A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/687483
centered on identifying a Preliminary Haza rd list and the ramifications. This is the fi rst of many meetings to come, and the discussion identified numerous concerns, including the use of tactical separation standards in a limited comm procedural environment. More meetings to come. Terminal Fusion : SoCal TRACON (SCT) continues to struggle wi th poor radar sensor performance. These are latent issues that have been well documented over the years, but the transition to STARS has reinvi gorated the concerns in Fusion. CARTS Fusion hid these issues with a masking tool, but STARS Fusion deals with radar issues at the source. At this point, the issues with the SCT radar sensors lie with th eir location and line of sight. Software has been successful in dealing with identified issues as they occur, but they continue to reappear in new areas. A Survei llance Automation Analysis Team (SAAT) has been stood up within the Agency to bring in experts from all fields, including Joe Yanonne (NATCA Radar), Mitch Herrick (NATCA TAMR), Craig Bielek (NATCA SBS), and Eric Labardini (NATCA SBS). Their initial effort surrounds SCT and identifying long - term surveillance solutions. The dilemma for the Agency right now is the cost, timeline, and effectiveness of each solution. Indications are that a WAM solution might be the best solution, but the system design is inco mplete and will likely only add to the Agency's concerns over cost. NATCA has raised a concern over the development of the Common Terminal Digitizer (CTD) necessary to incorporate numerous ASR - 8 rada rs into STARS Elite and Fusion. This represents a seriou s threat to the scheduled waterfall for both the TAMR an d SBS programs. CTD testing and development appears to be struggling, and joint conversations with all players are planned in the near future. Vehicle ADS - B : 833 vehicles now equipped at 16 airports.