ATCA Bulletin #4

Air Traffic Control Association

No. 4, 2016

www.atca.org

Don’t Miss ATCA’s Tech Symposium May 17-19 in Atlantic City, N.J.

In This Issue: »» NextGen is on a Roll »» ATCA Remembers Norman Spencer »» Tech Symposium Speaker Spotlight »» Voices of ATCA »» Join an ATCA Committee »» Aviation History Corner »» And More!

ATCA Scholarship The deadline for ATCA Scholarship submissions is this week!

Send your application today!

No. 4, 2016 Published for

1101 King Street, Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703-299-2430 Fax: 703-299-2437 info@atca.org www.atca.org President & CEO: Peter F. Dumont

Director, Communications: Abigail Glenn-Chase Writer/Editor: Kristen Knott

The process is easy – applications should be mailed to the ATCA office or sent to tim.wagner@atca.org.

Formed in 1956 as a non-profit, professional membership association, ATCA represents the interests of all professionals in the air traffic control industry. Dedicated to the advancement of professionalism and technology of air traffic control, ATCA has grown to represent several thousand individuals and organizations managing and providing ATC services and equipment around the world.

Scholarship amounts vary from $3,000 - $10,000 and recipients will be announced in late summer.

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Visit atca.org/scholarship for more information, to download an application, or to donate to the fund.

ATCA Technical Symposium Atlantic City, N.J.

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ATCA Bulletin | No. 4, 2016

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Upcoming Events May 17–19, 2016

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October 16-19, 2016

61st ATCA Annual Conference & Exposition National Harbor, Md.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the authors of the editorial articles contained in this publication are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of ATCA. Printed in Canada.

Please recycle where facilities exist.

Cover photo: echo3005/Shutterstock.com Stock photography provided by Shutterstock.com

President’s Message

By Peter F. Dumont, President & CEO, Air Traffic Control Association

Fight or Flight

The aviation community needs to be at our best when things are at their worst.

With so many players and such high stakes, aviation hangs in a precarious balance when it comes to threats on the system. This precariousness is compounded by the dizzying array and diversity of possible threats – from attacks on airports and airplanes, to hijacking and ground-to-air attacks, to air traffic control facility sabotage like we saw at Chicago Center in 2014, to cyber security threats, deliberate pilot acts, and even deadly weather and acts of God. It’s our job to create contingency plans for every foreseeable circumstance (and contingency plans for those contingency plans).

But where do we start?

ANSPs have to start working even closer together, as do governments, militaries, and their respective internal agencies.

It’s obvious that aircraft manufacturers and technology innovators have an important role to play as well, especially when it comes to cyber security. A bomb can destroy an airplane or a terminal, but a successful cyber threat could do even more damage. Likewise, our excellent frontline TSA agents (I know everyone complains about TSA, but let’s be clear – they do a great job) and the detection tools they employ

can identify a suspect before they get into the terminal or on an airplane. But in a world where ransom malware and massive data leaks are almost the norm, how do we prevent these types of attacks from wreaking havoc on our system? Collaboration is of course key, but – yes, I’m quoting the Wu-Tang Clan here – “cash rules.” How do we balance collaboration with competition?

The March 22 terrorist bombing in Brussels reverberated much further than the blast zone within the international departure hall. It got me thinking about the lofty goals of the world’s first aviators and about the core values of our industry. Innovation.

Progress. Connection. That last word was, I think, the driver of those early dreams.

Consequently, the same connection that nurtures freedom and open-mindedness also creates a dangerous opportunity for individuals who fight against those very ideals. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t seem to matter what country we are from, what culture we were born into, or what religion we practice, the fascination and love of air travel runs in all of our veins.

What we can no longer allow to run in our veins is fear.

ATCA Bulletin | No. 4, 2016

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ome, Vienna, Glasgow, Heathrow, Beijing, LaGuardia, Jinnah, Lod, Madrid-Barajas, Orly, Narita, Domodedovo, Brussels. These airports play a pivotal role in connecting the corridors of the world’s global airspace. Well over a million passengers arrive and depart from their terminals on a daily basis. Their halls, tarmacs, towers, and jetways serve as the arteries fueling global commerce, tourism, and trade. They are our first glimpse into different cultures and foreign lands. They represent new beginnings and adventures.

They bring people together.

Sadly, all of these and many more airports are unwilling members of a disturbing collective. They were the successful targets of terrorists on deadly missions. As proponents of the safest form of transportation, we as members of the aviation industry have always prioritized the safeguarding of our proud reputation – they aren’t known as the “friendly skies” for nothing! So when radical individuals target our hubs, I for one feel an amalgamated sense of anger, grief, and anxiety. These types of incidents not only shake us to our core as human beings, but they affect our livelihoods and endanger the airspace to which we have dedicated our educations, our careers, and our lives.

