IFATCA The Controller - 1st Quarter 1984

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IFATCA JOURNAL OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

THE CONTROLLER Bern, Switzerland, March 1984

Volume 23 · No. 1

Publisher: International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers· Associations. P.O . Box 196. CH-1 215 Geneva 15 Airport. Switzerland Officers of IFATCA: HH . Henschler. President. Lex Hendriks . Vice-President (Technical). E. Sermijn. VicePresiden t (Professional). I. Finlay. Vice-President (Administration). B. Grezet. Treasure r. P. O"Doherty. Executive Secretary Editor: A . Av9oustis 5 Athens Str. Ayios Dhom etios Nicosia. Cyprus Telephone (021) 4 87 86 Management and Advertising Sales Office: The Controller. P.O. Box 196 . CH-1 21 5 Geneva 1 5 Airport. Switzerland H.U . Heim . Subscriptions and Publicity. Tel. (022) 82 26 79 M . Henchoz. Accounting. Tel. (022) 92 56 82 B. Laydevant. Sales Promotion. Tel. (022) 82 79 83 Production · Der Bund·. Verlag und Druckerei AG Effing e rstra sse 1 . CH -3001

Bern.

Telephone (031) 25 66 55 Subscriptions and Advertising Payments to: IFATCA/ The Controller. Union de Banques Suisses P.O . Box 237 CH-1 2 15 Geneva Airport . Switzerland Acc . No . 602 254.M D L

Row of displays of ACC-BX L. The AI RTRACK system installed a t Brussels Int ernational Airport.

Subscr iptio n Rate: SFrs. 8.- per annum for members of IFATCA: SFrs 20.- per annum for non-members (P & P will be charged extra). Contributors are expressing their person;il points of v,ew and opinions. which may not necessarily coincide with those of the Internat ional Federation of Air Traffic Contro llers· Association (IFATCA). IFATCA does not assume responsib ility for statement s made and opinion s expressed. it does only accep t respon sibil ity for pub lishing these contributions . Contributions are we lcome as are comme nts and criticism. No payment can be made for manuscripts submitted for publication in "The Controller". The Editor reserves the right to make any editoria l changes in manuscripts. which he believes will improve the materia l wi thout altering the int ended meaning . W ritten permission by the Editor is necessary for reprinting any part of thi s Journal.

Advertisers in this issue: Crossair. Ferranti, Selenia Photos: AA, Archives , Hiro Tade, Ph. Domagala Cartoon s: Martin Germans

Contents ATC: The Private Sector Option- R. W. Poole Jr A New ATC Syst em for Cyprus-Ch . Pericleou s News from Corporate Memb ers Newsbr iefs Sexual Harassme nt Greek ATC Prob lems and Wishes - Ph. Domag ala Visit to Ivory Coast- E. Sermi j n CONVEX . 83 - H. H. Henschler 4 th I FATCA AF I East Region al - 1. Finlay M ajor Weather Problems M icrobursts

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26 27 28 32


Air Traffic Control: The Private Sector Opt (Part I) by Robert W Poole, Jr. •

Introduction The 1981 strike by members of the Professional Air Traff ic Control lers' Organizatio n (PATCO) was not an isolated incident . It was mere ly the lat est crisis in the t roub led histo ry of the US air tr affic control (ATC) system. A reading of the system's histor y reveals an ongoing pattern of technolog ical lag, lack of cost effectiveness, unresponsiveness to user needs, ab sence of long-range planning, political interference, and lab or prob lems. These prob lems are not the fau lt of part icular people, suc h as federal aviat ion adminis t rat ion off ic ials. Nor are th ey the fau lt of the ATC system ' s co ngressiona l ove rseers per se. Rather, t he cause of the prob lem is systemic, stemm ing from the way th e ATC system has been organized and op erate d - as a go vernment bureau cracy . Evide nce at home and abroad sugges t s th at th ere are alternat ive ways of prov iding ATC services In several countr ies , air tr aff ic co nt ro l is prov ided by private, not-for -profit co rporat ion s. funded by user fees Elsewh ere. the service is provided by a profi t-making firm under co ntract The US . in fact. has seve ral prof it-making fi rms op erating airport cont ro l tower s under co nt ract . And a not-for -prof it f irm provides nationwide computer and com mun ication s service s t o ai rlines and ot her air space users Man y of Amer ic a· s A TC prob lem s wo uld fade w ere the present ATC system replaced by a tw o-level syst em. consist ing of a not-fo r-prof it ATC system co rpo ration w hic h c ontr acted o ut the operation of indi vidu al co ntro l cente rs to profi t- m aking ATC oper at ing co mpa nies This wo uld pro vide ( 1) un ifo rm nati onw ide o perati ng proced ures and (2) th e bene fit s of corn -

• Robert W Poo le, Jr., is the Edito r of 'Instead of Regulation. A lterna tives to Federal Regulatory Agencies · (Lexington Books. 7982). 2

pet iti on in the pro vision of services. In shor t, t he c urrent government operated American air traffic control system shoul d be converted to a private sec t or system. The Problem Th e ATC ·system' is a complex assemblage of people , eq uipm ent, faci liti es, and procedures . It is owned and operated by the Fede ral Aviation Administrat ion (FAA) , a gove rnm ent bureaucracy w hose duties also in-

Au ckland Airpor t Control Tower

elud e sett ing and attempt ing to enforce safety st andards affecting the design and testing of aircraft, th e operation and maintenance of aircraft. and the lic ensing of pilots and mechanics . As a government service the A TC system is ( 1 ) operated as a monopoly , w ith no competit ion, (2) paid for via ta xes (both user and gen eral), (3) governed by civil service rul es, and (4) subject to political control and int erference. A large body of lit eratu re in the past two decades has addressed the costs and eff ect iveness of governme nt services c haracte rized by the four fe ature s listed above . 1 In contrast to private sec tor organizations which fac e compet iti on, sell services d irec tly to users. set their own personne l policie s, and are reasonably free of po liti cal interference , bureaucratic entit ies suffer from inherent problems. Lack of competition remove s strong incent ives for economic efficiency. Obtaining revenue via ta xation preclude s the direct feedback from users inherent in buyer-seller relat ion ship s in the marketp lace. Civil service regulat ions significa ntly restr ict the eff icient use of personnel. And political


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onzon. The world of ATC is changing and growing. With the help of computer technology you can see more and do more now than you could even five years ago, both in simulation and in radar data processing and display. Not surprisingly it is Ferranti that is changing the picture. We are foremost in applying computers and display systems to the ATC function. The work we are putting into the processing and display of ATC pictures is bringing simulators and operational systems closer together. And we are doing some forward thinking and planning for the new ATC techniques that will soon be coming into view. If you want to broaden your ATC horizons, contact:Ferranti Computer Systems Limited, Cwmbran System Sales, Ty Coch Way, Cwmbra.p_,Gwent NP44 7XX Telephone: Cwmbran (06333) 71111 Telex: 497636

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control makes long-range planning difficult. Given its structure, it is hardly surprising that we find such prob lems in the ATC system. The history of the ATC system provides ample evidence of the drawbacks of government operation. One of the most serious indicators is the historical pattern of technological lag. Few outside the aviation industry realize that most of the fundamental advances in air navigation tech nology have been developed outside the FAA. During the 1930s , airborne VHF radio, omnidirectional navigation beacons (VOR), and blind-landing systems ( I LS) were developed by electronics firms under the leadership of Aeronautical Radio. Inc . (ARINC), a not-for-profit company set up in 1929 with the airlines as its stockholders. 2 These innovations were pushed by ARINC despite the reluctance and conservatism of the FAA' s prede cessor agencies, the Bureau of Air Commerce and the Civil Aeronautics Authority. ARINC also set up the first air traffic contro l centers, in 1 9 3 5 and 1936. After World War II, ARINC pioneered the replacement of radio telegraph communication w ith voice radio for overseas flights- again, over the opposition of the CAA. 3 During the 1950s , the CAA resisted the implementation of radar separat ion of air traffic, known as th e 'pos itive control' of airspace, to reduce the likelihood of mid-air collisions. The gradual introduction of positive contro l came in response to a series of mid-air collisions in 1956. 1958 , 1960, and 196 5. Outside advisory committees - the Rad io Technical Committee for Aeronautics in 1948, the Huff Committee in the 1950s. and the Ale xander Committee in the 1960s - laid out evolutionary plans for making full use of state-ofthe-art electronics and comm uni cations techno logy, but their recommendations were not syste mati cally followed by the CAA or the FAA. In the 1960s and the 1970s . the FAA began using co mput ers in air traffic contro l. Its initia l automation plan was based on IBM 7090 computers w hich even IBM protested would be obso lete by the time they we re installed. The seco nd-generation computer system (using IBM 9020s) installed in the 1970 s has been the subject of ongoing controversy. espec ially over the frequency of system outages and the inadequ acy of the back -up equ ipm ent and procedures. 4 In addition , today 's primary navi gation aid remains the old-fashioned network of VOR stations Aircraft fly ing under instrument f light rules (IFR) - whi c h means all commercial flights 4

Nairobi A TCC

and many private planes - must genera lly fly along radial paths from one VOR to another, in zigzag fashion. The modern alternative is to use an onboard computer to plot a straight- line course from origin to destination , using the VOR signals merely as references. Widespread use of this tech nique , known as 'a rea navigation ' has been possible for over a decade . It wou ld greatly expand the capacity of the airways . But the FAA's ATC system is still not equipped to handle large numbers of pilots sett ing their own co urses. Knowledgeable observers long have fau lted the FAA for inept management . In 1970, Aviation Week editor Rob ert Hotz criticized the FAA' s lack of meaningful progress on ATC automat ion , citing the 'tec hnical incompetence and slothful leade rship of the FAA and its predecessor agencies. ' 5 The Hou se Government Activities Subcommittee, st udying ATC problems in 1970 , stated that 'The FAA simpl y does not move forward . All too often in the past, progress has been the result of tragedy.· 6 In 1975 , the FAA' s bureaucracy was termed 'large and unwieldy and may serve as a detriment to FAA' s performance of its safety mis sion· by a ten -man task force appointed by Transportation Secretary, Claude Brinegar .7 Furthermore, the ta sk force described the agency's advanced technology program as ' relatively immediate and sho rt-te rm in out look.· Serious FAA planning and management problems . suc h as a lack of cost-effectiveness ana lysis. were also identified by the General Accou nting Offi ce in a 1976

report on air traffic control system improvements .8 One of the most serious indictments of the ATC system was made by the Special Air Safety Advisory Group, six retired airline pilots appointed by the FAA in 197 5 . They concluded that the ATC system itself is 'too dependent, on the human element . . . (and) has grown from old concepts with complex fixes applied to it in an attempt to accommodate its inadequacies.' 9 This , in turn, created 'a monster of procedures. rules , methods' which has actually ·created hazards, slowed traffic, restricted productive flight. and used energy in frightening amounts .· Why this history of a lack of effective long -range planning , te chnologi ca l lag, unconcern with costeffectiveness, and unre sponsiveness to user needs? To what extent a re these problems inherent in the natur e of air traffic con trol? To what extent are they a fun ct ion of the ATC system as a government bureaucracy? Would the same problems exist were ATC being provided by, say, ARINC or Bendix Field Services? Inadequate Long-Term Planning Why can't the FAA make and carry out long-term plans for ATC that provide the services airspace users need? One reason is a lack of cont inuit y in top management. Between 1961 and 1981, the FAA had seven administrators, serving an average term of 3 5 months (plus a number of short-term acting administ rators). Each sought to put his own stamp on the agency, re-


suiting in frequent shifts of emphasis and direction. None of them had real long-term commitment to the ATC system because the job is a political appointment. not a career position. Real reform is blunted because each new administrator can place the blame for mismanagement on his predecessors, assuring Congress that this time things are finally under control. No one suggests that it may be th'=: system itself that prevents continuity and so discourages reform. . A second cause of planning failure 1s.congressional oversight. Unlike a private business where feedback from the users is expressed directly. ATC user and employee dissatisfaction gets filtered through the political system. The result is continual interference from Members of Congress. Much of this criticism may be in response to genuine problems. as the m~ny GAO and congressional committee reports attest. But political grandstanding by vote-seeking congressmen does not produce a climate conducive to rational. long-term system planning and management. lnste~d. it creates an atmosphere of cns1s response and bureaucratic selfpreservation. . These constraints would disappear if ATC services were transferred to the private sector. Complex. continuously operating systems such as the t_elephone system. gas and oil pipelin~s. chemical process plants. and airline communications and computer systems are all managed successfully ~Y private sector firms which engage in ro_utine long-term planning for system improvements. There is no reason to think that similar planning would be any less successful in an ATC corporation.

Technological Lag Historically the FAA has failed to d_evelop new technologies and resisted their implementation. One reason may be simple bureaucratic sloth. An organization that is insulated from the marketplace. faces no competition. and whose revenues come from taxes rather than directly from its customers. simply has no strong incentives to seek out new and better ways of doing things. Instead. the internal incentives of preserving the status qua and protecting bureaucratic fiefdoms usually dominate. This tendency is reinforced by the civil service system. which makes it extremely difficult to fire incompetent employees. 'The FAA as an organization has more independent empires than medieval Europe.· concuded the House Government Activities Subcommittee in 1970. Jnd there is little

reason to believe that the situation has changed materially in the meantime. 10 A second reason for technological lag is political. There are inherent conflicts between the interests of different airspace users. The most important of these conflicts is between private pilots of light aircraft (referred to as ·general aviation') and the airlines. The general aviation community has opposed numerous advances in air safety. such as positive control. airborne transponders, and collisionavoidance systems. because they would restrict the amount of airspace available to light aircraft whose owners refused to spend the money needed to add new safety equipment. In a free marketplace setting, the large economic interests of airline and business-jet users would be served most effectively by an ATC system that readily took advantage of new safety technology. General aviation users, who mainly fly for pleasure. would either have to pay the price of flying in the more sophisticated regions or be relegated to out-of-the-way locations where they would not pose a hazard to properly equipped aircraft. But the ATCexists in a political. nonmarketplace, setting. The 250.000 general aviation aircraft owners. located in every congressional district. exert considerable pressure on the FAA. via Congress. to compromise on safety requirements. The most recent instance concerned the FAA's decision to reject the Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). developed by Honeywell. in favor of an FAA-developed system called TCAS. which will be available many years later at five times the cost of ACAS. The principal reason for the decision. according to former FAA official James Pope. was the opposition to ACAS expressed by general aviation interests. To beeffective. ACAS would have required restrictions on the operation of nonACAS-equipped aircraft. a requirement missing from TCAS. 11 The implementation of a nation-wide collision avoidance system. therefore. has been delayed five to ten years. and its cost raised substantially. because of the pressures inherent in the ATC system· s present political nature.

Lack Of Cost-Effectiveness According to the GAO report previously cited: the FAA. asof 1976. did not know 'whether programs to develop the (ATC) system are cost-effective·; the FAA' s development plans for the system ·do not use savings techniques such as life-cycle costing and design-to-cost goals'; furthermore. ·cost-benefit analyses were not done

to anticipate the needs of decisionmakers· but only after the fact. 12 Once again. the FAA's insulation from the marketplace is at fault. With no stockholders to satisfy. no financial markets to deal with, and no customers to risk losing. the FAA simply does not have the incentives for cost-effectiveness that exist in corporate entities. It can virtually allow engineers to design whatever they like. and then present the tab to Congress as a fait accompli. One of the strongest indications of poor cost-effectiveness is the ATC system's men vs. machine trade-offs. The FAA's monopoly status and the presence. until recently. of a strong union has led to retention of an overly large workforce of highly paid people. much of whose work could have been automated at less cost. Transportation economists have noted a similar phenomenon in municipal transit systems over the past two decades. With a near-monopoly on the transit market. nearly unlimited access to federal funds. and strong unions. labor costs accounted for 71 percent of the increase in transit system costs between 1967 and 1976. 13 Thus. for institutional reasons having to do with its bureaucratic/ monopoly/ non-marketplace structure. the FAA has poured resources into labor that should have gone into advanced technology.

