A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/624148
into the X M or hit XMP times when needed. The preference would be to have ZMP schedule into XM "only" on a regular basis. Additional testing by ZDV will need to be performed to see how moving the freeze horizons out to 230nm would impac t the SE arrivals from ZKC since those freeze horizons are set at 155nm and the aircraft compete for the same runways. Having at least two runway choices in the runway decision tree file for the ZDV adaptation will be a requirement for this to work correct ly and D01 will need to be in agreement. o Bringing ZKC onboard to XM would be a logical solution by adapting their arcs to simi lar distances as the ZMP arcs. Asymmetric freeze hor izons could be another option. Traditional adjacent center metering (ACM) wa s n't ruled out entirely either. o The final scenario was Arrival metering only with the freeze horizons set at 230nm and requiring ZMP to get the arrivals down to at or below (AOB) FL320. AS a result, GIM - s generated speed advisories on the majority of air craft and the controllers were able to ab sorb up to 5 minutes in delay. o To be fair, the ZDV controllers and TMC acknowledged they would only issue AOB FL32 0 to ZMP on an as needed basis. Many questions remain: 1) Will users and industry be happy being de scended to FL320 230nm out and issued a speed re striction in lieu of a vector? 2) How much more fuel efficiency do the airlines realize at FL380 as opposed to FL320? Is it a big difference? 3) Wouldn't speeds be more predictable for the users? 4) Do speeds in lieu of vectors makes the sector less complex and safer? o In addition, a group was at ZMP in support of a fix to an issue identified where aircraft were stacking on the timeline. After the patch (4.3.3 P3) was installed, we observed that the sta cking issue had been resolved. However, when an aircraft are manually manipulated, stacking can occur with that airc raft which is normal behavior. · Terminal Sequencing and Spacing (TSAS): o We are continuing work on Terminal Sequencing and Spacing (TSAS). The requirements are still being developed and we are looking at different options with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. o Weekly telcons will begi n after the first of the year. In addition, we will have monthly meetings. A kickoff meeting was held in Washing ton , D . C . , December 10th. TRAFFIC FLOW MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (TFMS): NATCA's TFMS Article 48 Representative is Cliff Keirce (DCC). Mr. Keirce's report for the member is below. · The Traffic Flow Management Deployment Team (TFM DT) met December 8 - 10 At th e FAA Tech Center. o The first two days were mostly spent testing the ABRR/PDRR tool a nd field 10 Special Characters. This testing was connected to ERAM to determine that the use of Special Characters did not negatively affect the expected results.