A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/913906
Field Outreach met to discuss the current analogue state of FAA Space tools and how to leverage Agency work to date to develop ATO capabilities, services, systems and procedures to more efficiently integrate space operations into the NAS. SURFACE CONCEPT TEAM (SCT) Kyle Andrews (ORD) is the NATCA Representative to the Surface Concept Team (SCT) for Collaborative Decision Making (CDM). Mr. Andrews forwarded the information below for the membership. The SCT and CAT held a joint meeting at the ATCSCC on Nov . 15. Also attending were representatives from major airlines, NBAA, and representatives of CDM airports. An interesting discussion developed around the topic of how does an airport handle data about itself. Currently, only the Core 30 airports are requested to become CDM members, which would imply that they would submit and update data in real time on airport conditions such as throughput rate for deicing and how many diversions could be accepted during a thunderstorm event. However, these numbers are not static, they are subject to variables such as precipitation rate, gate availability, runway closure for snow removal, etc. These numbers will be very h ard to quantify in real time because the airports themselves don't know how to calculate them at a moment's notice and won't necessarily have the personnel or algorithms in place for this type of data collection. Reference that discussion, any MOA writte n to define how an airport becomes a CDM member might need to redefine/restrict the data elements to a subset of the eleven data elements that airlines have agreed to supply. Also, the reason that many airports would want to be a CDM member is to be able t o access the CDM data about their own airport that is being collected and submitted by the airlines. Some entity may need to be tasked with determining if an airport authority was a worthwhile applicant for CDM membership if they were only receiving and no t transmitting data. The suggestion was made that the initial standard for an airport to be a CDM participant is whether they can furnish Earliest Off Block Time for aircraft not participating in CDM (GA, International Flights). If an airport can provide t his, then the airport can be a member, since EOBT is the cornerstone of the Surface Metering automation. With airports as CDM members, there should be a greater ability to forecast certain airport conditions (construction, planned closures) that affect a rrival and departure rates and to then adapt surface metering components in a strategic rather than tactical manner. This is an improvement in that the further into the future that the surface metering variables can be pinned down, the better predictabilit y for the users to make schedule adjustments as they see fit. TERMINAL AUTOMATION M ODERNIZATION REPLACEMENT (TAMR) Aaron Rose (NCT) is the TAMR Article 114 Representative for NATCA. His report to the membership is below. NATCA TAM R leads met in Atl antic City, N.J. over the weekend of Nov . 17th. It was a team - building and pass - down meeting between incoming and outgoing training and