Unresponsiveness To User Needs The results of voting in politics differ significantly from the results of voting with dollars in the marketplace. Much of the FAA's behavior in resisting technology and procedures that could enhance safety stems from these political constraints. In economic terms. the interests of millions of airline passengers and corporate aircraft fliers are subordinated to those of the far less numerous but politically influential pleasure fliers. The same issue is at the root of conflicts over peak-hour access to airports. The FAA has always resisted efforts to put a price on this scarce (and therefore) valuable commodity. Naturally. at a price of zero. demand tends to exceed supply during highly desirable hours at popular airports. A private system operator. faced with this problem. would solve it easily by peakhour pricing, testing various prices until he found one at which demand and supply at each airport were in balance The telephone system charges higher rates during business hours than for evenings and weekends: even movie theaters charge more at busy times such as Saturday nights The FAA on the other hand. has at tempted to solve the problem arbitrar


ily, by a rationing system called 'flow control'. As of July 1982, Air Transport Association (ATA) and Regional Airline Association officials were expressing concern that the FAA was planning to make permanent its 'temporary' flow-control procedures, adopted during the air controllers' strike, as a way of saving money. · Right now the FAA can limit access to any airport for any reason based on their subjective judgment, · Gary Church of the ATA told Aviation Week. 'We don't want some supervisor at La Guardia making the decisions unilaterally. The FAA must involve users on a day-to-day and even hourto-hour basis.' 14 But in practice such involvement is unlikely to occur in a system so insulated from the marketplace, where users must fight for political clout, rather than being able to express their preferences by means of prices.

Poor Labor Relations A common view of the PATCO strike is that it was the result of union militants exploiting their monopoly position. But according to an independent task force appointed by Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis after the strike, the FAA's labor relations have been dismal for 1 5 years - and still are. 'Mora'le within the air traffic and airways services divisions of

the FAA is not good. It is, in fact very poor,' said the report. 15 The problems that caused the strike are reappearing and could cause further trouble and disruption, concluded the task force. Once again, the culprit is the FAA bureaucracy. FAA's air traffic control managers have never been selected on the basis of management talent or trained in modern management techniques. They tend to be 'autocratic,' 'impersonal,' 'by-the-task' types, the study says. And because of civil service constraints, such bad apples cannot be fired, as they could in a private organization. Moreover, superfluous layers of management, the result of a lack of cost-consciousness, tend to alienate regional FAA managers and insulate top managers from controllers' problems. As with the other problems cited, there are no guarantees that private sector organizations would be immune from morale problems. But once the link is understood between the FAA' s institutional nature - its bureaucratic, civil service structure; its monopoly provider status; its funding by taxes rather than direct user payments; and its subordination to severe political constraints - it becomes clear that its problems are predictable. And these problems would be much less evident were ATC services provided by marketplace institutions.

Didn't Recognize the Problem The previous day a freezing drizzle with snow had covered the aircraft but it had been removed by the pilot and by evaporation on the day of the flight. The Piper PA-16 was a 33 year old antique with an unknown history of maintenance. No maintenance had been done since the low-time pilot purchased it 3 weeks earlier, but he had flown it for about 1 2 hours. Most of the pilot's experience had been in a warm climate. On takeoff the airspeed underread but he failed to recognize it. He did a touch and go then left the circuit for local practice. On approach the airspeed was reading 100 mph. He trimmed back and raised the nose to reduce speed, but the indicator still read 100 mph. When he finally realized the nose was too high, it was too late. The aircraft stalled and plunged into trees - a complete write-off. The airspeed system was either frozen or the indicator stuck. The pilot lacked the training or experience to identify the problem when it first surfaced, and the skill or technique to cope with it when the airspeed indicator failed.

References 1

2 3

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5

6

7

8

9

10 11

12 13

14

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See, for example, F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1 944 ); Anthony Downs. Inside Bureaucracy (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1966); Gordon Tullock, Private Wants, Public Means (New York: Basic Books, 1970); William A. Niskanen, Jr., Bureaucracy and Representative Government(Chicago: AldineAtherton, 1971 ); James M. Buchanan and Robert D. Toll1son_(eds.),Theory of Public Choice(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1972); Thomas Sowell, Knowledge and De<:1s1ons(NewYork: Basic Books, 1980); James T. Bennett and Manuel H. Johnson. Better Government at Half the Pnce (Ottawa, Illinois: Caroline House, 1981 ); E.S. Savas, Privatizing the Public Sector (Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House, 1982). Paul Goldsborough, 'A History of Aeronautical Radio. Inc., from 1929 to 1942,' July 2, 1951 (unpublished). Robert W. Poole, Jr., 'Toward Safer Skies,' in Robert W. Poole, Jr., ed., Instead of Regulation (Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1982). . . . . US. Congress, Senate, Committee on Appropriations, lnvest1gat1onsStaff, 'FAA's En-Route Air Traffic Control Computer System' (Report of the Subcommittee on Transportation, October 1980). Robert Hotz, 'A Lagging Bureaucracy,' Aviation Week & Spc:ce Technology, July 20, 1970. US Congress, House of Representatives, Government Act1v1t1esSubcommittee, 'Problems Confronting the Federal Aviation Administration in the Development of an Air Traffic Control System for the 1970s,' July 16, 1970. US Department ofTransportation. · Report of the Secretary's Task Force on the FAA Safety Mission,' April 30, 197 5. US General Accounting Office, 'Issues and Management Problems tn Developing an Improved Air Traffic Control System.' December 15, 1976. US Special Air Safety Advisory Group, 'Report to the Federal Administration,' July 30, 1975. Note 6. supra. John Doherty, ·collision Course,' Reason, Vol. 14, No. 2. June 1982. Note 8. supra. Charles A. Lave, 'Dealing with the Transit Deficit,' Journal of Con temporary Studies, Vol. IV, No. 2, Spring 1 981. 'FAA Continues to Weigh Peak-Hour ATC Staffing,' Aviation Week & Space Technology, July 26. 1982. US Department of Transportation, · Management and Employee Relations within the Federal Aviation Administration,· Larry M. Jones. et al.. March 1982.


Major Economic Issues e iewed by I CAO Assembly The 24th Session of the ICAO Assembly-Meeting (20 September to 10 October, Montreal), reviewed a number of problems against a background of depressed economic conditions which have affected all sectors of civ il aviation since the last triennal Assembly in 1 980. One of the most serious of these issues - discussed by the Assembly's Economic Commission - resulted from the increasing difficu lti es, especially for developing countries, of securing the necessary resources for the development of air transport. A paper presented noted that in recent years world-wide economic difficulties have placed considerable strain on international trading relationships and have led to currency instabilities and protectionist measures by some States. Associated balance-of-payments problems have resulted in currency restrictions and, in some State s, these have impeded the transfer of funds derived from air transport operations. A major problem centers on the operating losses of air carr iers over the past three years due to increased fuel prices. labor costs. inter est rates and the sagging travel market in 1981 and 1982 . As a result, most airlines have

lacked the necessary capita l reserves to preserve financia l health and sustain growth . The paper also states that many airports and route air navigation facilities still do not recover their costs from operating revenues. The main reason given is that required facilities and services are comp lex, cost ly and demand a high level of utilization for economical operation. (An ICAO Conference on Airport and Rout e Faci lity Economics wh ich considered the problem in 1 981 resulted in the ICAO Council revising its principles and guidance to States for the recovery of their costs) . The slow clearance of passengers and cargo at int ernational airports cont inues to be a problem in many States. Length y and outdated procedures are applied at many airports, pointing to the need for greater coordination between responsible agencies to avoid delays and excess ive costs. However, it is through its trien nial Assemblies that ICAO amends its Annex standards and recommended practices to keep abreast of development s and periodicall y reviews their implementation so as to inform States of required improvement s. A separate report by the ICAO

Council points to major efforts in improving fuel efficienc y in air transport by governments , aircraft operators and aircraft. engine and equipment manufacturers as the result of the jump in fuel prices in 1973 and 1974 . These efforts have continued into the 1980s w ith better fuel perform ance. improved procedures w ith respec t to flight-le vel assignment s, cru isi ng speeds, the managemen t of reser ves. and a range of other operation al practices in the air and on the ground. ICAO has encouraged operational practices aimed at conser vi ng fue l through air traf fic managemen t and traffic flow contro l systems t o streamline and modernize the flow of air traffic and eliminate costly dela ys The result of the vario us efforts on international scheduled serv ices has been a reduction in fuel consumpt ion per available tonne-kilome te r of 1 6 per cent between 197 3 and 1981. Fuel consumption for 1 982 is esti mated to be almost unchanged from 1 981. Further improvements in fuel effic iency and the anticipated outlook for oil prices may be expected to result in adequate supplies of aviation fuel being available at price levels which w ill not seriously hinder the growth in air transport over the 1 980s and 199 0s. The 24th Assembly, atte nded by high civil aviation offic ials of most of the 1 51 ICAO Contracting Sta t es. will also review other aspects of the Or ganization¡ s w ork program in the fields of air navigation, air transport. international air law and technica l assistance.

7


A New Air Traffic Control System for Cyprus by Ch. Pericleous M.Sc., E.Eng., A.M.R.Ae.S.

Following a comprehensive study of the requirements in aviation ser vices and the need to provide a safe and efficient method of transportation for all people who use and depend upon the Nicosia A TC services, the government of Cyprus has decided to proceed with the introduction of a new air traffic control system. This report inclu des a review of the present operational system, enumerates the main benefits which will result from the planned actions, and finally describes the objectives and basic elements of the new air traffic control system.

The Present Operational

System

The Nicosia Flight Informat ion Region (FIR) covers mos t of the eastern part of the Mediterranean ai r space (Fig 1 ). Aircrah flying within the Ni cos ia FIR are subject to air traffic control (ATC) from Nicosia ATC Centre and Larnaca Airport. At present all air traffic contro l is executed by the accepted procedura l method Th e latter method uses informat ion rece ived from aircraft as they fly over prede t ermined ground reporting points located by navigationa l aid s such as MF nondirectional beacons an d V HF omniranges (VOR). The Nicosia ATCC uses extens ively a VOR/ DME system located near the Larnaca Int ernationa l Airport situated in the S E part of the island. This facility const itute s a foca l point for a number of majo r air routes from adjacent cou ntrie s and it is used as the prime navigationa l aid in determin ing the sepa rat ion minima of all traffic in the area. A s is we ll known, a basic proce dural ATC system relies primarily upon the fact that if a pilot says he is cer tain of his pos ition. the cont ro ller must accept this statement and ar range the separation of other ai r traffic under his c ontrol based upon this information . Now , the precision of airc raft position with respect to flight route . altitude and time determines the min imum sepa ration standards 8

Ch. Pericleou s be twee n aircraft, which in turn determines the ma ximum number of aircra ft that ca n safel y use a certain volume of air space at the same time . Currently accept ab le overall VOR acc ur ac ies of ¹ 5 ° at 95 % confidence leve l are maintained. Th e Nico sia ATCC organization is based on two secto r unit s, nam ely East and West. Air traffic control is also exerc ised by Larnaca Aer odrome Con trol . Larnaca app roach control exten ds to a rang e of 60 nm. The ove ral l traffic situ at ion is therefore an integration of outbound. overflying and c ro ssing traff ic as we ll as traffic with Beirut and Tel-Aviv Airport s In this t raff ic one mu st in cl ude military airc raft from th e Briti sh milit ary base of Ak rotiri and American military airc raft flyi ng t o and fr om Turke y A rece nt addition to t he traffic is the inb oun d tr affic to the new Paphos Airport located in the SW part of Cyprus All thi s traf fi c. both c ivil and milit ary, must of necess ity ope rate in the same air space. Th e tota l tra ffi c movement during the years 1971- 1981 is shown in Fig . 2 .

Movement controlled by Nicosia ATCC and Nicosia Aerodrome ATC showed a steady growth from 1 9 71 to 197 4 when the Turkish invasion resulted in the closure of the airport. After the opening of Larnaca Airport in 1975, the traffic showed a steady increase with the exception of the year 1976 which showed a decline caused by the closure of Beirut Airport. The present rate of growth of aircraft activity, the complex nature of c iv il and military air traffic in the area, the potentially dangerous situation that has existed since 197 4 in the Northern part of the Nicosia FIR, (complete lack of communication between Ankara ATCC and Nicosia Centre), which results in aircraft entering Nico sia' s area of responsibility from Turkey without prior receipt of flight plans. and the pos sibilities of abnormal situations such as sudden bad weather, communication failure. aircraft malfunction, uncontrolled airc raft infringing the Nicosia FIR ; all these factor s dictate urgent action by the respo nsible authorities in order to sec ure the safety of air tran sportation in the area. In view of the above, and the need for a safe, reliable and efficient man agem ent of air traffic , the Gove rnment of the Republic decided to proceed w ith the modernization of the ATC system. The Dep artment of Civil Aviation , w ith the assistance of experts from the International Civil Avia tion Organ ization , carried out an extensive st udy of the existing and future requirements and reco mmended th e intr od uction of a radar supported ATC system . Benefits of a Radar System

Th e mission of the air traffic cont ro l system is to maintain sepa rat ion between th e ai rcra ft for wh ic h it is respo nsibl e Accurate and cont inuou s know ledge of airc raft pos iti o n is essent ial to the effi cient fun ct ion ing of the A TC process.


Fig. 7

Nicosia FIR service area

The addition of radar facilities as an aid to ATC provides the contro ller with a means of confirm ing the pilot's reports since the radar provides an independent data source on aircraft pos iti on. identity and altitud e. Current ly two types of radar are used in ATC namely Primary Radar (PR) and Secondary Survei llance Radar (SSR) The inform ation supp lied by the primary radar system compr ises an azimuth angle and slant distance whereas additional data required by ATC services - in particu lar aircraft identity and flight level - have to be obta ined by other method s i.e . secondary surveillance radar . Primary radar detects aircraft by transmitting pulses of radio energy wh ich are reflected from aircraft back to the radar receive r The echo from the airc raft appea rs as a bright spot on the radar disp lay and indicates its

positi on. Secondary radar (SSR) depends on equipment carr ied by th e aircraft (a transponder) wh ich receives pulses from a ground 路 interrogator 路 and automatica lly transmits return pulses. Each pu lse from the 'interrogator 路 is accepted by the tran sponder in the aircraft where it responds in code back to the 路interrogator '. The coded information is displayed to the controller in a form wh ich indi cates the identity and f light level of the aircraft. The app lication of prim ary and seco ndary surveil lance radars leads to co ntinuous more or less comp lete real time indicati on of air traffic. Henc e. careful monitoring of blips on radar screens and corre lat ion w ith flight prog ress data noted on co ntr ol strips help to further exped ite air traffic flo w for both civ il and non coop erating (milita ry) airc raft.

