THE
CONTROLLER Journal of Air Traffic Control
July 2012
4 ICAO
4 ATC Global 2012
4 Afghanistan
INTER-
4 4th Runway in Frankfurt
TION OF AIR TRAFF ERA IC C FED
LLERS’ ASSNS. TRO ON
Also in this Issue:
NATIO NAL
4 I FATCA 2012 Annual Conference
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Contents
THE
CONTROLLER
July 2012 Volume 51 Issue 2 – ISSN 0010-8073
THE
CONTROLLER Journal of Air Traffic Control
July 2012
4 ICAO 4 Afghanistan
INTER-
4 4th Runway in Frankfurt
TION OF AIR TRAFF ERA IC C FED
LLERS’ ASSNS. TRO ON
Also in this Issue:
NATIO NAL
4 IFATCA 2012 ANNUAL CONFERENCE 4 ATC Global 2012
Cover photo:
In this issue:
DFS
EXECUTIVE BOARD OF IFATCA Alexis Brathwaite President and Chief Executive Officer Patrik Peters Deputy President
Patrick Forrey Executive Vice-President Technical
Scott Shallies Executive Vice-President Professional
Darrell Meachum Executive Vice-President Finance
Foreword from the Executive Board ........................................... 4 Opinion 2050 & The new runway in Frankfurt ……....................... 5 IFATCA 2012 Annual Conference ........………………..…………......... 9 ICAO Initial Training Manual ....................……………………….. 15 Demystified ...………..………………….……………………. 16 Asia/Pacific New ICAO Flight Plan ...…………………………….………. 18 Seamless Skies? ....………………………………………….... 20 ATC in Afghanistan ...…......…………………………………. 21 Europe FASTI .........…………………...……………………………….. 23 SDDS ....……………...………………………………………… 24 IFALPA Annual Conference .........…………...........………………….....………… 25 ATC Global 2012 Conference…….....……………………............................... 26 Controllers not against change………….......................... 28 Solar Impulse .........…………...........………………….....………………………….. 29 Book Review .........…………...........………………….....………………………….. 30 Feature An American SST .........…………...........…………....…….. 31 Charlie .........…………...........………………….....…………………………………. 34
Keziah Ogutu Executive Vice-President Africa and Middle East Vacant Executive Vice-President Americas D. K. Behera Executive Vice-President Asia and Pacific Željko Oreški Executive Vice-President Europe
Philippe Domogala Conference Executive
Adell Humphreys Secretary
The editorial team has endeavored to include all owner information, or at least source information for the images used in this issue. If you believe that an image was used without permission, please contact the editor via http:// www.the-controller.net
PUBLISHER IFATCA, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers‘ Associations 1255 University Street · Suite 408 Montreal, Quebec · H3B 3B6 · CANADA Phone: +1514 866 7040 Fax: +1514 866 7612 · Email: office@ifatca.org EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Philip Marien Van Dijcklaan 31 B-3500 Hasselt, Belgium email: bm@the-controller.net Deputy EDITOR Philippe Domogala email: dp@the-controller.net CORPORATE AFFAIRS Vacant
REGIONAL EDITORS Americas: Doug Church (USA) Phil Parker (Hong Kong) Europe: Patrik Peters & David Guerin COPY EDITORS Paul Robinson, Jez Pigden, Brent Cash, David Guerin and Alasdair Shaw. LAYOUT & PRINTING LITHO ART GmbH & Co. Druckvorlagen KG Friesenheimer Straße 6a D 68169 Mannheim GERMANY Tel: +49 (0)621 3 22 59 10 Fax: +49 (0)621 3 22 59 14 email: info@lithoart-ma.de
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) only when so indicated. Other views will be those of individual members or contributors concerned and will not necessarily be those of IFATCA, except where indicated. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct, IFATCA makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the nature or accuracy of the information. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or used in any form or by any means, without the specific prior written permission of IFATCA, except where indicated (e.g. a creative commons licence).
VISIT THE IFATCA WEB SITES:
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THE
CONTROLLER
3
Foreword
Strategically Creating our Future Alexis Brathwaite, IFATCA ^ by President and Chief Executive Officer seeks to collaboratively create the future ATM system. Directors at our 51st annual conference sought to address the challenges for our Federation as we seek to remain relevant in our next fifty years. We recognize the enormous potential to grow, deepen and enhance our relevance to our individual members associations that are at varying stages of development and capability. Despite our successes in meeting our core objectives there is great opportunity to embrace our Federation’s full potential as a catalyst for member associations to work even more closely with their States and their employers – the Air Navigation Service Providers – to achieve a seamless and interoperable global ATM system.
