December 6, 2015
Abstract
With
NextGEN, the Federal Aviation Administration is at long last embracing the
technologies available in the Information Age as it is defined by
Merriam-Webster; the modern age regarded as a time in which information has
become a commodity that is quickly and widely disseminated and easily available
especially through the use of computer technology. That definition of Information Age could not
be more accurate, as the FAA implements the greatest technological advancement
in air traffic control since the 1950s (faa.gov). Through Automated Dependent Surveillance –
Broadcast (ADS-B), System Wide Information Management (SWIM), and other
technologies which will work together to further the infrastructure
improvements that make up this modernization of air traffic control the FAA
seeks to make the United States National Air Space (NAS) the most efficient and
safest in the world. With it, the FAA
will further the situational awareness of the pilots of both manned and
unmanned aircraft, improve air traffic efficiency, runway operations, data
communications, and above all else, aviation safety. This research paper offers a brief summary of
the technologies being employed and the beneficial outcomes of hopefully to be
achieved through NextGEN.
Next Gen
With NextGEN, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) seeks to capitalize on technologies available today, making the National Air Space (NAS) in the United States not only safer, but more efficient than it has ever been. With systems such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) which is a primary component of NextGEN, System Wide Information Management (SWIM), and Collaborative Air Traffic Management (CATM), as well through the implementation of new processes across the network of air control facilities throughout the United States, NextGEN will be a key component bringing the U.S. air traffic control infrastructure from what has been described as a 1950s operation, into the best, most efficient, and safest system in the world. This was the picture painted in an online video presented by FAA Assistant Administrator Ed Bolton. The improvement to the existing processes and procedures are impressive to say the least, and working with various segments of the Aviation industry, the FAA has laid out a challenging timeline for themselves. The NextGEN modernization plan has four main priorities which will all serve to improve NAS operations:
- Enhanced Navigation
- Enhanced Surface Operations
- Multiple Runway Operations
- Improved Data Communications
Enhanced
navigation will be achieved with ADS-B, migrating NAS operations away from a
ground based system (RADAR) toward a satellite based navigational system using
GPS. Surface operations will improve as
NextGEN will improve aircraft gate to runway times (predictability) saving on
fuel cost, improve control tower to cockpit information flow, and greatly improving pilot and controller
situational awareness through data sharing and weather information. All this will occur while adhering to the
most important goal of the FAA, safety.
In Introduction to
Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Barnhart, Hottman, Marshall, and Shappee (2012, p.
184) discuss the importance of shifting to a satellite based navigation system,
and the beneficial gains NextGEN will provide to Unmanned Aviation Systems
(UAS) operations which already rely on GPS navigation. As the FAA has established a mandate that
manned aircraft be ADS-B capable by 2020, this will greatly improve situational
awareness as automation makes aircraft location and altitude available in both
the cockpit of manned aircraft and Ground Control Station (GCS) of UAS. This will further establish the role of the
UAS pilot as that of supervisor, as aircraft autonomous capabilities are
further enhanced.
References
- Barnhart, R.K., Hottman, S.B., Marshall, D. M., & Shappee, E, Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems, (2012), CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.
- Bolton, E., (3/9/15), FAA TV: NextGEN Today, Retrieved 12/4/15, http://www.faa.gov/tv/?mediaId=1033
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