Briefly the following advantages are envisaged wit h the intro duction of a radar based ATC system: ( 1) Greater utilization of t he avail able air space by the application of radar separation standards (2) Provisio n of a far more flexible system for the coordination of air traf fic Provision of an approach control service for Larnaca Aerodrome and facilitating the accurate positioning and routing of aircraft on arrival and departure. (4) Provision of a radar sepa rat ion service from unidentified aircraft con sidered to constitute a hazard . (5) Provision of a radar vectoring service to Larnaca approach control facility. (6) Provision of a radar nav igation to aircraft in an emergency and assistance to aircraft on request 9


(7) Provision of greater flexibility of air space operations by utilizing the high capability of transponder equipped aircraft. (8) Provision of the ATCC with radar data for higher levels of automation. ( 9) Increase of safety. ( 10) Identification and current flight level display of all SSR equipped aircraft. ( 11) Video map definition of all required features, e.g. coastline. zone boundaries, local flying areas, danger restricted and prohibited areas and standard routes can be displayed. ( 1 2) With better flow control there should be reduced delays and reduced fuel consumption. (13) Finally. as a result of the introduction of a new ATCC system. flight operations will be carried out with the minimum of constraint and with the highest practical fuel efficiency while accommodating the growing demand. Following the recommendations from the Civil Aviation Department. the Government of Cyprus delegated to the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CYTA). the responsible public corporation for the provision and maintenance of telecommunication services to civil aviation. the task of the procurement of a suitable ATC system.

Outline of System Objectives With the Civil Aviation and ICAO experts report to hand the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority nominated a committee for the study and intensive review of all the proposals and the drafting of the technical and operational specifications of a suitable tendering document. The specification requirements defined by the committee were briefly based on the following: (a) A primary radar system capable of resolving targets in all weather conditions. even in the presence of severe clutter with a range greater than 1 50 nm. (b) An SSR system capable of meeting the air traffic requirements within Nicosia FIR until the year 2000. It was acknowledged that the increasing use of SSR transponders by international air carriers will gradually make this system the prime source of radar derived information whilst it will increase 'fruit'. ¡ garble' and other problems inherent in the present system. The requirement therefore. asked for an improved SSR antenna and an accurate. flexible, modular and expandable system. preferably using monopulse techniques. 10

Movements (Thousands}

120

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116,921

110 100

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90

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85,335

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80

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72,278

70

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1971

Fig.2

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

Years

Total annual air traffic handled by Cyprus Air Traffic Services Units (year 1971-1987)

(c) The radar data shall be transmitted independently from the Radar Head subsystem to - Nicosia ATCC and - Larnaca Airport Control for further processing and display of information. (d) A fully synthetic, bright, independent and computer controlled display system allowing higher levels of automation and expansion. The use of dedicated computers was considered as the most appropriate configuration. (e) To provide an ATC system based on integrated radar and procedural controller suites urgently required at present but capable of future expansion allowing flexibility and adaptability to the changing requirements of services that the Civil Aviation Department of the Republic of Cyprus might require until the turn of the century.

Overview of Basic System Requirements The outline of the chosen system approach was based on the immediate needs but. the ability of the system to be expanded to meet future demands for added operational and functional requirements was also considered to be of paramount importance. Of course, as happens in the majority of cases, the final system capabilities are a compromise solution of satisfying the operational. technological and cost objectives defined for a given system. The principal elements of the Cyprus ATC system are organized into three functional areas (Fig. 3) as follows:

The Radar Head section at Mount Kionia. The Nicosia ATC Center. The Larnaca Airport ATC Unit. The Radar Head subsystem includes the primary and secondary radar equipment and associated plot extractors capable of delivering digital radar data for transmission to the Nicosia ATCC and Larnaca Airport. This data is further processed and subsequently displayed upon synthetic plan position indicators thus providing the controllers with an unambiguous. dynamic and overall picture of the air traffic situation. The overall system block diagram is shown in Figure 4.

Radar Head Section Mount Kionia was recommended as the Radar Head site since this location was found to be the most suitable and cost-effective site in terms of coverage requirements of both Nicosia ATCC and Larnaca Airport. In addition. this site offers lower level cover in the area of Nicosia Airport. should the latter be reopened in the future. The Kionia repeater station is situated 1420 m above sea level and at a distance of approximately 30 miles from Nicosia. The site analysis that was carried out to determine the shadowing effect caused by high ground showed that in both Nicosia and Larnaca sectors optimum coverage was possible without any shadows. It is estimated that apart from a small arc to the west caused by Mount Olympus and other high ground. the minimum coverage dictated by the operational requirements could satisfactorily be met from Kionia site.


Currently. this site is used by the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority as a microwave relay station and has satisfactory access roads and electricity supplies. The Radar Head subsystem requirements call for the following facilities: (i) Rotating primary dual beam aerial and turning gear with ¡ on mounted' SSR aerial assembly operated by a dual motor drive system. (ii) Dual channel 23 cm primary radar operating in diversity and comprising transmitter. receiver. signal processing. plot extractors and local control facilities. (iii) Dual channel SSR interrogator/ receiver assembly with associated plot extractors and signal decoding equipment. (iv) Data transmission (modem). channelling and microwave transmitting/ receiving equipment. (v) Local control and monitoring facilities including a radar monitor display unit. The main features of the system are briefly described below. The required PR system will be equipped with two fully identical channels operating in

diversity. thus ensuring high operational availability. increased range coverage and improved detection probability. It will be capable of detecting a target of 3 square meters cross section flying in various aspects and at ranges of at least 1 50 nm from the radar site with the probability of detection of at least 80%. A radar coverage from horizon to at least 30 degrees elevation bounded by a height of 66 OOOfeet is required (Fig. 5. section A). An L-band primary antenna assembly especially designed for air traffic surveillance. capable of working in a severe clutter and climatic environment. having a large aperture. high gain and sharp cut off characteristics is considered highly desirable. These features ensure a long range with improved protection against ground clutter contamination. Furthermore the possibility of interference with the Makarios Earth Station is minimized. A dual feed system in a high/ low configuration is required. A turning gear capable of continuously rotating the aerial including the ¡on mounted SSR' antenna at a fixed speed of 5 or 6 rpm is also required.

The extensive use of solid state components (with the exception of the output RF valve) is highly desirable in the design of all transmitter units. The receiver system requirements include two identical receivers. one per frequency, capable of processing and combining the RF inputs of the two (high and low) antenna beam patterns. The overall receiver gain is required to be such as to ensure that the signals input to the Moving Target Indicator (MTI) processing circuits are not saturated and hence not polluted by a clutter spectrum spreading. Digital techniques in the signal processing circuits. and a high quality of target-to-clutter discrimination with a near optimum overall radar improvement factor are required. Automatic target recognition will be obtained from the processed signals, and extraction of target reports using integration techniques over several successive radar sweeps is anticipated. The SSA system is required to provide an interrogation range of up to 200 nm (Fig. 5. areas A and B) with high accuracy and resolution both in range and azimuth.

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The SSR system operates in the L-band at 1030 MHz in the transmit mode and at 1090 MHz in the receive mode. The operational features of the SSR system are laid down in the publication 'Aeronautical Telecommunications' Annex 10. Vol. 1 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The typical SSR equipment consists of dual interrogator-receivers. dual SSR plot extractors and automatic test and changeover facilities. Modern equipment is of entirely solidstate design and modular in construction. The current requirements of the Cyprus ATC system are limited to the use of Modes 3A and C. however. the system shall be capable of expansion to cater for future operations in Mode

The SSR antenna assembly is required to operate on top of the L-band primary radar antenna. A principal feature anticipated is a sharp cut off of radiation pattern at the horizon. which reduces excessive ground reflections. The existence of the latter may result in a number of undesirable effects. such as missed aircraft targets at certain elevation angels. false aircraft targets. and/ or split targets. Recent SSR antenna designs of the open planar array type have proved to possess several features which are becoming increasingly desirable as air traffic expands and SSR becomes more sophisticated and automated. The main features are: Sharp cut off. - High quality monopulse pattern. - 'Integral' side-lobe suppression (SLS) pattern.

S. The provision of a far field SSR transponder preferably installed at Nicosia

ATCC will provide an independent monitor I check of the performance of the whole SSR system. Plot extracted information and digital messages SSR and PR systems will be evaluated in the sense of aircraft identification and target tracking. The processed radar data together with control signals will be subsequently fed to appropriate data modems for transmission to the Nicosia ATCC and Larnaca Airport. Transmission may be effected via telephone channels over the microwave links operating between the radar head site and the aforesaid centers. A monitor display is required for use at the radar head site preferably capable of displaying analogue video as well as synthetics. The main objective of this monitor display unit is to enable engineering adjustments to be carried out on the radar system.

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Digitized and processed radar data will be transmitted over narrow-band communication channels to Nicosia ATCC and the control tower at Larnaca. The operation facility in Nicosia ATCC will be organized into two functional areas namely the operations rooms area and the radar workshop/ equipment room. The operations area will house three air traffic control suites and a supervisory position (Fig. 4 ). Each control suite comprises of a radar position. a procedural controller position and an assistant position. The radar control console houses a display unit together with controller input facilities such as a functional keyboard an alphanumeric keyboard. rolling ball and associated processing. communications. and telephone facilities. The procedural control console contains communications and telephone facilities together' with a flight progress board. The assistant controller position will be provided with telephone facilities and a working area suitable for the tasks and operating procedures required. i.e. flight progress strip bays. The equipment and system necessary to operate and support the radar display and communications control system will be installed in the radar workshop/ equipment room. One hot standby radar display will also be available in this room. Radar data arriving at the ATCC will be distributed to all five display units. Each unit is an entirely self-sufficient assembly. All displays receive the same information from the data distribution unit and handle separately and


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autonomously the data to be dis- standby ATCC control suite. the supervisor control position. the played. Independently generated equipment room radar processing and digital maps will be supplied to each display unit. Up to five different maps display facilities and the radar data recording/ playback equipment. The are required to be generated. simulator system shall form a conA number of functions such as the following may be performed in each figuration of two 'pilots' and up to two groups of 'students' while the display unit. . remaining consoles will be used for • code-to-call sign correlation control of 'live· traffic. • altitude filtering • picture processing (off cen_ter- In order to further improve the efing. scale expansion. label orien- ficiency and flexibility of the ATCC it has been suggested that an automatic tation) . • processing of the various system of printing progress strips shall be provided. The main advantages of operators orders Controller inputs to change the syn- introducing such a system will be: thetic display of the air situation as • orderly issuance of flight strips well as inputs for radar data process- • efficiency/ economy ing and target tracking will be made • improved readability of strips • flight strip reprint from the functional keyboard. A multi-channel tape recorder will be • statistical information used for the continuous recording of all radar data received from the radar head. A playback facility will allow the New DC-3? reconstruction of the air traffic presFirst production Douglas DC-3 airentation as offered to the radar control position at the recording interval for craft fitted with Pratt and Whitney investigation in case of conflicts. The PT6A-45R turboprop engines has been ordered by a US regional operatradar system will be remotely monitored and controlled at the ATCC or for combined passenger and cargo revenue service. Nicosia. An engineering control-conThe initial production aircraft will sole will house all control and monitor accommodate 18 passengers in a signals such as operating status on the primary radar. SSA and plot ex- forward passenger compartment and palletized cargo in the aft two-thirds of tractor. control of antenna system. and changeover mode of PRand SSA. the cabin. Supplemental 800 gallon The system specifications ask for the fuel tanks will be installed in the outer possibility of providing a training wing panels. doubling the aircraft's simulator which can make use of the standard 800 gallon capacity.

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Weather Myths Sunshine ahead means improving weather Old aviators use the phrase ·sucker hole' to describe the sun shining on an opening in the cloud ahead. Chances are. that the contrasting brilliance will tempt you into a small hole in an otherwise cloud-filled sky - hardly the environment for the VFR pilot. Checking the weather's a waste of time- they're usually wrong, anyway. It's a popular pastime to enjoy a chuckle over the inaccuracies in weather forecasts. But there· s an insidious danger to this: an attitude of disregarding weather information services. Knowing the weather beforehand does prepare you for the critical decision-making that may occur enroute. If you think that 'I'll be able to see it before I get to it.· you ea n ·t rea Ily assess the true nature of the hazard as you approach deteriorating weather. Seldom are you confronted with a solid wall of cloud; it's that fuzzy world that sneaks up on you. Making that timely turnabout decision is crucial because most pilots who become involved in weather accidents continued to press-on while struggling with this decision. Weather is safer in summer than in winter In winter. heat - the element that causes most of the weather - is absent. Consequently. you'll find less violent weather in winter but on the other hand. visibility in snow showers can be worse than its summer counterpart. 13


News from Corporate

Members

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The strength of Philips Telecommunication as an equipment supplier to civil aviation has been underscored recently by three new orders for installations in the Far East. Philips Aeronautical messageswitching systems will be delivered to Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia - for a total value of nearly$ (US) 19 million. All three systems will be based on Philips' powerful DS-714 processor which forms the 'backbone' of the firm's computerized aerona utica I message-switches.

Hong Kong Hong Kong will be getting a fullyduplicated DS-714 Mark 111/81 message switch (the latest and most powerful version) as part of a major reconfiguration and expansion of the Societe lnternationale des Telecom14

1000 KILOMETRES

o · Terminal station (Blak)

munications Aeronautiques (SITA) network. SITA was founded by 11 airlines in 1949; today, nearly all airlines depend on the SITA network for interairline and interline exchange of information. The current SITA network now in operation was supplied for the better part by Philips Telecommunications and is the world's first commercial packet-switched network. Hong Kong is an extremely important switching center for the Pacific and Far East area. With this installation. six of SITA's major switching centers will be operating DS-714 systems (Paris. London, Amsterdam, Frankfort, NewYorkand Hong Kong). SITA's choice of Philips is not surprising as the firm has been a principal equipment supplier to SITA for decades. For example, the Philips system in use at London is that SITA center' s fourth generation of Philips equipment. As traffic volume has in-

creased, London went from an electro-mechanical ES-1 to an ES-2 to a DS-714 Mark 11 and, finally, to the current Mark Ill.

Singapore Another recent DS- 71 4 order from the Far East was awarded to Philips Singapore by Singapore's civil aviation authorities. The 'Lion City's' new Changi Airport - Asia's newest and largest airport-will soon be equipped with a DS-714-based AERO PP 11 aeronautical message switch. Philips' top-of-the-line AEROPP II will make this 'showcase' airport one of the most powerful and advanced stations in the world-wide Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN). With a 60 percent share of the world market, the AEROPP systems are the most popular and widely-used AFTN message-switches. AEROPP I


and 11versions features two DS-714 processors - one of which remains in hot 'stand-by' mode to insure total reliability and availability under all conditions. These computer-directed. stored-program-controlled switching systems can handle any international airport's AFTN traffic well into the future. Singapore's Telecommunications Authority and Department of Civil Aviation specified a specially-configured message-switching system that incorporated a number of on-line and off-line options and capabilities. Philips路 modular hardware and software concept allows AEROPP systems to be 'tailored' to meet the unique requirements of virtually any customer; this played a major role in Singapore's decision to select Philips equipment.

Indonesia Yet anoth13r DS-714 order from East Asia was recently placed by Indonesia. On order is a multiAEROPP AFTN network to link several Indonesian islands. The heart of the automatic system will be a main AEROPP II (twin DS714 processors) at the international airport at Ujung Pa_nda~g~n the eastern isle of Sulawesr. Thrs brg AEROPP will use existing AFTN c;ircuits to connect four AEROPP-0 (the smallest configuration AEROPP) remote stations on the islands of Sumatra (at Medan and Palembang). Java (at Surabaja) and Bali (at Denp~sa_r). The main AEROPP II wrll incorporate a flight-plan-processor that can strip-print flight plans according to a number of factors. It will also 'envelope' flight strip data in an AFTN header. switch it as it would an AFTN message, and transmit it along existing AFTN lines to be strip-printed at any or all of the remote stations. Other options to be included are the telex network interface and the general purpose file (files aeronautical information under eight classifications). The AEROPP-0 remote switching centres will provide local switching of aeronautical and administrative messages. and will have fully automatic interfaces to the AFTN and public telex networks. Also included are more than 1 50 Philips PATC teleprinter/terminals. Philips International Telecommunications Training Center (PITIC) at Hilversum will provide hardware and maintenance training; operational training will take place in Indonesia. Indonesia's inter-island AEROPP network can be expanded at any time by simple adding new AEROPP-0 remote stations wherever needed.

