A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/778317
Maintaining the numerous STARS builds that are currently fielded is very laborious and merging these into a common version will not only free up resources, but benefit controllers by giving them access to the latest functional enhancements and fixes. Over the next 8 months, NATCA SMEs will participate in extensive testing and evaluation to prepare the R6 build for the key site window currently scheduled in October. New York TRACON (N90) requested improvements to AT Coach prior to the New Year as the site makes plans to continue operations on STARS an d eventually decommission CARTS. These enhancements were divided into three separate initiatives that affect aircraft behavior when executing simulated ILS approaches with regard to routing, speeds and intercepting the lateral and vertical components of an approach. Working with N90 NATCA, all parties have concurred on the requirements for two of the enhancements thus far and the third is nearing completion. Potomac TRACON (PCT) discovered an issue related to information in the STARS data block when an air craft's transponder is inoperative and specific data block fields are occupied. NATCA SMEs working collaboratively with the agency and software engineers developed a solution to the problem that can be delivered to STARS sites in short order and ensure tha t all controllers are aware of an aircraft's transponder status regardless of altitude or scratchpad information in the data block. A defect in the conflict alert algorithm was recently discovered in a software build that affects legacy STARS sites. This bug could delay upcoming tech refresh activity at Detroit TRACON (D21) due to G4 processor hardware is software dependent. Raytheon is due to deliver a solution to the tech center for development at the time of this writing and NATCA is coordinating with s oftware engineering to quickly evaluate and deliver the build to the field so D21 can continue their upgrade as planned. NATCA SMEs from SCT, D01 and PHL attended the PTRWG meeting at the tech center to review and rank software problem reports. Items for discussion this month included: data block information, scratchpad functionality, MSAW and changes to beacon code mismatch conditions. An important action taken by NATCA during this meeting was to highly rank two initiatives on the list of improvements and fixes that will fundamentally change the STARS weather presentation. By collaborating with related workgroups such as computer human interface and weather, NATCA's intent is to enhance the STARS weather display by either amending the combination of colors and graphics presently available or to import a stand - alone weather product that displays a mosaic of various weather inputs much like a NEXRAD or ITWS display. Issuing weather information is a fundamental task for controllers and the goal is to give them a product that is compatible, reliable and consistent. Upcoming System Engineering events: January 30 – February 16 S6R6 Risk Mitigation OT&E February 16 PTRWG March 7 - 16 S6R3e Run for Record OT&E UN MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS) Steve Weidner (ZMP) is the NATCA Artic le 114 Representative for UAS. Jeff Richards (ZAU) is assisting Mr. Weidner on this project due to the workload and activity associated with it. Below is the update for the membership.