A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/669670
Radar Optimizati ons: The FAA's NextGen advances have placed an increased demand on radar accuracy and performance, yet there are no operational funds, or the required level of personnel available, to carry out the tasks of Radar Optimization efforts to keep up with th e cu rrent pace of advancement. Many optimization efforts have had to seek F&E funding streams to accomplish operational work efforts, s ince operational funding for re - optim iz ation efforts, tower raises , and/or r adar relocations are well underfunded. I n order f or a Radar Engineer/Specialist to ascertain what is required to be accomplished for an optimization effort, they must first be able to diagnose the specific performance problem. However, the expertise is aging out of the workforce. There has not been a rad ar analysis/optimization course offered by the FAA in a very long time (at least 10 years now) to initiate the flow of a new, younger workforce to accomplish such tasks. For those that would like to self - teach, documentation is poorly outdated. The Radar O ptimi zation Handbook is dated 1992. This document commonly references radar systems like the FPS - 20, ARSR - 3, and ATCBI - 4 , which no longer operate within the National Airspace. In it , there is very little mention of common systems like the ASR - 9 and ARSR - 4 or the Mode S and ATCBI - 6; no mention of the ASR - 11 or CARSR at all. A primary example of the lack of training can be found with wind turbine mitigation. The FAA has assigned a responsible office for reviewing Obstruction Evaluations related to wind turbin es, however there is no vehicle for those offices to perform mitigation actions once the wind fa rm is eventually put in place. Often the problematic area - while typically localized - can affect the entire coverage volume of the affected r adar . There is a dire need for operational funding for special projects related to the development and urban sprawl surrounding an airport and/or a radar site. Such funding should also support radar tower raises and relocations as well. There is a need for growth and train ing to the r adar engineering and optimization expertise necessary at both a national and regional level to support this type of effort. Radar Infrastructure: Aging radar systems continue to operate well beyond their life expectancy, yet funding from infras tructure related projects has decreased. Commercial power interruptions and lack of proper input power has resulted in numerous failures of radar related hardware and countless man - hours to restore back to full capability. In many cases, the service/equipm ent restoration delayed - with impacts to air traffic control - due to the timeliness of parts and/or restriction from working non - business hours for restoration activities at many locations. While most radar systems have an emergency back - up generator, du e to the age of some of these systems, the radar ' s sensitive electronic components often do not survive that transition from commercial to engine generator power. Power Conditioning Systems and Uninterruptable Power Systems should be required for all radar systems in the NAS today. Additionally, Grounding and Bonding has not been updated since the 1970 s at many of our facilities ,