Cossor Electronics Wins RAF Monopulse SST Contract Cassar Electronics has been selected to supply monopulse SSR (secondary surveillance radar) in a multimillion pound program to equip military airfields throughout the United Kingdom and Germany. The Royal Air Force is the lead sponsor for this program which also includes MOD (PE) airfields. Installation will commence in 1986. At present. the RAF depends largely on primary radar for air traffic control. SSR will provide instant height and identify information of the aircraft within an airfield's traffic zone. The advanced monopulse system that Cassar will provide has the additional advantages of increased bearing accuracy and a lower interrogation rate. This latter advantage is important because it means that the RAF will be able to use SSR without significantly affecting an already crowded UK radar environment. Cassar Electronics has pioneered the development of monopulse SSR. The system to be supplied to the RAF. comprising the SSR 950 monopulse interrogator and the CVP 250 plot extractor. is essentially the same as that

which the company is already installing throughout the United Kingdom on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority as part of the new civil radar network. The company will also supply its LVA (large vertical aperture) antenna which offers improved SSR performance in terms of coverage and the reduction of ground reflections. The CAA has also ordered this antenna from Cassar. and a unit is currently undergoing evaluation trials. Overseas, Cassar is supplying its monopulse SSR systems to Saudi Arabia and Switzerland and is currently under contract for the contract definition phase of the major Canadian radar replacement program for 4 1 monopulse SSR sites. Mr. Charles Shelton, Cossor's Marketing Director, commented. 路we are naturally delighted to have won this contract in the face of stiff competition. It consolidates the world lead we have in monopulse SSR and certainly the confidence that the Royal Air Force has placed in our system will assist us in winning the many export opportunities that exist for it.路

Watchman Civil Air Traffic Control Radar for Exeter Regional Airport Devon County Council have placed an order with Plessey Radar for a Watchman surveillance radar system for Exeter Airport. The specific operational requirements associated with the airport dictated the need for a superior system. The County Council commissioned an in-depth evaluation of the terminal area radars currently available internationally and as a result selected Watchman as it represents the highest quality of performance for their needs. Exeter is situated in one of the most demanding areas for radar operation in the country. The surrounding terrain produces large amounts of ground clutter. there is very heavy precipitation at times and a high number of military operations in the southwest peninsula. The airport works with a wide range of different sizes and types

of aircraft and to operate effectively in all these conditions calls for a radar of the standard of Watchman which is why it was chosen in preference to the other systems offered. Mr. M.R. Hawkins. the County Engineer. says 'Exeter Airport will continue to grow in importance. The Watchman radar is one of the last major investments in this phase of the build-up and will ensure that the Airport maintains its reputation as the premier gateway of the Southwest.路 The program of work being carried out by Plessey Radar for Exeter Airport consists of a site survey for the radar. the supply and installation at the Watchman system. including the construction of the radar tower. and the laying of a fiber optic cross site link to the Air Traffic Control Building The Watchman electronics will be fitted In

Continues on page 30

15


Newsbriefs Going Home Aher a dozen years absence from Cape Kennedy, Grumman is returning to the Spac e Center as part of a Lockh eed-led team of contractors selected by NASA to process the Space Shuttle for launch. The contract is worth mo re than $1 billion for three years and could amount to as much as$ 6 bil lion over the next 1 5 years. This is the largest pact awa rded by NASA in the last decade . As a subcontracto r to Lockheed , Grumman w ill recei ve approximately 1 3 percent of the tota l contract. In order to perform its part of the agreement, Grumman Aerospace fo rmed a wholly -ow ned subsidiary called Grumman Technical Services, Inc. (GTSI) . The new company wi ll operate and maintain the compute r net w ork for ground testing the Shuttle from launc h to landing at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, and Vandenbu rg Air Force Base, California . By early next yea r, it is expected that the subsidiary w ill have 800 people at the Cape, and 300 at Van de nbu rg . The Air Force will begin launches in 1985. Under the Shutt le Processing Contract, Lockheed, Grumman, Morton Thiokol and Pan American w ill perform the services once done through 1 5 sepa rate con tractors . Lockheed, as the prime contractor, is taking over direct respons ibili ty for the Shu ttle orbiter on both coasts, overall launch planning and coo rdin ating functions between the four compa nies. Morton Thiokol w ill recove r the so lid rocke t boosters, while Pan Ame rican is evaluati ng airline turnaround techniques to improve the efficiency of Shuttle proces sing . NASA hope s t his arrang ement can c ut launch cost s by 2 1 percen t . With increased savings an d quicker turnaround times, the Shuttle wi ll be able to compete aga inst other ca rgo launch vehicles, such as the French rocke t Arian e. Even tually , NASA and the Air Force wo uld like to be sending the Shuttle up at least 30 times a year. Grumman 's involveme nt in the space program began almo st 25 years ago and cu lm inated with the first success ful landing of the Lunar Module on the moon in 1969. Th e Lunar Module made seven excurs ions to the moon before t he Apollo progr am ended in 1972. Recently, Grum man comp leted a contract for building the Shuttle's wings. The compa ny hopes during the next decade that GTSI w ill ab le to fu rther Grumman ' s reputation as a developer of space techno logy and hardware, as we ll as the prime so urce of tec hnic al services in the aeros pace arena.

The Royal Navy The Ministr y of Defence has sig ned a co nt rac t wo rth in excess ofÂŁ 1 m wit h IA L to supp ly voice communications con tr ol systems for the re-equ ipment of air tr affi c cont rol cente rs at many of the United Kingdom's Royal Nava l Air Statio ns. IAL Stratu s systems will prov ide bi-di rectiona l comm unicat ions for opera ti onal staff using radio and telephone network s to hand le airc raft move men ts both in the air and on t he ground . The cont ract ca lls for systems to be installed at 1 7 United Kingdom RNAS locatio ns including the principal site s at Yeovi lto n, Portland , Culdrose and Lee-on-So lent. The Stratus distributed mi crocompute r based system is des igned t o meet immedi ate and futu re operatio nal requirements. Following intensive technical appraisal, IAL Stratu s wa s chosen for its technical comp liance to the exacting MOD requ irement , together with its established cred ibility both in the UK and overseas export markets . Delivery of the first system is to co mmence toward s the end of 1984 , w ith contract co mpl,~tion one year later in 1985 .

16

lnex-Adria Airways Orders the A320 The Yugoslav airlin e lnex-Adr ia Airway s announced in Decem ber, an order for eight Airbus lndu strie A320 aircraft (five firm order s and three opt ion s). The purchase decision was announced by lnex-Ad ria's Man aging Director, Mr . Janez Kocijancic , in Ljublj ana, the capita l city of the northern Yugo slav Repub lic of Slovenia and the air line¡s base. Deliveries w ill start in 19 88. The A 32 0 s w ill be laid out in a chart er co nfiguration and operated on lnex-Adri a's domesti c sc heduled routes and int ernati onal cha rter fligh ts to severa l point s in Europe. The A3 20 is a brand-new, single-aisle twinJet seating 150 passenge rs in a standard mi xed class co nfigur at ion . It wi ll co nti nue the Ai rbus tra diti on of te chnolog ica l inn ovati on and provide ope rators w ith vast ly superior fuel and operating cos ts perform ance th an t hose of th e 3,0 00 -plus aircraft now in service that it has been designed to replace .


NASA and DoD

1 J

AWA Ground-to-Air Communications Equipment AWA New Zealand Limited recent ly recei ved a further order from the Civil Aviation Department in Pakistan for ground-to-air mob ile and base stat ion equipment. This repeat purchase brings their total orders for AWA products to over $225.000. The bulk of the order comprises a quantity of 30-watt fu lly modular VHF AM fixed base stations type 2280. The Department also purchased a quantity of AWA TR235A 1 2 watt. 10 channe l mobile radiotelephones in the aeronautica l land. Ground -to -air communications equipment manufa ctu red in New Zealand by AWA complies with Internationa l Civil Avi ation Org anisation (ICAO) specifications.

Substantia l strengthening of research and deve lopment budgets to meet US defence and civil aviation needs was advocated by Roger D. Schaufe le. Vice-President of Engineering at the Douglas Airc rah Company division of McDonnel Dou glas Corporation. In urgin g increased spending for development of NASA and Defense Department technology. Schaufe le told the House Sub co'mmittee on Transportation . Aviat ion and M aterials that ·we badly need to re-ene rgize the innovative. pioneering spirit that was the foundatio n of our current aeronautics industry .· He said fo reign investment in aerona utics technolog y apparently 'dwarfs ours· . especially in the Soviet Union. He reminded the subcommittee that aircraft exports are a leading contributor to the US balance of trade . and that a lead in aeronautics technology is vital to US national interest. Schaufele told the House Subcommittee that industry is in basic agreement with the near-te rm technology goals of both NASA and the Depa rtment of Defense. But. he said. ·our largest co nce rn is the relative lack of long-term. high-risk research and technology in bot h NASA and Do D programs.· In particu lar. he said. there is a lack of experimental aircraft. Such aircraft were plentiful in the technology development programmes of the 1950s. and contributed to the development of much of today's civil and military aeronautics technolog y. Schaufele described several new kinds of airc raft that could result if the required facilities and research programs are funded. The most promising of the near-term technologies is a very efficient propu lsion system featuring an advanced propeller called a propfan. Schaufe le said the propfan concept could have either civil or military applications and could offer efficiency improve ment s of between 1 5 and 20 percent over the best turbofan. or jet prop ulsion systems. In the 21 st cent ury. Schaufe le said. technolog y could make possible a military strategic / reconnaissance aircraft that would takeoff from and land at conventional airfields but be capable to trave lling at 1 2 times the speed of sound and achieving earth orbits as high as 1.200 n mls (2223.6 km). He also said advanced systems technology could produce aircraft that takeoff. complete their missions and land by themselves. Douglas Aircraft Compan y has been doing technology st udie s. w ith Company and NASA funding. of an Advanced Supersonic Transport. capable of carrying 350 or more passengers over long tran sco ntinental routes. Schaufele said studies show civil air travel will grow by at least a factor of three by the year 2000. While such enormous growth may make this type of large. highl y productive transport economically feasible in the next century . its sophisticated aerodynamics technology is being used today in advanced military designs. Schaufele said.

AWA NZ Wins $1,000,000 Contract The Austra lian Department of Aviation has just awarded AWA New Zealand Limit ed a three year supply co ntract for the supp ly of V HF AM ATC equipment . AWA comp leted the supply of an initi al $330.000 order for these equipments in 1982. This lat est contra ct will result in orders worth over $1.200.000 from 1984 to 1986 . The modu lar transmitter / receiver I power supply configuration of the base station is for use in ground-to -air and air-to-ground communica tion s at vario us locations throughout Australia . Low standby current drain and d.c. operation make the equipment ideal for use at remote . unmann ed sites where solar panels and batteries often provide the only power sou rce. The 5- 10 -wa tt tr ansmitter was originally developed in 197 8 for the New Zealand Civil Aviat ion Department and although only 50 mm wide is co ntinuous ly rated at 5 5 ° C ambient temperatures. The receiver employs a spec ial anti -noise mute fac ilit y to enhance speech qua lity under wide ly varying reception conditions . Since the ir entry into thi s market AWA have produced and sold over 2 .400 VHF AM 5-10 -wat t and 30-watt equipments making th em one of the largest producers of this type of equipme nt in the wor ld .

New V.P. for MD Glenn L. Hickerson has been named Vice-President Commer cial Marketing-Europe . Africa and Middl e East for the Dou g las Aircraft Company division of McDonnell Dougl as Corporation . Hicke rson . 46 . has been in a number of key co mmer cial mar keting positions with Lockheed Corporation . the latest that of Vice- President Intern ationa l Sales . He began his career in aviation with Dougla s 111 196 2 . where he became Sec retary-Treasurer of the Douglas F111 ance Corpo ration . From 1967 to 1972 . he was with Universal Airlin es in Oakland . California . rising to President . He subsequently served as Group Vice -President responsibl e for the travel division of Marriott Corporation . A nativ e of Burbank . Californi a. Hicke rson rec eived a Bac helor ' s Degr ee from Claremont M c Kenna College and a Master ' s Deg ree from New York University ' s Graduate Sc hool of Business Admini stration He served In the US Coast Guard Re serve and is a past Director of the National Air Cam er Asso IatIon

17


Sexual Harassment (from the CATCA News Bulletin)

You report for dut y one day and find that you will be wo rking w it h a w insome young thin g w ho has just joined the unit as a trainee. After noticing that she is wea ring a swea ter tha t you feel is t ighter than necessary, yo u : (a)smile mysteriously, give a low w histle and infor m her that there wil l be a mandatory equipment check-o ut following the shift; (b)give her a hug as a specia l we lcome to th e unit: (c )tel l her to get some new clothes if she expects to check-out: (d)tell her a dirty joke to let her know that the control to w er is stil l a man's wo rld; (e) make sure she sees the latest pinup in th e Unit Training Manual . If you chose any of the above, you need to know mor e abo ut sex ual harassment, a problem that is far more peNasive and more seriou s th an man y men w ould like to be lieve. In a rece nt survey by the Canadian Hu man Right s Commi ssion, 36 % of more th an one

thousand women surveyed said they had at some time experienced some form of unwanted sexua l attention on the job . About half the reports involved hara ssment by supervisors: the rest concerned harassment by fellow employees. Of course, not only men are guilty of sexua l harassment. In the wo rld of ATC , however , where women repre sent less than 3% of the Bargaining Unit, there is not much chance of a man feeling oppressed because of unwanted advances of a woman coworker. What is sexual harassment? Sexual haras sment is a form of discrim ination and, like other forms of discrimination, it results in harmful physica l, emotional and psychological consequences to victims. And like victims of other types of discrimination, the victim of sexual harassment is usually a target bec ause she lacks power or authority. The classic case, of course, is a woman who is

. I NO">WEAT 51R.

NEXTril1~ 13t7fff'< ~\\-::::::-:::::::::=-""

18

forced to have sex with her boss in order to keep her job. But in recent years , arb itrators and human rights tribunals have also recognized that even where harassment does not involve any 'quid pro quo' , other types of 'sex ist' behavior in the workplace can result in women being subjected to working conditions that are discriminatory and therefore unlawful. Whether a particular form of behavior amounts to harassment or just 'fooling around ' can be a difficult judgment that involves balancing the protection of one individual agains t the legitimate rights of other employees to express themselves and act within normal bounds. Generally, however , the following have all been held to constitute harassment: verbal abuse unwelcome remarks, jokes, innuendos, or taunting about a person ' s clothing, body or sexual activities displaying pornographic pictures unwelcome invita tions or requ ests, whether indirect or explicit, to engage in sexual behaviour leering or other gestures associated with sexuality unneces sary physical contact such as touching , patting, pinching, grabbing physical assau lt What about the man who claims he was 'ju st foo ling around' or that his action s were only an innocent flirt ation? Where there is any doubt about a


person's intention. the legal test is whether a reasonable person ought to have known that his behavior was unwelcome.

