. o CTD ASR8 Performance Analysis/"Health" Assessment: There are signifi cant issues with some of the ASR - 8 facilities that are cause for operational and pr ogrammatic (TAMR/CTD) concern. Operational stock levels at the FAA Logistics Center are not at sufficient levels to accommodate the needs of th e ASR - 8 field sites. To get ah ead of the schedule, several data collection efforts (ATSAP, NAP entries, TSAP, maintenance logs, etc.) are under way to identif y potential problematic sites. Addition ally we've identified a method for bulk analysis and prioritization of potential problem sites due to failed/degraded antenna subsystems for more in - depth onsite evaluation well ahead of TAMR activities so as not to pote ntially impact TAMR schedules. o Enhanced Surveillance/Aircraft Intent Information: NATCA supports the use of enhanced survei llance information (altitude intent, etc) to some day be used by ATC equipme nt to improve safety measures. While this was analyzed a few years back as a mitigation to one of the first "Top 5" Safety Issues, the FAA does not currently have any proposals to modi fy ATC equipment for this use. The topic seems to have risen again and various organizations within the FAA (ANG and AVS) as well as ALPA have shown interest in the ability to provide aircraft enhanced surveillance intent information (altitude, speed, heading) from the cockpit to the controller automation systems. Europe has been successful in implementing this technology via both their Mode S radar systems and ADS - B. o Removal of the "Terra Fix" at two Radars feeding C90: There are numerous false beaco n targets generated at two radar feeds into C90 that cannot be eliminated other than implementing the Terra Fix R emoval change at those radars. These false targets are currently being m asked by the C90 CARTS system. STARS has a higher standard for radar pe rformance compared to CARTS. There is a proposal to delay implementation due to concerns over changing the p rimary radar feed for FMA use. We are investigating the cause of