A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/729966
SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT DATACOMM : Chad Geyer (ZLA) is the Article 4 8 Representative for DataComm. Below is his update : The Tower Data Link Services (TDLS) Version 12 has been deployed to 54 sites and only 18 remain. 44 of those sites are Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) capable and only 11 remain . Across the country, approximately 1600 CPDLC clearances are being sent everyday with that number increasing as more sites become operational and additional aircraft begin to participate. This week I thought it would be a good idea to cover AIMS reports. AIMS stands for Automation Issues Management System. This is the system that is used to track problems with Tower Data Link Services (TDLS), flight deck issues, automation issues, network issues, and also a way to track enhancements that the field would li ke to see added to the system. Each facility has a local 48 team comprised of one management lead and one NATCA lead. These individuals have been trained to be able to enter this information into AIMS. One thing that you can do as a controller is to docume nt as much informatio n as possible for your local 48 s so when they enter the issue they can give the program office enough information to fix the issue. When you document the issue to give to your local 48 team, please include the ZULU time that the even t occurred, the status of the different i cons on the TDLS display , and any other strange things happening at the time you wrote the issue . You should also include the flight ID and CID with the flight. Also please include if the issue was in history, the p ick list, the CPDLC list , or even the PDC list. W ere there any flight IDs that were grayed out or were buttons not available to be selected when you thought they should ? If there was an alert box, what did it say? There should be a form next to your TDLS s ystem to fill things out for your local 48. It is not a bad idea to request the strip to include in the report. AIMS reports are also a good avenue to report flight deck issues. When a pilot tells you he can't log on or the route doesn't match or anything else seems incorrect, write it up. Issues that affect flight deck training are passed along to the airlines to help address their issues. We also have avenues to address network and radio coverage issues as well. Just remember that we cannot improve the s ystem unless you give us the information to make it better. ENROUTE AU TOMATION MODERNIZATION (ERAM): Julio Henriques (ZNY) leads the ERAM efforts for NATCA. This update is provided by Dan Mullen (ZID): The En Route radar displays are due to be replaced so on, and the National User Team (NUT) and Computer/Human Interface (CHI) have been eva luating possible replacements. They have been doing site analysis to see if a larger monitor is feasible. Bigger monitors are desirable, but the size limitations of the co nsoles are a problem at side - by - side sectors and sectors that rely on strip bays. An eval is planned the week of Sep t. 26 to get a hands - on test of potential replacements. The National Packaging Team (NPT) met the week of Sep t. 5 to determine the content o f the next few ERAM builds. The next two major releases, EAD600 and EAD700, have very large amounts of new content, so testing and d eployment will be challenging. They are planned to be released by December, and ea rly next summer, respectively. The ERAM Na tional User Team (NUT) meeting was held in Scottsdale , A riz. , September 13 - 15. The Tech Reps from the En Route facilities, Second Level support