Who can be guilty? In addition to supervisors and coworkers. the employer can also be held legally responsible. Generally. human rights tribunals have taken the position that if a supervisor or member of management is guilty of harassment. !he ~~player is automatically liable since It Is responsible in law for the actions of its managers. But this doesn ·t mean that where the source of harassment is a coworker. the employer can simply turn a blind eye to escape liability. In such cases. if the employer knew or ought to have known of the harassment. it will be liable unless management undertook an investigation and immediate corrective action. Penalties When disciplinary action is taken against an employee who has been guilty of harassment. adjudicators have held that the employer is entitled to impose penalties that are more than a slap on the wrist. Within the Al Bargaining Unit. the PSSRB upheld a oneday suspension for an employee who made a remark that the adjudicator termed ·sexist. unfitting at any time'. Outside the Bargaining Unit. the PSSRB upheld a 5-day suspension against an employee who grabbed a fellow worker by the wrist and told her that she turned him on. American cases on the subject. which PSSRB adjudicators have cited with approval. generally have held that a long-term suspension is an appropriate penalty for harassment. For example: suspensions of 3 to 6 months to employees who persistently used profane and obscene language in the presence of female coworkers a 3-month suspension to an employee who told a fellow worker that her hair looked sexy. grabbed her hand and offered her money as a Christmas gift. discharge of a male employee who made advances to a fellow employee and talked to her in a lewd manner. In addition. where complaints are taken to the Human Rights Commission. a victim of sexual harassment can be awarded damages. In one recent case heard by the federal commission. Canada Manpower and one of its managers were each ordered to pay $2,500 to a woman who was threatened with loss of her job unless she had sex with her manager.

Complaint Several avenues are open to a person who feels she - or he - is being sexually harassed. A grievance can be filed both as a way to bring the problem to the employer's attention and to seek corrective action. However. if the grievor feels that the grievance is not properly dealt with. it may be difficult to refer it to adjudication. Unlike some other agreements with public service unions. the CATCA agreement does not_ ha~e a clause banning discrimination in the workplace. One alternative to the grievance procedure is to make a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Branch of the Public Service Commission. The Branch will treat all complaints as co~fidenti_al. After receiving a complaint: an internal investigation is done and. 1f the complaint is found to be warranted. officials of the Branch attempt to work out appropriate corrective actions with senior management. If the~e Is retaliation against a person who files a complaint. the Branch will treat it as a serious abuse of authority and as grounds for a further complaint. In addition. most federal departments have Equal Opportunities for Women offices which undertake internal investigations of sexual harassment complaints. Finally. a complaint can be made to th~ _Canadian Human Rights CommIssIon. provided it is made within one year of the alleged discrimination. The Commission enforces the Canadian Human Rights Act which prohibits discrimination on several grounds. including sex. As a matter of practice. however. the Commission may refuse to consider complaints by federal employees of sexual harassment on the job unless they first exhaust the grievance procedure or seek the assistance of the Anti-Discrimination Branch. When the Commission does accept a complaint. it normally conducts a staff investigation and following that. It may convene a conciliation hearing in an effort to encourage a settlement of the complaint. If that fails. the Commission may then order the compl~int to be heard by a Human Rights Tribunal. If the complaint is upheld. the Commission can make a cease and desist order. require implementation of programs to prevent discrimination, and order payment of damages to the victim. In most cases. if a complaint goes to a Tribunal. the Commission will act as counsel for the complainant. D

Thermos Flask Hazard In a recent incident overseas a cabin attendant in an unpressuris~d. turboprop aircraft was badly scalded by hot coffee which sprayed onto her neck and face when she opened a Thermos flask. The coffee was ejected from the flask with sufficient force to spray adjacent seats and the cabin roof. Fortunately, the seats were unoccupied. This incident is a useful reminder to us that the boiling point of liquids is lowered under reduced atmospheric pressure. When the cabin attendant opened the flask at altitude. the sudden reduction of pressure in the flask to ambient atmosphere was sufficient to cause the hot coffee to boil violently. Crews of unpressurised and pressurised aircraft alike should take note of this incident and ensure that due care is exercised when opening Thermos flasks of hot liquid if the cabin altitude is much above sea level. It is worth noting that at 5000 ft water boils at 95 ° C.and at 10. OOOft a little under 90 °C.

Wind Shear A $275.000 contract has been awarded to the National Academy of Sciences in the US for a three month study of low level wind shear and its effect on aircraft. The contract calls for the establishment of a joint committee. composed of two panels. which will study low level variables and aircraft performance and operations. and recommend changes where necessary in present procedures The study was mandated by US Congress last year following the crash of a Boeing 727-235 at New Orleans International which resulted In the death of 145 persons on the aircraft and eight on the ground. 19


Anti-smuggling Cargoinspection Systems Developed Two complementary designs are available, one for large containers, the other for palletized freight ... Data provided by British Aerospace

Dynamics

The concealment of contraband or smuggled articles and material within containerized and/ or palletized cargo shipments continues to be a problem for customs personnel. To help combat such illicit operations. our Bracknell Division has developed two versions of a new anti-smuggling container cargo examination system. The system enables customs authorities to examine rapidly standard ISO containers or palletized cargo for contraband without unloading or unpacking the cargo and without causing damage to it. Normally. their searches are designed to reveal any discrepancies against the declared manifest. The examination is thorough. accomplished by means of X rays and spectographic gas analysis in a special-purpose facility. With the larger Container Examination System (CES). containers. on arrival at the examination building. are placed on an automatic conveyor system which carries them forward. Before entering the building. an air sample is taken for spectographic analysis. This is used to detect contraband such as alcohol. drugs and explosives. When the air sample has been taken. the container is then passed in front of a double linear accelerator. 1 meter at a time and exposed to a series of short

Group (United Kingdom)

bursts. The pictures generated by the radiation exposure are stored on a computer and can be viewed as overlapping sections on closed-circuit television - seven views for a 6-m-long container. Outlines of typical contraband items. such as guns and bottles. are readily visible to the operator. However. a range of picture-enhancement techniques is avail- ----------------able to assist with difficult subjects. From his video monitors. the operator can view Instrument Flying two 1-m-wide sections at a time. The complete system is designed to A new device made by Instrument meet international standards of safety Flight Research now makes it possible concerned with X rays and there is no reto train pilots in instrument flying sidual radiation. without the use of cockpit covers. Typically, 20 containers an hour can be The device. called an Instrument examined. Such a high throughput is exMeteorological Condition Simulator pected to be of immense value to customs (IMCS) is completely electronic and is authorities because it is at ports of entry designed to operate in conjunction where every container is opened for inwith 'Visi-Tronic' goggles. By turning spection. a process estimated to take one or two hours to complete. a selector on the control box. the inFor palletized cargoes typically used for structor can change the extent to air freight. a smaller system (PCES) has which the glasses are 'fogged' thus been developed which operates in the varying the visual range from 1 600 m same manner as the larger Container to zero. The glasses are permanently Examination System. 'fogged' over about 80 percent of The CES can handle up to an ISO stantheir surface. The remaining area. in dard 1AA container (nominally 1 2 m long) the bottom part of the glasses. autoand up to 40 tonnes. Its two linear acmatically clears when the pilot looks celerators produce a radiation level of 3.000 Roentgens per minute at 1 m. a down at the instrument panel.

Typicaoarrangements of containers and pallets onexamination Dunes.

------PCES

20

peak energy of 8 MeV and a dosage rate typically at about 3 rads per container section. In contrast. the PCES will accommodate a ~aximum pallet size of 1. 25 m2 by 2.0 m high and up to 2 tonnes. The radiation level is 600 Roentgens per minute at 1 m. 4 MeV peak energy. and dosage is 1 rad per pallet. For both. aromic detection will reveal a single bottle of alcohol or a stick of dynamite per container or pallet. As an option. an atmospheric gas analysis can be provided to search for the vapours produced by explosives. alcohol and drugs. The anti-smuggling system has been developed in co-operation with a number of well-known associates which include Taylor Woodrow. internationally respected for civil engineering and construction work; Rolls-Royce. which pioneered large scale X-ray examination of jet engines; Radiation Dynamics. a major supplier of linear accelerators; and Sciex. a leader in gas spectrometers. D


New Medium-Density Voice Logging System

Thi s need has always existed in the field of aviation for the recording of air traffic contro l co mmuni cation s. but is now also rapidly being recogn ized in many other areas; for example emergency services. public utilitie s, banking and commerce. transportation - in fact in any situation where instruct ion s or transactions must be recorded as they are made. Only in thi s way can proof be provided. if it should ever be needed , that the right instructions we re given. and the right actions ta ken. Medium-den sity re cording The new XMN 11 vo ice logger is based on Philips¡ experience gained in over 25 yea rs as a suppl ier of voice logging equipment to civil and military aiports all over the world. Howeve r. the XMN 11 has been designed specifica lly to meet the need for medium-densit y recording on up to 11 channe ls. w hic h covers a very large proportion of situ ations in which vo ice logging is requir ed. High degree of reliability A very high degree of reliability is an essential feature of al l Philip s vo ice logging systems. thereby ensuring that there is virtu ally no chance of information loss. In the case of th e XM N 1 1 . th is is achieved by the use of two tape decks. one of wh ich is always avai lable as a stand-by. Sim ilarly. all vita l electronic units are duplicated, so that a back -up is always availab le in case of any fault. Th e dual t apede cks of the XMN 11 also g ive it a round-the-clock recording capability. Each tape reel runs continuously for over 24 hou rs, afte r w hic h the stand-by automatically takes over. Th e t ape reel on t he firs t deck is then repl aced. thereb y resto ring the stan d-by capabi lity. A furt her contribution to the XMN 11 's high reliability in service is provided by the comprehens ive two-level warning and alarm system, which alerts the user to any possible faults and indicates their location. Fault correction is ther efo re great ly simp lified and speeded-up.

Philip s' new XMN 7 7 voice logging syste m , prov idin g a highly cost-effect ive sol ution for medium-density communications recording.

Phili ps has added a new medium-density recorder to its exist ing range of vo ice logg ing syst ems. The new mode l is th e XMN 11 . wh ich provides a highly cost-effective so lut ion to the need for cont inu ous recording of vo ice co mmunicat ions on up to 11 chan nels simultaneou sly.

'Sys tem approach¡ Th e XM N 11 is completed by a wide selection of options w hi c h allow the basic instrument to be tailo red to meet the needs of ind ividual user organisations . Thi s ¡system approach' to the demands of vo ice logging typifies Phili ps' professionalism and capabi lity in th is area. With the add ition of the XMN 11 , Philip s now offers a t otal vo ice logging capability , cove rin g low, medium and hig h recording densit ies. The XMN 6 single -deck system is the econom ic answer to requirements for simultaneous record ing of up to 6 voice c hannel s. whi le th e X M N 1 1 covers the medium -density range of up to 11 cannels . At the top of the range is the latest 4th generation system. w ith its capac ity for up to 44 voice channels per machine Thi s syste m has virtually become a ' standard' in the de mand ing fie ld of air traffic contro l communications. and has been supplied to some 1 50 major civ il and mil itary airfi elds all over the world.

21


Greek Air Traffic Controllers; Problems and Wishes by Philippe Domagala

In our operat ions room we often hear about 'problems in Greece', ,Athens restrictions and more recentl y 'strike act ion s planned for Greece ' . What is really going on? In Greece all contro ller s are university graduates and therefore they practise their profession only in their late twenties. Thei r salaries, ho weve r, are not in proportion to their education. The average controller earns 60 OOO Ors per month (f 1 900), w hich is compa rative ly low. A Boeing 727 copilot of Olympic Airways earns 150 OOO Ors and a check-in girl at the airport 80 OOO Ors. Life is not so cheap as it used to be in Athens. For example, cars are a ve ry luxurious item, t he cheapest one, the Autobianci A 11 2, costs 700 OOO Drs (f 2 2 500).

22

The system of ta xation swallows almost all their shift allowances. For example 1 hour duty at night is compensated by 7 2 Drs (f 2) and compensation for public holidays amounts to 430 Drs (f 13 ) per day . Air traffic controllers retire at an age of 65 or after 35 years of service. In the ACC 150 people are emplo yed ; 70 of them are qualified as controllers and operate nine sectors in six teams. The equipment is old fashioned and designed for the fifties. Traffic is dense (300 OOO movements per year) and complex, since East Block countries and war zones (Lebanon , Iran , Iraq, etc.) surround the Greek airspace, but the traffic is still separated in accordance with proced ural standards. The adjacent centers are not much

better equipped . For instance, traffic required to hold in the Nicos ia FIR, will be transfered to Athens whatever circumstances exist, as Nicosia has only one VOR available. The Athens approach radar is unique in Greece. In consequence of the mountainous area (see diagram), coverage extends only to the southwest with a maximum range of 50 nm. Basic functions are performed and no correlation is effected. On a separate data screen beside the radar scope, the controller is provided with the altitude of only that target, w hich is hit by the antenna. So if you are controlling four to five aircraft within a small area, you might get four or five different a ltitude readings or nothing at all. It is expected that new, more sophisticated equipment will be installed early 1986 and operational use is foreseen for end 1986/begin 1987 . Completion of the modernization plan with two long range radars is due for 1990 . Some procedures require extreme care from the controllers and pilots . For landings at Athens pilots have to intercept radial 340 from Athens VOR at 3000 ft. The point of interception is only defined by a radial and DME reading (Standard APP route RWY 1 5 ). If you miss that approach, you fly straight into a 4600 ft mountain , five


.4600

Procedural control Athens ACC

Athens APP radar coverage (usable) miles off the track. The installation of a VOR ten miles prior to the runway would eliminate quite some risks . . On May 18, 1 983, the Greek Controllers ' Association submitted a package of demands to the Authorities. Among them: Improvement of retirement conditions: allow people to retire after 30 years of serv ice (instead of 35 ). Reduction of working hours to 32 per week (actually 35,5). Recruitment of new personne l: the present system needs some 100 control lers. Reorganiz ation of ATC services. The allowance for qualified controllers to be doubled (the allow ance amounts 5600 Ors per month now = f 180). Approval of the app lication of the same tax deduction facilities offered to pilots, to allowances given for duties during nights and pub lic holidays. Before and after submiss ion of these demands to the Authorities, the Greek Association acted by ¡quiet' means to open negotiations with the Ministry of Transport. No progress was made and therefore the Assembly of contro llers decided to start an industrial action on July 24 - 25 and July 29 to 30. Immedi ate ly after this announcement. negotiations between the contro llers and the Ministry of Transport were opened, but broke down on July 22. The Minister declared then the mobilization of the contro llers, wh ich is st ill in force in March 1984 and negotiations are not taking place. Without doubt we may conc lude that the Greek co ntroller s face difficult times and we may won der whether safe air navigation wi thin the Greek airspace is being c hallenged.

It's All Greek to Me by Peter Harper

Greece seems to have been in the lim elight recently what with one thing and another, but even with everything from tummy bugs to typhoid the place ju st gets more popular every year. As the tourist indu stry discovers the beauty of the Island s we pi lots f ind ourselves going to new and exotic plac es we hadn't heard of fiv e year s ago. One of the oldest truths in aviation is that the aircraft technology is always ahead of the ground aids and so it is here . The vast amounts of tourist money flowing in could allow deve lopment to proceed apace, but at the moment things are a litt le primiti ve in places . For example, hand s up all who know what the following have in common - Zakintho s, Santorini , Kefallini a and Skiathos; apart from being Greek Islands of course? Well , they are all airfie lds which are now being used by Briti sh tour operators and they are al l decept ively lacking, even in faci litie s that may appear to be ava ilab le. Approach is provided by eit her An dravida or Ath ens, but when you are to ld to c hang e to Zakintho s, for instance. yo u are not talking to a Tower Contro ller even though you may ob-

tain that impre ssion. You are talking to the Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) officer who is not permitted to issue a c learance either to land or take-off . but only to offer airfield inform atio n. weather and to re lay clearances from Andravida. Thi s is not a very we ll known backwater of the air traffic system. So landing, taking off and ensuring visual sepa ration are so lely your respon sibility The re is no reason why you shou ld not operate under these con diti o ns as long as you know the ground rules . The assistance of a helpful AFIS offi cer is both welcome and useful. but take extra care wit h this so rt of operation bec ause there is absolutel y no doubt as to where the buck stops. 'Th e LOG' has already repo rted o n the trial of th e Sw issair pi lots w ho had a good case and a sleeping judg e. Thi nk what migh t happen to you w ith a judge w ho st ayed awak e. and yo u had no case at all!

