A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/816138
resolution) is passed by congress and not a budget, travel for the forese eable future will be affected. Deployment of STARS an d IOC a ctivities may not be impacted. That is the impression the agency is passing down thru the ranks. Software & Engineering Report Submitted by Kyle Ness (M98) MSAW/CA Board When ARTS IIE was installed in Aspen, Colorado a method of MSAW adaptation c alled Terrain Contour Monitor (TCM) was developed to account for the mountainous terrain while providing terrain safety alerts. STARS software does not process MSAW the same as CARTS and TCM so the MSAW/CA board is seeking to modify existing STARS function ality to provide similar safety logic. Approach Monitor Volumes (AMVs) are typically used to provide MSAW for aircraft in the approach phase of flight. The intent is to allow AMVs to be adapted with a negative or level glide - slope and process approach path s 180 d egrees of the adapted heading. This will provide the needed fix for Aspen to transition to STARS next year. System Technical Reports Working Group (STRWG) C90 requested longer Predicted Track Lines (PTL) when in Final Monitor mode. The length of th e PTL is tied to the alert look - ahead parameter, which makes the PTL very short when in FMA mode. A previous attempt to fix the problem increased the maximum look - ahead value, which would not necessarily change the PTL length. STRWG is reviewing proposed s pecifications. It was recently discovered during software testing the STARS system display priority fails to display an Interface Failure (IF) in field 5 of the data block when field 5 already displays an 'OLD' message. 'IF' indicates a handoff failure, w hile 'OLD' indicates a loss of the track position (LAT/LONG) and velocity. NATCA concurred with other stakeholders to change the display rules priority to display 'OLD' at a lower priority in the clock phase, which will make the controller aware of an inte rface failure when both conditions are present . Conflict Alert has three components : LINCON (projected track based on speed and heading), MANCON (two aircraft maneuvering) , and PROCON (current relative position or proximity). Raytheon has proposed enhance ments to PROCON logic to reduce nuisance alarms especially in cases where a track pair is already diverging. NATCA is definitely interested in reducing nuisance alarms and is reviewing the proposal. Program Trouble Report Working Group (PTRWG) NATCA SMEs from MKE, SCT, M98 and NCT participated in the April meeting. Stakeholders reviewed several probl ems and improvements including: ESFL, data playback, mirrored displays, AT Coach , and tab list sizing. Operating System Replacement STARS will transition from the Solaris 10 operating system to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system prior to January 2021. This will apply to all STARS G4 and G4 ELITE systems as well as the STARS Central Support Complex and Operational Support Facilities. NATCA is r eviewing transition planning especially as it pertains to the operational approach. By utilizing a disk partitioning scheme and the three - processor image areas, STARS processors can simultaneously support both operating systems for transition and provide a fallback mechanism.