NATCA Bookshelf

The ATC survival guide is in a draft form and I am working closely with Ed Davis to create a product that will give new hires a solid foundation of knowledge on what to expect as they begin a new career. We are also doing a research literature scrub on stress and intend to formulate a plan on how best to address physiological stress components in operation. INTEGRATED DISPLAY SYSTEM REPLACEMENT (IDS-R): Richie Smith (N90) leads NATCA's efforts on the IDS-R project as the Article 48 Representative. Below is Mr. Smith's report. While the IDS replacement program is winding down its waterfall for the NIDS product, a lot of work is going on in the software department. There are numerous software builds currently in use in the NAS and a new one being key sited the week of October 24 at I90. NATCA has been urging the program office to prioritize updating all facilities to the latest software build. A procedural problem with this goal is that no requirement exists for a facility to upgrade or even a timeframe that facilities need to follow. NATCA will continue to promote the positives of having every facility on the same software build, particularly in the area of technical support. There are very few networks left on the NIDS waterfall including SCT and CMH/DAY. Each of these has unique needs that the program office is working to meet. The latest software build was created for issues uncovered last year while attempting installation at SCT and subsequently encountered at I90. It is currently running at SCT prior to the network declaring Initial Operating Capacity but the real test will take place at I90. NEXTGEN: Kevin McLaughlin (SCT) is the National NextGen Representative for NATCA. His report to the membership is below. Transitioning to a Time Based NAS With the delivery of MetroPlex program benefits underway, NATCA and FAA have taken a giant collaborative stride towards optimizing operations in the NAS. Even before that work has been accomplished, the next question on Industry's mind has become where can further operational efficiencies and advantages be obtained? With oil prices firmly retrenched in sub 75-dollar historical averages, saving track miles has become less of an imperative than when oil was 125.00. The new measure of flight efficiency is time and the new air carrier paradigm of measuring the delivery of passenger value is now operational predictability. Many of the airlines overhead expenses such labor and aircraft are expensed in time increments. This is need to base the NAS around time is leading to the third transformation of ATC methodologies. The first ATC methodology was Procedural Based Control or separation based on protecting a volume of airspace that contains the aircraft or control based on where we think the aircraft is. The second transformation of ATC methodologies was the evolution of Surveillance Based Control or separation services based on where we know the aircraft is. The third transformation will be the evolution of Trajectory Based Control or provision of separation services based on where we know the aircraft will be at some future point in time. Today's NAS has already seen the deployment of basic time based tools. Time Based Flow Management (TBFM) and Ground-based Interval Management (GIM-S) have been deployed into the Enroute environment. Path Stretch and Terminal Sequencing and Spacing (TSAS) decision support tools are in the pipeline. However, today's NAS operates under structural limitations that limit the benefits of TBO

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