This sho rt article was first written in the 'LOG ¡. and is reprinted here as an additional proof of the situation in Greece . printed on the previou s page of this issue .

23


Visit to the Ivory Coast by E.Serm,jn (IFATCA V.P. Prof.)

During recent Executi ve Board meetings the members of the Exec ut ive Board issued at length the spec ific problems of certain regions and looked at avenues to assist the Member Associations and con trollers w ithin such regions. The imme diate actions considered were to organize visits by members of the Execu tive Board to t he countries of the regions involved and to look at the poss ibility of publishing a brochure in Eng lish . French and Spanish explaining the objectives and functio ning of IFATCA. As far as this brochure is co ncern ed. a draft in Engl ish has been circulated to the Regional Vice-Preside nt for com m ent s and it is hoped t hat the final brochure w ill be ready in the three lang uages. at the IFATCA ¡ 84 Conference. However. this article is about the visit by the V ice -President Profession al to Ivory Coast. th e first visit following the dec ision of the Exec uti ve Board to concent rate extra effort t owa rd the air traffic controllers wi t hin Afri ca. Asia. Latin America and t he Carribean region. Ivory Coast was selected for th is first visit because the Executive Board had been made awa re of prob lems experienced by APCACI (Associat ion professionnelle des co ntroleur s de la ci rc ulat io n aerienne de Cote d' Ivo ire). I arrived at Abidjan A irport on Monday. 5 September in t he late evening and was welcomed by Mr. D . Klaye. Regiona l Vice President fo r West-Africa. Mr. Ouattara Diande. President of APCACI and most of the board members of the Ivory Coast Association. Since discussions wit h the aviation authorit ies of Ivory Coast were already planned for the next morning . a prepa rato ry meeting was necessary and t he same evening we started work right away. so that I cou ld be briefed on the program for next days and on the main item s to be discussed. The main prob lems exper ienced by APCACI are the lack of recogn ition by their autho rities of their association as a profess ional association representing the Ivory Coast contro llers and framed w it hin the tota l st ructu re of I FATCA and the language prob lem (Ivory Coast being a French speaking nation ) when dea ling with the Region al Vice-P resident. the IFATCA Executive Board and IFATCA documents. On Tuesday morning. the program started with a visit to Mr . Kouabenan Boko . Director of ANAM (Agence natio nale des aerodromes et de la meteorologie Nationa l agency for airports and meteorology). As far as air traffic control is co ncerned this agency is responsible for the provision of air traffic services at the numerous regional airport s in Ivory Coast

24

(/ to r) D. Klaye and E. Sermljn

Thi s visit was follo w ed by a visit to Mr . Jua Bo ua. th e ASECNA represent ative to Ivory Coas t . ASECNA (Agence pour la sec urite de la navigation aerienne en Afrique et a Madaga sca r - Agency for air navigation safe ty in Africa and M adagascar ) is a multinational age ncy organizing air tr affi c services in a major part of Afric a and respons ible. as far as Ivory Coast is concerned for the provisio ns of air traffic services at Abidjan airport and w ithin the upper airspace. After thi s meeting. I took the opportunity of being at the airport to talk informall y w ith the Chief ATS. a former air traffi c co nt roll er. and to vis it the towe r, approach and fl ig ht inform ation ce nte r. There is no radar availab le. so all tra ffi c is handl ed in acco rdance wi th proce dur al standard s. In the afte rnoo n, we we re rece ived by Mr . Vassa riki Savrane. Director General for Civil Aviation. the respons ible authority ove rseeing the two civil aviation agencies wi thin Ivory Coast. ANAM and ASECNA. At all three meetings I was acco m pa nied by Mr . Klaye. Mr . Ouattara Diande and APCACI board member s. I exp lai ned the objec tives of IFATCA, how it funct ioned. t he coope rati on w ith other internatio nal aviation orga nization s and the importa nce for the air traffic co ntr ollers of Ivory Coast to have their own recog nized pro fessiona l associat ion forming part of IFATCA . Disc ussion on equ ipm ent. training . recog nitio n of t he profession. took place in a very const ruct ive and open sp irit On Wednesday morning. a meet ing w i-th the con troller s working at Abidjan airport was organ ized during w hich more specif ic items were discussed. suc h as the

lack of familiarization flight s. adequate tr aining . medical check s. etc. Al so some critical que stion s on the oper ation of IFATCA were asked . especially in relation to th e developing countries. At th e end of this meeting . I offici ally presented to Mr . Ouatt ara Diande on behalf of the Exec utive Board . their charter of affiliation. manual and IHB . member ship cards. as we ll as other document s. such as the French version of the ILO conclu sion s of the meeting of expe rts on ATC . etc . After thi s. we had a short briefing session before going to Mr . Desire Boni. Minister of Public Works and Transport. We were very we ll received and I was given the opportunity to exp lain th e reaso n for my visit . th e objectives of IFATCA. its activ itie s, etc. After thi s introducti on of I FATCA. an open and frank di sc ussion on th e sta ff . tr aining and equipment problem s to o k place The Mini ster said he was fully aware of the se problems. but th at it should also be realized th at the wo rld econom ic crisis has an enormou s impa ct on the developing countr ies and time and patience w ill be needed. He expressed the w ish that the existing good relation ship bet wee n management and air t raffi c co ntroller s wo uld further develop so that the y co uld wo rk together in order to solve th e many prob lems . The visit and discu ssion s took more time than planned and although we rushed to th e airport. we mis sed our flight to Yamoussoukro. w here we were expec ted to arrive in the afte rnoo n . So on Thur sday morning. we left Abidjan early to fly to Yamousso ukro. the new capita l c ity of Ivory Coast. w here we we re we lco med by t he airpor t manager . the chie f of ATS and


several controllers. At the Town Hall. a real Fam Flight Expenses mini IFATCA conference. honored by the presence of the mayor and sous-prefet of The following case was heard at Yamoussoukro. was organized which was Montreal. September 7. 1983. attended by controllers from all Ivory Coast The grievor. a Montreal ACC conairports such as Bouake. Yamouss. Abidtroller. was authorized to take a fam jan. Korhogo. Man. Dacoa and even from flight and departed Mirabel on SepSan Pedro. which means a trip by car of tember 25. 1 982. for Casablanca via more than 1OOOkm. Many airport man Air Maroc. agers. military controllers and meteorolOn October 2. 1982. the grievor ogists attended as observers. After opening speeches by the Presiattempted to board the Air Maroc dent of APCACI. the representative of flight for his return to Montreal but ANAM and Airport Commander of San was advised that the flight was overPedro. speaking on behalf of all airport sold and that the airline could not commanders. I was invited to talk in detail honor his pass for that flight. with the about IFATCA. This was followed by a 2 next flight scheduled to depart for hour ·question-and-reply' session during Montreal on October 9. 1982. which I had to answer a crossfire of quesThe grievor returned from Casations and inquiries. The complete conferblanca to Montreal on Air France with ence was covered by the local television station. After this. a buffet was offered. an overnight stay in Paris on October which gave me the occasion to continue 2. 1982. arriving Mirabel on October the discussions on a more informal basis. 3. 1 982. The grievor purchased the In the evening. I left Yamoussoukro on return ticket. The grievor filed his excourse to Abidjan again. pense claims on October 6. 1982. Friday morning. I went to the RTI buildwhich included the purchase of the ing (Ivory Coast Radio and Television) return ticket on Air France for the sum where I had to prepare for a television proof $648.88. and this claim was not gramme called ·conference de presse·. allowed. During this one-hour program. I had to face journalists of the Ivory Coast press and television reporters. The theme was · La securite dans 1·espace· (Safety in the Decision air) and after an introduction by the modThe Adjudicator in analyzing Article erator. the reporters fired the questions to 8.03 (f) which reads: which I had to reply. sometimes with the 'The Employer shall not be responsible necessary circumnavigation due to the for any failure to provide such flights political nature of some of the questions. wherever this occurs as a result of an inspired by recent hi-jackings and the airline declining to provide the Korean Airlines tragedy. necessary transportation.· This TV-program was a unique opportunity to explain to the public at large the ... concluded that Article 8.03 (f) profession and consequent responsibilities cl~arly stipulates that the Employer of the air traffic controller. The end of this will not be responsible for any decision TV-program meant also the end of my visit on the part of the participating airline to Ivory Coast and in the evening. after enin not providing a seat at any time durjoying a farewell drink with my Ivory Coast ing_ the familiarization flight. The friends. I left Abidjan to Brussels. Article refers to ·any failure ... To conclude. I think I may say that this wherever this occurs· and the Adjudivisit. the first one resulting from the determination of the Executive Board to pay ex- cator took that to mean any point between the point of departure and the tra attention and make extra efforts towards the controller· s associations of point of destination and vice versa. the developing countries. was a success. Grievance dismissed. The air traffic controllers of Ivory Coast are professionals and as such are proud to be air traffic controllers. Their Association APCACI is well organized and the members are dynamic and motivated. As an example. the meeting at Yamoussoukro Overtime Call-in? was attended by nearly every air traffic controller not actually working at that In its complaint. the Association time. and some of them travelled as much alleged that the Employer contravenas 1OOOkm in tropical heat to be there. They are proud to be members of IFATCA ed Article 19.02 of the Collective and I think we should be proud to have Agreement. On or about March 30 them aboard! 1983. the Gander ACC Branch Chair~ To end this article I wish to express. on man posted on the bulletin board a behalf of the Executive Board. my thanks notice to his members. In essence to Mr. Ouattara Diande. President of AP- the message dealt with overtime call~ CACI. all APCACI Board members. whose ins. On March 31. 1983. the Gander names I am not mentioning for fear of forACC Unit Chief removed the notice. getting somebody. Mr. Nize N'Guessan On April 11. 1983. the Newfoundand Mr. Souanze Kouao. organizers of the land Regional Director discussed the day in Yamoussoukro. for their hospitality · matter with the RMATS. Atlantic and assistance.

Region. and requested permission to re-post the notice. The RMATS. Atlantic Region. refused to allow the notice to be re-posted. The hearing was held at Ottawa on September 13. 1983. and in his decision the Adjudicator found as follows: 'There is. at the least. an implied obligation on the Employer not to exercise its discretionary authority under Article 19.02 arbitrarily or in bad faith. After saying that. care must be taken not to add duties or obligations to provisions of collective agreements which were neither negotiated nor intended by the parties. In other words. the absence of "the Employer· s approval shall not be reasonably withheld" does imply that justification on the part of the Employer for withholding approval is unnecessary. · By contrast. Article 1 9 .02 gives the Bargaining Agent the unfettered right to post notices of "meeting of their members and elections. the names of Association representatives and social and recreational affairs". On the other hand it explicitly forbids the posting of "notices or other material pertaining to political matters or membership recruiting. or material which may be interpreted to reflect discredit upon the integrity or notices of the Employer. representatives of management. other employee organizations. or individuals". All other notices or material require the prior approval of the Employer.· In light of the clear cut delineation in Article 1 9 .02 as to those notices that can or cannot be posted which involve no Employer discretion. the Adjudicator concluded that the absence of a requirement that the Employer not unreasonably withhold its approval for the posting of notices. where it has a discretion. was an omission which the parties intended. Therefore. in the application of Article 19.02. the Adjudicator was prepared to find no greater an implied obligation on the Employer than not to ac:t arbitrarily or in bad faith. He found that the evidence does not warrant a finding that the Employer acted in such a manner in refusing its consent to the posting of the disputed notice. The adjudicator added that. based on the conclusion expressed above. it is not necessary for him to determine whether or not the Employer acted reasonably. Accordingly. he did not find that the Employer contravened Article 19 .02 of the Collective Agreement. In the result. the reference is dis missed.

25


Convex 83 by H. H. Henschler (/FA TCA President)

Septembe r 22 -2 3, 1983, saw this year's Convex of t he Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers (UK ) held at the Garden House Hote l in Cambridge. This biennial event, wh ich follows the Ann ual Genera l Meeting of the Guild , has consistently attracted g reat inte rest in aviation circles, but Con vex 83, w ith the theme ,ATC and the Developm ent of Regional Air Services', may w ell have been unique in the var iety of expert ise it brought t ogethe r. Regional air serv ice s, third o r second level carr iers, or commute r airlines - by w hate ver nam e one knows th em - are a top ic under cons ideration not on ly in Great Brit ain. At Convex 83, howeve r, they, their requirements, and the impact th ey have on air traff ic cont rol procedures and efficiency, on other airspace and airp o rt users, and on airports as such, we re discuss ed by participants from all facet s of the industr y. The se pa rtic ipants represente d the knowledge and exper ience gat her ed on the subject matter in such di verse fie lds as, of cou rse, th e regional ca rrier s, ai rpo rt manage ment, the reg ul ator y auth orities, military airspace users, the

26

electronic equipment manufacturing secto r, the aircraft manufacturing indu stry, and, not least, the operation al air traffic co ntroller . Convex 83 was opened by Mr . John Dent, Chairman CAA and the principal guest-of-honour was the Controller Nati ona l Air Traffic Services, Air Marshal Sir Ian Pedder. Sir Ian said in his fore w ord in the con fer ence brochure' I congratulate the Guild for pro viding ano ther opportunity for the aviation community to meet to consider a burning issue , the contributors for th eir thoughtful and thought-provoking papers and all tho se who have wo rked behind the sce nes to ensure that Convex 83 enjoys the success of its predecessors.' ' Burning ' and ' thought-pro vo king ' , indeed. M ajo r topi cs in discussion, fo rmall y and informally, we re the im pact of the mix of slow, low . propeller and fa st jet tr affi c, both on air traffi c co ntrol and on th e j et operators w hose cus t ome rs find a ten -minut e delay du e to traffic un accep t ab le on a fort y-min ute f light. One sugges ted solution was to segregate fast and slow tr affi c by using d ifferent app roac h procedures -

tight and low for the slow traffic - and different runway s, w hich in man y cases would have to be built, raising the que stion of funding. Papers presented included the following: 'Regional airports-prospects and problem s', , SSR taxiway testers ', 'ATC and region al air service s', ' Flight management systems', 'The applications of satellite navigation' , 'The role of radar in the development of regional air services', 'MLS', and 'S imulator s in ATC', among others of a more spec ific loca lized nature. A number of Corporate Member s of GATCO, man y of w hic h are also Corporate Member s of I FATCA, had organized a very intere sting and well rece ived displa y in close proximity to the working session s. The amount of international interest in the event was evidenced by the number of foreign observers from as far away as Taiwan, A ustra lia, Switzerland, The Netherlands, German y and Eurocontrol Guild, while the national invo lvement was apparent by the great number of official observers from variou s authorities, organization s, companies, and administration s. Convex 83 was well organized and brought abo ut w ithout flaw. Future Convexes ca n be highly recommended for their professi onal intere st s and , histo rica lly, the qu ality of thE:lpre sentations. GATCO and thB organizing co mmittee of Convex 83 are t o be co ngr atul at ed on a mo st suc cessf ul event.


CA Africa East a Meeting by I. Finlay (/FATCA V.P. Admin.)