Just over a month ago, in our own little corner of the global airspace – the ATCA office in Alexandria, Va. – the terrorist attacks in Brussels hit close to home. We had just returned from Madrid where we once again, in partnership with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), produced World ATM Congress. Between the French air traffic control strike and the attacks, a couple of us were stranded in Europe for a few days as airlines, airport authorities, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), and governments from all over the world collaborated to ensure the safety of the system.

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NextGen is on a Roll The equipage with ADS-B of 450 U.S.-registered commercial aircraft and more than 16,700 general aviation aircraft with ADS-B technology.

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extGen is on a roll. Data Communications (DataComm) is now in use at nearly 20 airport towers, with more than 30 additional towers on the way in 2016. Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) is tracking more than 17,000 aircraft nationwide, and four metroplexes are scoring fuel savings and curbing emissions every day using Performance Based Navigation (PBN).

An overview of these and many other NextGen accomplishments can be found in NextGen Update: 2016, now available at www.faa.gov/nextgen/update.

New to this year’s edition of NextGen Update is a series of videos featuring aviation community leaders discussing how NextGen is helping controllers and operators do their jobs.

“With NextGen, the aviation community is sharing more information

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and making better collaborative decisions that improve air transportation and make travel more reliable for passengers,” said Jim Eck, Assistant Administrator for NextGen. Readers of NextGen Update: 2016 can quickly catch up on achievements in key NextGen programs, including: • The deployment of DataComm tower departure clearance services to towers across the country. The FAA’s ambitious goal for this DataComm service is to provide tower services to a total of 56 airports by the end of 2016.

• The integration of ADS-B into terminal and en route automation platforms.

• The equipage of 450 U.S.-registered commercial aircraft and more than 16,700 general aviation aircraft with ADS-B technology.

• The implementation of comprehensive PBN networks at four metroplexes:

Washington, D.C., Houston, North Texas, and northern California.

• The expansion of two SWIM (System Wide Information Management) data distribution programs, which are now delivering vast amounts of big data on air traffic and related information to more than 100 users.

The FAA is also building on its progress by increasing collaboration with the airline, air traffic management, and general aviation industries and their constituents.

For example, the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) meets regularly to discuss the progress these collaborative efforts make in the implementation of NextGen capabilities. The advisory committee keeps the FAA in touch with a good cross section of airlines, trade associations, labor, airports, manufacturers, and technical experts. Continuing the work

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they started last year, the FAA and the NAC—through the NextGen Priorities Integration Working Group—are working to advance four major NextGen priorities over three years.

These priorities include creating an implementation plan for increasing the availability and use of PBN, improving Surface Operations and Data Sharing, implementing DataComm, and making Multiple Runway Operations more efficient. These activities are intended to further increase efficiency and safety throughout the NAS. Learn more about how the FAA is delivering on these commitments and advancing capabilities in NextGen Update: 2016 at www.faa.gov/nextgen/update. The site will be updated throughout the year, making the NextGen Update your go-to resource for the latest NextGen developments.

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TRAFFIC JAM AHEAD. PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

Transforming the air traffic management (ATM) system is essential for improving safety, efficiency and the environment around the globe.

Boeing is fully committed and uniquely qualified to help make ATM transformation a reality. It’s the right time and Boeing is the right partner.

Voice of the Member

Prioritizing Legacy Systems in a Mixed Equipage Environment

By Ariel Scheirer, Ascent Consulting, ATCA Member

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ir navigation service providers worldwide are facing an unexpected dilemma as NextGen and SESAR systems and capabilities become available. Faced with a mixed equipage environment in the air, they are struggling to prioritize within a similarly mixed infrastructure on the ground. The arrival of new systems and capabilities, including Automatic Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast and System Wide Information Management, have not yet eliminated the need to support conventional groundbased surveillance and navigation systems.

As budgets contract, policy makers should first answer two questions: 1. How do we make conventional systems smarter and more efficient?

2. How do we reconfigure national system architectures such that conventional systems complement the transition to new technologies and augment system-wide performance, reliability, and security once NexGen and SESAR are fully implemented?

Recent proposals to utilize legacy infrastructure as part of an alternate position navigation and timing (APNT) solution use this framework to good effect.

Continuing this effort to further address the risk, that the inclusion of systems like ADS-B in the NAS have been exasperated is the next step, such as 1090 Mhz spectrum congestion.

Integration efforts should include optimizing legacy systems to enable both a reduced legacy footprint and

improved overall capabilities. This raises the question of sunsetting versus maintaining decades-old infrastructure – policymakers should be encouraged to develop investment strategies that focus on a complementary approach where we enhance and selectively deploy conventional systems to address GNSS-enabled systems vulnerabilities.