This year's meeting of the Africa East region of IFATCA was hosted by Zambian Air Traffic Controllers Association. Between the 12th and 14 th October the Ridgeway Hotel. Lusaka, provided the venue for this meeting. To a degree this meeting was somewhat unusual for a regional meeting in that this Regional VicePresident. due to a prior commitment on behalf of his admini stration , was absent. The Executive Board was represented by the Vice-Pres ident Administr ation and the Vice-President Professional. Unfortunately, due to the scheduling of an Executive Board meeting and the lack of various airline connection s the Board members were unable to be in attendance for the opening ceremony. The meeting was scheduled to be opened by the Prime Mini ster of Zambia . howe ver, in the event. due to a state funeral occuring on the same day , the opening ceremony wa s performed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Pow er. Transport and Communi cations, Mr. E. S. S. Nebw e. In his speech Mr . Nebwe gave a warm welcome to delegate s and acknowledged the part played by the air traffic controll er in the overall safety conc ept of c ivil aviation. He agreed the need for th e requisite equipment to be available to discharg e the ta sk but also added a co mment on the practical aspect s of the procurement of suc h. He then wi shed the delegates well In their endeavour s and declared the m eeting open . In the absenc e of the Regional Vi c e-President it was decided th at the Presid ent of the Zambi an ATCA Mr Chibuye w ould take the chair Zambi a also provided the sec retary and the meeting proce eded acc ord ingly . Ap art from a good numb er of m ember s of the Zambi an ATCA delegat es we re in att endance from Tanzania and Kenya The remaining m emb er assoc iat ions w ith in th e regi o n we re unfortun at ely unabl e t o be present althou gh it was rum oured th at a delegati on fro m Zimb abwe we re att emp tin g to j ourn ey by road . t here

was, however, no sign of them by the close of the meeting. Following the routine administrative agenda items the following technical and professional matters appeared on the agenda. Co-ordination between adjacent FI Rs. Co-operation bet w een MA's on technical matters. Compatibility of equipment within the region. Delays in ATS message s within the region. Search and rescue. Navigational aids and equipment . Licence s and insurance . Legal liabilities of a controller. The future and role of the woman controller. ATCO involvement in accident investigation and management planning. Profe ssional recognition Much intere sting and high qu ality debate took plac e on all these subJects and I belie ve that a far gre ater degree of under standing . by the member s of the region, of eac h other s problem s came about as a result of this meeting . The item on prof essional recognition of the air traffic c ontroller w ithin the region was an ite m th at gen erated a trem endou s amoun t of debate . Hopefully region al meetin gs w ith th eir associ at ed medi a cov erage , can only help in the est abli shm ent of the profe ssional statu s of th e contr o ller. A fact w hich , unfortun atel y. is not at the same level the w orld ove r. Hopefull y by th e continu ed strength ening of IFATCA. by th e affili at io n of new member assoc iation s. w e w ill be able t o ac hieve thi s. Du e to a nati onal me etin g being held in c lose proximit y t o th e hot el. o n th e final day of the me et ing. it was nec essary to move th e ven ue for t he c los ing ce remon y This was a pleasa nt depa rtur e fr om t he norm al routin e as it mea nt moving som e 20 m iles into the co unt ry. This gave th e de legates a cha nce to see a litt le of t he surrounding co unt ryside. a most un usua l oc curence for I FATCA meeti ngs I Hospi t ality fo r thi s c losi ng ce remo ny had

been provided by the Directors of t he Kyindu Ranch and a good sized hall . complete with audio equipment. had been placed at the meeting's d isposal. A good number of spee c hes w ere made amongst which w ere one s by the President of ZATCA Vice-President Admini stration IFATCA and t he Zambian Director of Civil Aviation - a ,man who has been both an air t raffic 'controller and airline pilot . After the closing ceremon y t he President of ZATCA along wi th t he 2 I FATCA Vice-Presidents w ere ru she d back to Lusaka w here a 1 0 minut e tele vision intervie w was c ondu cte d fo r the local current affair s pro g ram m e which follo w ed the evening news . Perhaps exposure of thi s nature to t he media on the work of IFATCA and a ir traffic controllers w ill help to im prove the profes sional status of the c on t ro ller. On the w hole th is w as a very succe ssful region al meetin g and the Zambian ATCA shou ld be congratulated on thei r effor ts. It was very Impre ssIve to ob serve the businesslike mann er in w hich t he delegates from th e region con d ucted their meeting. Thi s w as yet anoth er example of th e st ron g aff inity and t he common bond bet w een all air traffic controller s th at exists w ithin I FATCA.

---------------Flight Instructor Year

of t he

Gladys M orrison , CF! at a flying training school in the US has been name d F light Instructor of the Year ' by the FAA and the general aviation community. She has been instr ucting since 1965 and has logged 20 . OOO ho urs flight time , including 10, OOO ho urs teaching students Chosen from hundreds of full-time instructors, Gladys was praised by her emp loyers and students alike as an exceptional lady who demands the best of her students, and in exchange has shown them by exampie the ide al qualities of the truly professional pilot . The national selection for Flight Instructor of the Year ' is made by representatives from the FAA and National Aviation Groups . The pro gram is administered by the AOPA Air Safety Found ation. FAA Gener al Avi ation Manufa c turer 's A ssociat ion and the National Busine ss Air craft Associ ation. Perhaps a similar Flight Instructor Aw ard program could be introdu ced here in New Zealand. administered by the RNZAC Instructors Council . the Aviation Industry Associatwn . the A viation Federation of N.Z. , the A viation Indust ry Travel and Training Board. and CAD? 27


The Major Weather

Sometimes we tend to blame lack of weather information or inacurrate forecasts for our weather accidents. A review of our files show that these are rarely the causes. Even though more complete and accurate weather information would make the pilot's decision-making process a lot easier. the real problem comes back to judgement. Here are the most frequent contributing factors for these accidents. When you think about them. they generally add up to judgement on someone's part - usually the pilot. Flying adverse weather despite ample warning signs. Frequently weather accidents are the result of being forced to lower and lower altitudes by clouds or visibility until both run out. Remedy. Check for the highest obstacle enroute. If the cloud base is lower than the top of the obstacledon't go! Make sure you have the 路fuel to return or reach an alternate. Inadequate preflight planning and preparation. Remedy. Take the time to get all the weather information. study the route. plan alternative routes and

Problems

good judgement and allow for them in your decision making. Sometimes it helps to take the time - to educate the boss or customer. Remember, in the end you are responsible. Inadequate knowledge of weather theory and the meteorological reporting system. Remedy. Back to the books. This one is strictly up to you. It's a matter of taking refresher courses and doing self study. Would you believe it? Some 路experienced' pilots can't interpret weather forecasts and reports without assistance. As a pilot, the atmosphere is your environment - so you'd better know it. Flying into conditions beyond the pilot's experienced and capabilities. Remedy. Play it cool. You can't push the experience process. You have to guard against overconfidence. If in doubt - turn about!

Take more courses to improve your weather knowledge. Waiting too late to turn back or land. Remedy. This is another aspect of judgement. If you set yourself reasonable limits and stick to them, this problem should be taken care of automatically. Lack of instrument training to avoid loss of control if you inadvertently lose visual reference. This most frequently happens (with little warning) in whiteout or by flying into unseen clouds at night. Remedy. First of all you need plenty of altitude to be able to recover and get organized. Next, it's imperative to maintain control by getting on instruments right away. For this you need instrument training. It pays to spend a few dollars on instrument training or refresher. The 5 hours you did for your night endorsement 6 years ago will do little to help you out, unless you've reinforced it with regular subsequent practice and training. Failing this, use the autopilot if you run into visibility trouble, but this is a poor last resort. You can probably add many more problems and reasonable precautions. but these are the big ones. Training, judgement, thorough preparation, self-discipline.

(From Canada's Aviation ter)

Safety Let-

contingency actions. Always plan .-------------------------------an 路out'. This includes carrying enough fuel to turn back or go to an Weather-Related Accident Statistics alternate. Poor inflight decision-making Sometimes it comes in small. manAccording to our statistics up to (Judgement). ageable doses and sometimes in Remedy. Know yourself. your limi1 July 1 9 83. we were winning the war massive chunks. We can learn from tations. weather theory and the against weather-related accidents. the mistakes of others. but we also aircraft capabilities. You should The impact of the weather-related learn from what we blunder into ourvary your personal weather limits accident campaign conducted in the selves. according to your flying currency last part of 1 980 through 1 981 is still Accidents statistics show a disproand proficiency. Know how having a positive effect. But recent portionate concentration at around weather systems/ conditions deupward trends show we can't ease up. 200 hours. Statistically we are safer velop and how to recognize the The problem has not disappeared. We aren't born with common the day of our private pilot check rides weather signs. Have the self-discipline to react rationally according sense and good judgement. We learn than we will be again for a long time. to this data. 路 Press-on-'itis' is a well by observing the results of failure. known result of poor judgement and lack of self-discipline. 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1 981 * 1982 1983** Pressure to get to destination. This Fatalities 11 9 70 45 66 85 68 27 21 can be either for your own personal Serious Injuries 14 18 21 28 18 25 14 3 reasons or pressure from your boss Total Accidents 77 79 75 75 85 55 49 1 7 or a customer. Remedy. Be aware of these pres* Weather-related accident campaign conducted. sures. recognize th':lir influence on * * 1 983 Statistics for 6 months. January-June

28


The Weather Briefing

I' II bet there isn't a pilot who hasn't said to himself. 'What was all that about,路 at one time or another , after receiving a weather briefing . All you wanted to know was could you get from A to B without running into rain and you couldn 't care less if C had a warm front or a cold fog. The amount of weather information that pilots need to plan their flight varies, and their methods of obtaining weather information should vary along with their flight plan. The most effective briefings are those in which the weather briefer is face -to -face with the pilot. However, every pilot cannot be served in this manner; and he doesn 't need this much service for every flight . Often the information in recorded weather briefings will fill his needs . Some types of weather briefing s, other than fac e-to -face , are: Telephone . Under recorded weather briefings ther e are the continuous broad cast s. Flight Service (FSS) Stations provide regular reports every 30 minute s. In-flight weather reports are also available through FSS. Reading weather maps carried in daily new spape rs or watching a TV weather pre sentation are both good method s of better understanding the current weather situation . When a briefing office is not available, some pilots don't bother to make a long -di st ance call, other s don't have a radio receiver capable of recei ving the broadcast or are out of range . Eve n in case s where the pil ot can call a briefing office free , he often doesn 't for he hasn't yet gained an insight into the forces of weather. Often it wo uld be money we ll spe nt to pay for a longdi stan ce ca ll. Some pilot s neglect to obtain a pre -flight briefing bec ause they don ' t under stand the weather inform ation or its im po rtan ce. Without adequate weather tr aining , so me are unabl e to gain from wea ther reports and forecasts are interpreted for th em . Some fail to grasp t heir operational value One of th e best investme nts in pilot safety, is the eff ort and time spent t o inc rease knowledge of bas ic weat her principles and t o learn t o interpret and use the prod ucts of th e weat her service. A pilot ca n better use the weathe r ser-

vice when he understands the service, its products, its capabilities and its limitations . The briefer has a wealth of information in his head and at his finger tips, also he is specially trained at tailoring weather information to the pilots flight problems . When requesting a weather briefing by telephone or face-to-face , a pilot greatly assists the briefer and gets faster service by announcing that he is a pilot, the type of aircraft he is planning to fly, his destination, his estimated departure time, and whether he is going IFR or VFR . If a pilot doesn't get all the information he wants, he should ask for it. A weather briefing is incomplete unless it contains information on the current weather synopsis, current weather conditions, alternate routes, hazardous weather and forecast winds aloft . Here are some ways a pilot can make more effective use of the weather service as we ll as help it . Don 't try to play one forecaster against another by shopping for a forecast . Don't try to influence the brief er into saying the w eather w ill be bet ter than he ac tuall y think s it w ill be . Don ' t ask that a long string of weather reports be read to you over the phone, especially w hen calling a seco nd or third time . Don 't try to make your own foreca st unle ss you are a qualified forecaster. Don't try to get the briefer to make the deci sion of whether or not yo u should fly. If yo u don't und erst and t he briefing don 't he sitate to admit it . Ask que stion s! Fix limits of weat her co ndition s beyond which yo u w ill not fly, and stick with th em . Don 路t expect t he weat her associated w ith a front or other feature on th e weat her c hart t o look like an illu str at ion of one yo u saw in a book. No two wea th er situ at ions are ever exact ly alike . Be prepared for unfo recast c hanges and repo rt w hat you see. Fam iliarize you rself w it h average and ext reme weather condit ions by seaso n over your area . A large

\

~ amount of climatological information has been published by the AES . You can also talk it over w ith your local weat her briefer . If you are a flying instructor , don't send student pilots on their fir st trips to the briefing office w ithout you and expect the briefer to sho w them around and give t hem lessons in wea ther. Use the weather in yo ur flying. don't fight it. Don ' t forget the pilot report. With his va nt age point in the sky, the airborne pilot who fails to report w hat he sees is w ith holdi ng information which cou ld be used to great advantage by weather bri efers and other pilot s. (From Canada 路s Aviation Safety Letter)

Accident Course

Investigation

The eighth course on Aircraft accident in vestigation 路 to be devised by the College of Aer onaut ics, Cranfield in cooperation with the A ccident In vestigation Branch of the Department of Transport. is based on the AIB 's co nsider ab le international experience and has been developed from the successful previous courses. It will take place from 13th M ay to 29th Jun e, 1984 . The aim is to bring together people from m any areas of aviation activity for discussion and evaluation of how accidents happen and in particular to provide them with a sound basic knowledge of all the re quirements. procedures and tech niques associated with accident in vestigation and prevention Course notes will be provided and a copy of the !CAO Manua l of Aircraft Accident Investigation will be on loan to each course member . The course is primarily designed for experienced personnel from all parts of the c ivi l aviation industry . but some military personnel are also accepted. 29


Watchman

from page 15

a customized container at the factory and installed on a prepared site at the airport. Also included in the order are two Plessey Displays Intelligent Autonomous Consoles which. when installed. will be connected to the remote Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) data feed from the London Air Traffic Control Centre at West Drayton. Watchman is an S-band Terminal Area Surveillance radar with approach capability built to military standards. It can be used with on-mounted or remated SSR which is fully processed automatically prior to being displayed. In its civil role. Watchman has very powerful anti-clutter. anti-rain and anti-interference properties to enable the detection of very small targets under all conditions. It is a very modern. cost-effective radar containing the latest techniques

of digital processing with the flexibility and reliability of a driven TWT transmitter. giving a design which will last well into the 1 990s. With a very high level of self test Watchman has been designed in modular form for long life. high reliability. ease of maintenance and low cost of ownership. This order follows many others including those for Finland. Africa and the AR- 1 replacement program for the Ministry of Defence and confirms the leadership of the Plessey Radar Watchman system over its competitors in the field of civil and military radar operations. The Watchman system is manufactured at Plessey Radar's factory at Cowes. Isle of Wight and the Intelligent Autonomous Consoles are manufactured at Plessey Displays· factory at Addlestone in Surrey.

A310 Successfully Completes Longest Demonstration Tour An Airbus lndustrie A310 returned to Toulouse. southwest France. late last year to complete the most extensive of the seven A3 10 demonstration tours undertaken this year. The new generation wide body twinjet. which was leased from Lufthansa for the purpose of the tour and is powered by General Electric CF680A engines. visited Hong Kong. the People's Republic of China. Papua New Guinea. Australia. Singapore. Brunei. Malaysia. Abu Dhabi. Cyprus and Yugoslavia during the 34-day tour. The A3 10 was demonstrated to Cathay Pacific. the Beijing Central. Shanghai and Guangzhou Divisions of the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC). Air Nuigini. Trans Australia Airlines. Ansett Airlines. Singapore Airlines. Royal Brunei Airlines. Malaysian Airline System. Cyprus Airways, JAT Jugoslav Airlines and lnexAdria Airways. The tour involved 1 8 ferry flights lasting almost 60 hours and covering a total distance of 25. 785 nm/ 47.781 km. Ministers. members of gGovernments and opposition parties. Ambassadorial staff. aviation administration officials. airlines· management and staff and media representatives took part in the 21 general demonstration and VIP flights conducted during the tour. In addition there were eleven technical demonstration flights for airline pilots. 30

For most of the centers visited. it was their first view of the A31 0. The level of interest shown by those who participated in the demonstration flights and by airline employees who were shown the aircraft during static displays was consistently high. as was the enthusiasm of pilots for the onegeneration-ahead Airbus cockpit and of passengers for the A31 o·s true wide body standards of comfort. This was particularly so in the People's Republic of China where the Airbus team headed by President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Bernard Lathiere. was warmly received and the A31 O was the subject of intense interest from CAA's officials and engineering staff. In several stations. airline interest was focused on other members of the Airbus aircraft family. notably the A300-600 and the advanced technology 1 50-seat A320. During the visit to Australia. Airbus Executives discussed the country· s possible involvement in the A320 program with the Australian Government. Throughout the tour the A31 0 more than lived up to the very high standards of reliability set during its first six months in service with Lufthansa. Swissair and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Not a single flight was delayed. curtailed or in any way affected for technical reasons.

1985 History Manuscript Award The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announces the opening of the 1985 competition for the best historical manuscript dealing with the science. technology. and/ or impact of aeronautics and astronautics on society. The competition is sponsored by the AIAA History Technical Committee. The purpose of the contest is to provide professional recognition to the author making a significant and original contribution to the history of aeronautics and astronautics. The winner of the competition receives an AIAA Medal. Certificate of Citation and rosette pin. The value of this award is demonstrated by the fact that manuscripts of all previous award winners have been or are being published as books. Entries must be in English. and not over 75.000 words in length. An author need not be a citizen of the United States and manuscripts previously published in part in periodical form will be eligible. Manuscripts and enquiries should be addressed to: Roberta Shapiro. Honors & Awards. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 1 633 Broadway. New York. NY 10019. Each manuscript should be accompanied by a formal letter of submission giving the author· s name. title of manuscript in full. and a declaration that the manuscript will not be published prior to the Award Committee report. The author· s name should not appear on the manuscript. Manuscripts must be submitted by 14th May. 1984.

Aircraft Thefts The International Aviation Theft Bureau (IATB) received reports of 194 stolen aircraft in 1 982. worth $1 7 .5 million. The most popular target for theft was the Cessna 21 0. followed by the Cessna 172. The Bureau also recorded 138 stolen avionic items. compared with 182 in 1 981 . The reduction in these thefts is attributed to greater checks being made by avionics repair facilities for stolen items.


lassie Mountain ccident

The 450-hr pilot had rac ked- up 180 hours in 90 days, but it wasn't enough experience to keep out of trouble on a flight to Alaska. Actually. his problem started well before the flight. It' s difficult to believe that a pilot would venture into coastal mountain s with a single engine aircraft in winter on wheels. It was evident he hadn ' t given much thought to selecting the safest route, and even though w arned that there was no weather info ava ilable for the enroute mountain pass. he de cid ed to t ake th e chance - VFR . After filing his flight plan, there was a 2:45 hour weather de lay before getting airborne . The first part of the flight was une ve ntful. But a little later he encountered multiple layers of fog. Then it st arted to snow and ceiling became indefinite . In the redu ce d vis he relied on a roa d for navigation. We ather at the pas s was well belo w VFR but be ca use the other side was report ed clear, he pressed on. At 200 feet in a narro w canyon, he encountered w hit eo ut. Now he dec ided to turn back. The pilot managed the 180 ° turn in the confined canyon, but by now he could only see the rock face on each side of the aircraft and w hat appea red to be a rock wa ll coming up ahe ad. He co uldn 't m ane uve r around it , so he stalled the aircr aft and spu n into a snowbank by th e high way. Th e pilot and passenger suff ered minor injuri es but we re able to wa lk nin e mile s before being picked up and t ake n to th e loca l hospita l for tre atment . We we nt into thi s one in detail beca use it is a c lass ic example of in adeq uat e pre-flight prepa rat ion ve nt uring int o unkno w n condi ti ons w ith inadequate knowledge and exper ien ce not recogn izing the weather signs and warnings before t akeo ff and enro ut e taking a c hance enro ute because condi ti o ns were know n to be better a he ad pe rmitting oneself to be pu shed to low altitu de by ceiling and visib ility

Weather

a llowing oneself to be ca ught in a confined area at low a ltitude making the turn -back de c ision too late It' s been sa id before , but it's wo rth saying again. Weather is part of the pilot's environment. We have to understand weather phenomena, recognize the sign s, know w hat to do ahead of time , set ourselves rea so nable limits and stick to them. Mother Nature doesn 't gamble - why should you!

Aircraft Noise Standards Found to Be Effective World-wide air craft noi se certification stand ards set by ICAO ha ve sig nifi ca ntly improved th e noise enviro nm ent around airports. Th is posi ti ve assessment is co ntained in th e late st repo rt of the ICAO Committee an Aircraft Noi se, w hic h has been assisting th e Org a nizati o n in developing noise certification st an d ards for d ifferent classes of a irc raft . (These sta ndard s are co nt ain ed in Annex 1 6 Environmenta l Protec ti on: Vo lu me I Aircraft No ise.) Th e repo rt note s that many Mem ber States, using th e ICAO st andards as a basi s, have int rod uced legi slat ion w hic h seve rely limit s o r elim inate s flight s by sub son ic Jet aerop lanes and wh ic h do not comp ly w it h the !CAO provision s . In some case s, thi s leg islat ion pro vides incenti ves to ope rators to rep lace suc h ae rop lanes w it h newer and quieter type s of aircraft. Such a legis lation has had a sig nific ant impact on th e fl eet repl acem ent plans of air lin es, because non co mpl ying aerop lanes ca n no longer be regi stered and th eir co ntinu ed op erat ion is t o be proh ibited in the sec ond half of the 1 980 s . As a resu lt, it wo uld become in c reas ing ly diffi c ult to cond uct internationa l operations w ith non -noise -ce rti f ica t ed aerop lanes after the end of 1987 , particu lar ly in the mo re deve loped countr ies.

A so f31 Dece mb e r 1982, the total number of subso ni c jet aeropla nes in serv ice and on o rder (exc lu d ing those manufactured in the USSR a nd China ) was 6 ,944. Of this total, 4,995 ( 7 2 % ) are considered to be noi se certificated . Moreo ver, 1,472 are ca pab le of m eeting the more stringent ICAO stan dard s applicable 10 the new aerop lane s designed after 1 J anuary 1977. A total of 30 percent of the existing fleet and aeroplanes on order are capa ble of meeting these more stringe nt regu lations. Thi s percentage wi ll inc rease as newly des igned aeroplanes replace the o lder types. After 1989 , it is expec t ed that the great m ajo rit y of aeroplanes wi t h up to 300 seats w ill meet the more str in gent noise standards . Deliver ies of lar ger ae rop lanes meetin g t hese stan dards are fo recast to exceed de liveries of older type ae roplanes for 1 980 to 20 00 by about 3 to 1 . The effects of nationall y im posed reg istrat io n bans on ind ividual air li nes wo uld vary but co uld include ha v ing to operate o lder types of aeroplanes with replacement eng in es and possibl y us ing aero planes not well matched to airlin e requiremen ts. Increases in the m ai nte na nce and operating costs for such ae roplanes wo uld negate their attr act ive ness and it is li kely tha t fuel costs wou ld be greater. On the other hand, some airl ine s might have to keep older aeroplanes (which wo uld be noisier and less efficient ) in service for a longer per iod for vario us reason s. Th e report concludes that even tho ugh eng inee ring developm ents and tec hni cal de sig n advance s are under way, there is no c urrent ly available new te chnology which would pe rm it the introduction of !CAO noise stan dards mor e str ingent than those cur ren t ly appl icab le t o new ly de signed airc raft. The majo rity of today's de velopment w ork is aimed at ensuring t hat new types of aero plan es an d t he ir de rivatives comp ly w it h the existing !CAO standards w hile also im proving fu el economy. The Comm ittee 's report will be re viewe d by th e !CAO Coun c il later thi s year forfurther ac tion . D

31


The Warsaw Control Center

Microbursts The following article from an Accident Prevention Bulletin on the nature and danger of 'microbursts · is reprinted for the information of controllers, courtesy of the US Flight Safety Foundation:

Recently released preliminary findings of the Joint Airport Weather Studies (JAWS) by Dr. John McCarthy at the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing of the July Pan American 8-727 accident in New Orleans offers new evidence on the presence of microbursts. Microbursts is a term created by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita. of the University of Chicago, to describe small-scale intense downcraft whose characteristics differ from his description of ·downbursts·. Characteristics of microbursts include: Size - Two kilometers (approximately 6000 ft) in diameter above the ground. expanding to four kilometers (approximately 1 2 OOO ft) at ground level. Anything larger is considered a · down burst'. Intensity - Very strong downward winds, as high as 6000 ft per minute. which become strong horizontal winds near the ground with greater than 80-kn variations through the base area. Maximum horizontal winds occur about 75 ft above the surface (much lower than some experts in the field have previously been willing to accept). Types-Wet and dry. In most areas of the US. microbursts are wet, that is they occur with rain. but. in high, dry climates. the rain frequently evaporates before reaching the ground. The evaporation cools the air, increasing the intensity of the downdraft. Detection - Difficult, because they often occur from small. rapidly building cells that may not contour on radar. especially when the antenna tilt is downward. It may be of considerable benefit to examine the upper portions of a cell for high amounts of water content. !t is suspected that large amounts of water are carried to the upper portion of a building cell by updrafts until the water can no longer be supported. Then, a large downdraft is generated. which fires a pulse of

32

high velocity air and/ or water at the ground. There appears to be little correlation between rain at ground level and the presence of microbursts. The scale of microbursts is so small that present LLWAS (wind shear alerting system) surface anemometers may not detect them. Life - Approximately two minutes of maximum intensity. The event will usually be entirely over within five minutes. Multiple microbursts are common and should be expected. Risks - Very dangerous to an aircraft if it is close to the ground in the takeoff or landing configuration. Probably not dangerous if encountered above 1OOO ft AGL. The performance decrement to a three-engine transport category aircraft can be greater than a double engine failure. Precautions - Microbursts occur from cell activity. Do not take off or land directly beneath a cell. whether it is contouring or not. Dry microbursts often cause a telltale ring of dust on the surface. Opposite-direction surface winds over a short distance. accompanied by cell activity. are a clear indication of a microburst. Often. previous aircraft encounter severe performance problems before an accident occurs. Sometimes these encounters cause strongly increasing performance. Any strong performance encounter that could be associated with cell activity should be considered as having originated from a microburst. Reporting - When reporting wind shear encounters that could be caused by microbursts. say that you are making a 'pilot report of a microburst encounter' and give the details. Very likely. the event will be over before another aircraft encounters it, but, most often. the one that kills is preceded by other microbursts. which. if properly identified and reported to other flight crews. could save lives.

by Philippe Domagala At the other side of the international airport of Warsaw the air traffic control center is accommodated in a small building beneath the tower. Some 40 civil controllers are working here. The Thomson-CSF equipment is quite modern and provides the controller with labels. SSR-code, Mode C information and speed indication on synthetic displays. Secondary and primary responses are superimposed. and code-callsign correlation is effected via a keyboard underneath the scope. The secondary surveillance radar has a range of about 500 km. so that almost the whole territory of Poland is covered by SSR. The SSR antenna is mounted on top of the approach radar antenna (range 100 km). which has a faster rotation rate; as a result definition at long range is not optimum. This and the lack of SSR procedures means that separation of traffic has to be effected in a procedural way. The large scope between the two sectors is only used as an aid. not as a tool for separation. The APP /TMA sector is located inside the ACC and provides a full radar service to the airspace users. Although traffic has decreased considerably in the last three years (some 40% less). the capacity of the centre is certainly well planned for the future; in a corner of the operations room place has been made available for a full integrated · Flow Control Cell'. which is ready for operation. The Polish controllers are well trained (USA; Eurocontrol Institute at Luxembourg. etc.). One would expect salaries to be at a reasonable level. but it is very difficult to make a comparison with other professions as in eastern block countries the basic salaries are all very low and almost the same. In 1981 the controllers formed an Association. which was very soon active in professional matters. Although the total number of civil controllers is rather small ( 1 10). their dedication and motivation is very high. Recently the Association inquired about a possible membership of I FATCA. Authorization from their government is needed and imminent. Some problems. like the financial contribution to I FATCA, have to be resolved, since individuals are prohibited to export money.


Corporate Members of I FATCA AEG-Telefunken, Ulm, West Germany Allcorn Data, Ltd., Nepean, Canada AMECON Division, Litton Systems Inc., Maryland, USA ANSA Advisory Group Air Navigation, West Germany Cardion Electronics, Woodbury, USA CAE Electronics Ltd., Saint Laurent. Canada Cossor Radar & Electronics Ltd., Harlow, UK Dictaphone Corporation, New York. USA Eaton Corporation, AIL Division, Farmingdale, USA Ericsson AB, SRA Communications, Stockholm, Sweden Ferranti Limited, Bracknell. UK Goodwood Data, Systems Ltd., Carleton Place, Canada Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. Hengelo. Netherlands IKO Software Service, Stuttgart, West Germany Jeppesen & Co. GmbH, Frankfurt, West Germany Lockheed Aircraft Service Company, Ontario. USA Marconi Radar System. Chelmsford, England M.B.L.E., Brussels, Belgium The Mitre Corporation. McLean, USA PhilipsTelecommunicatie lndustrie B.V., Hilversum. Netherlands Plessey Company Ltd., Waterloo, Canada Racal Decca Systems Ltd .. London, England Racal Recorders Ltd .. Southampton, England Raytheon Canada Ltd., Waterloo. Canada Rediffusion Simulation Inc .. Arlington. USA Schmid Telecommunication. Zurich, Switzerland Selenia lndustrie Elettroniche, Rome. Italy SEL-Standard Elektrik Lorenz, Stuttgart 70, Germany Societe d' Etude et d' Entreprises electriques. Franee Sofreavia, Paris. France Software Sciences Ltd .. Farnborough, England Sperry Univac, St. Paul. USA Thomson, CSF, Paris. France Ulmer Aeronautique, Clichy, France Westinghouse Electric Corp., Maryland. USA

The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers· Associations would like to invite all corporations. organizations. and institutions interested in and concerned with the maintenance and promotion of safety in air traffic to join their organization as Corporate Members. Corporate Members support the aims of the Federation by supplying the Federation with technical information and by means of an annual subscription. The Federation· s international Journal 'The Controller· is offered as a platform for the discussion of technical and procedural developments in the field of air traffic control.


.AirTraffic Control SELENI.A

SATCAS control suite with the DDS-80 22" intelligent

di splay and 14" sm art video ter mi n al

ATCR-44 adaptive radar

You are buying for the future. Cost-effectiveness, growth capabilities and low life-cycle cost are key parameters when investing in a long-term project such as an Air Traffic Control system. The SATCAS system is an industrial product created by Selenia scientists and engineers as the result of 25 years of experience in the design and production of advanced Air Traffic Control Systems. To guarantee perfect system performance in all environments, and to maintain system integrity during the years, the SATCAS fully exploits the concept of distributed intelligence and adaptive radars .

Selenia is experience in air traffic control systems INDUSTRIE ELETTRONICHEASSOCIATES.pA

CIVIL RADAR AND SYSTEMS DIVISION Via Tiburtma Km 12,400, 00131ROME, ITALY Telex 613690 SELROMI, Phone 06-43601

Selema RE Pubbhc11a '83


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