Want more? Look for an in-depth article on this very topic in the summer edition of The Journal of Air Traffic Control.

Tech Symposium Speaker Spotlight – Robert Pearce Deputy Associate Adminstrator for Strategy, Offfice of the Associate Administrator, NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

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itting down with ATCA President Peter F. Dumont at this year’s Fireside Chat is Robert A. Pearce. NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Strategy. The Fireside Chat takes place 9 a.m., Thursday, May 19.

Go to www.atca.org/agendaacy for the full symposium agenda or to register for the event.

About Robert Pearce

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Robert Pearce is responsible for leading aeronautics research mission strategic planning to guide the conduct of the agency’s aeronautics research and technology programs, as well as leading ARMD portfolio planning and assessments, mission directorate budget development and approval processes, and review and evaluation of all of NASA’s aeronautics research mission programs for strategic progress and relevance.

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On April 17, 1964…

Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock completed the first solo flight around the world by a woman. Mock made the 23,103-mile flight in 29 days, 11 hours, 59 minutes, landing at Port Columbus Airport, Ohio. Later, on April 10, 1966, she set a world non-stop distance record for women of 4,550 miles.

– FAA Historical Chronology

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This Month in Aviation History

ATCA Remembers One of Its Own

Former President Norman Spencer Passes

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orman D. Spencer, 90, passed away on February 11, 2016, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Norman was born in Marion Township, Mo., on January 2, 1926. He served in the US Navy during World War II. He worked as an air traffic controller for the FAA for 31 years, retiring in 1986.

In 1974, he became president of ATCA. Norman loved to sing, and met his wife Sylpha through his love of music. They married in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1949 and enjoyed 51 years of marriage.

Join an ATCA Committee!

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e a part of the solution – participating in one of the many ATCA Committees is a major perk of membership.

Just ask some of our members!

“Volunteering with ATCA is extremely rewarding. You get back everything you put in. From networking and creating relationships with industry colleagues, to learning about new, cutting-edge aspects of the aviation industry, it’s truly an invaluable experience if you want to become an engaged member of the air traffic community.”

- Jessie Hillenbrand, Aireon, Tech Symposium Planning Committee

“Volunteering on an ATCA committee gives you an opportunity to engage with peers you wouldn’t normally meet through work. Committees provide a unique ‘behind the scenes’ vantage point to consider topics facing aviation and air traffic management.”

- Ariel Scheirer, Ascent Consulting, YAP Committee

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Get Engaged

“Volunteering with ATCA has been a fun and rewarding experience. ATCA has provided me with the opportunities to learn more about aviation. This has been particularly helpful to my career, especially since I’ve only been working in this industry for a few years. My involvement in ATCA’s Young Aviation Professionals (YAP) committee has really allowed me to stay engaged with the industry. The relationships that I have built and the knowledge that I have gained have furthered my passion for the work that I do every day.”

- Phil Yeung, Noblis, YAP Committee

“The importance in volunteering is twofold; it allows us to stay connected to latest trends in the industry while giving back to the aviation community in promoting this incredible profession.

We choose to help [in coordinating panels for the upcoming ATCA Tech Symposium] as our way of partnering with ATCA and assist in bringing the best subjects to the audience. Leveraging our expertise, in championing key topics, will enable the participants to walk away with a quality product in the form of information exchange and networking.”

- Jeff Williams, Tetra Tech AMT, Tech Symposium Planning Committee

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Officers and Board of Directors Chairman, Neil Planzer Chairman-Elect, Charles Keegan President & CEO, Peter F. Dumont Treasurer, Rachel Jackson East Area Director, Susan Chodakewitz Pacific Area, Asia, Australia Director, Peter Fiegehen South Central Area Director, William Cotton Northeast Area Director, Mike Ball Southeast Area Director, Jack McAuley North Central Area Director, Bill Ellis West Area Director and Secretary, Chip Meserole Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico Area Director, Rudy Kellar Europe, Africa, Middle East Area Director, Jonathan Astill Director at Large, Rick Day Director at Large, Vinny Capezzuto Director at Large, Michael Headley

Staff Marion Brophy, Communications Specialist Ken Carlisle, Director, Meetings and Expositions Theresa Clair, Associate Director, Meetings and Expositions Abigail Glenn-Chase, Director, Communications Ashley Haskins, Office Manager Kristen Knott, Writer and Editor Christine Oster, Chief Financial Officer Paul Planzer, Manager, ATC Programs Rugger Smith, International Accounts Sandra Strickland, Events and Exhibits Coordinator Ashley Swearingen, Press and Marketing Manager Tim Wagner, Membership Manager