Traditionally this summer issue of our Controller Magazine highlights our recent conference, which this year convened in Kathmandu, Nepal under the theme One Voice One Capability One Sky. This theme evolved from our 50th anniversary theme One Sky One Voice Since 1961. Internally, we have started talking about One Sky One Voice One Future. This demonstrates that IFATCA has evolved in sync with the many organizations, including ICAO, that have embraced the One Sky concept. As we reviewed our fifty years of history we took note of the objectives adopted at our founding which remain relevant in the current environment. The need for a federation of air traffic controllers been aptly vindicated and there is continuing demand for IFATCA’s view as the aviation industry
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Our Directors acknowledged the need to look critically at how our Federation functions and determine where we need to evolve to meet our objectives more effectively, our current and changing needs and our ever increasing opportunities. Directors accepted the Executive Board’s position that as an international federation in a global community, needing to balance many competing interests, IFATCA requires a strategic plan. Strategic planning must become an ongoing process through which we efficiently allocate our resources to agreed priorities. In developing an effective strategic plan we must start to adopt a shared vision internally that allows us to harness the creativity that is at the core of our Federation’s success. We must incorporate all our existing strengths and align our resources to improve our capacity to meet the needs of our members and the expectations of our fellow stakeholders. As a member of the aviation community, IFATCA’s vision and strategy can only succeed if it is coherent with the needs and objectives of our fellow stakeholders. IFATCA expressed our position on collaboration in our Statement on the Future of Global ATM, wherein we advocate that
a comprehensive solution requires a high level of cooperation between all members of the aviation community. The required cooperation envisages all of us working together with pragmatism and compromise. Pragmatism means that we have to discuss all issues frankly and treat none as too difficult. Pragmatism also means that we must only make reasonable demands of others as well as on our own resources. We must demand no more of others than we are willing to give ourselves. A core requirement therefore is enlightened self-interest. For enlightened self-interest to work everyone must get something from the system they want and everyone must be willing to give up something. In creating a coherent strategy, IFATCA’s vision is that the future ATM system will, by design, comprise both human and technology as integral parts. The tasks and nature of human roles within ATM will evolve with automation. This means that all representatives of the humans who will operate a system must be involved throughout the design, simulation, implementation and review. This requires that all participation by the ATM community needs to be a real involvement in the entire process and its consequences. IFATCA was founded to work with the aviation community. The complexity of this undertaking demands tremendous commitment and capacity that would challenge organizations with the deepest resources. For a volunteer organization with limited resources, this is doubly challenging. Our intention to adopt a coherent strategy to meet our objectives demonstrates our continuing commitment to our own members and to the aviation community that can only benefit the creation of a future aviation system. ^
pcx@ifatca.org
Opinion
Flightpath 2050 Europe‘s Vision For Aviation: A Biased Review Philippe Domogala, ^ by Deputy Editor The European Commission has just published an interesting document: it presents a high-level vision of what Europe’s aviation industry will look like in 2050, just under 40 years from now. Unsurprisingly, aviation will be clean, quiet, competitive, safe and secure. If not for the complex words, it would make a great bedtime story for your children. What is worse, is that, perhaps due to the translation, the authors appear to find it difficult to distinguish between goals and dreams. You want an example? How about this one… “Flights arrive within 1 minute of the planned arrival time regardless of weather conditions.” Yes, it seems we will be able to perfectly predict the weather in 40 years! It would certainly help to know exactly where CBs will develop and snow will fall, not to mention ashclouds and the likes… While meteorological predictions will most certainly improve, it’s unlikely that they will provide the accuracy sought by the report, especially considering that nearly all climate models predict more extreme weather over the coming decades… “The ground infrastructure is in place for all types of aviation. Traditional hub airports operate at high utilisation levels. Delays are mitigated by highly efficient operations and through night operations enabled by ultra-quiet aircraft.” I would love to see the definition of an ultra quiet aircraft but I can assure you that whatever it is, it will not satisfy the people living near airports. Anything short of a glider won’t satisfy them and even then, the first lawsuits against glider clubs are already a fact… Apparently even the wooshing sounds they sometimes make is too much for some! “Precise navigation and on-board systems give all-weather, 24/7 capacity to rotorcraft and aircraft capable of door-to-door operation with limited infrastructure. All
4 Ambitious Fairytale?
Photo: © Noam Armonn | Dreamstime.com
types of rotorcraft are capable of simultaneous, non-interfering approach to airports as part of regional networks including city vertiports [vertical aiports – ed.] and secondary, remote infrastructure, complying with local noise regulations.” This is almost word for word what the 1983 report “ ECAC strategy for the 90’s “ said. I am still waiting for the city bus helicopter to land in front of my door to take me to my dentist appointment...It will of course be ultra-quiet, and the rotors will not blow the neighbour’s garden furniture away… Safety seems to be assumed in 2050: it’s covered in about 20 lines throughout the document in some extremely generic terms. ”Automation has changed the roles of both the pilot and the air traffic controller. Their roles are now as strategic managers and hands-off supervisors, only intervening when necessary”, and, “The occurrence and impact of human error is significantly reduced through new designs and training processes and through technologies that support decision-making.” Here we go again; technologies will save the day and replace our human deficiencies and help us decide… Just ask the crew of Air France 447 how that went... “The European air transport system operates seamlessly through fully interoperable and networked systems allowing manned and unmanned air vehicles to safely operate in the same airspace.“ Impressive, so all the current military and sovereignty hurdles are no longer there and we’re all friends that don’t annoy each other.
But I kept you the best quotes for the end: “The Single European Sky is fully implemented and [...] have ensured that capacity meets expanding demand in the air and at airports. […] Congested airports are no longer a bottleneck due to action taken by the Single European Sky, SESAR and successor programmes.” So SESAR at last has managed to force governments to have new runways built everywhere, like in America? And in Heathrow, Amsterdam, Frankfurt,…? For those of you that think I am too hard or too sarcastic, see the following story on the brand new Frankfurt 4th runway. It’s not bad to dream and have ambition, but consider this: 2050 is as close as 1974. Seeing how aviation has developed over the past 38 years, it seems there’s a very fine line between ambition and a complete lack of realism…^
dp@the-controller.net Read the report http://goo.gl/D4LrC
5
4 Airports
Photo: Šfraport AG
Runway Debacle The story of the 4TH Runway at Frankfurt Airport Philippe Domogala, ^ by Deputy Editor Frankfurt airport, Europe’s 3rd busiest, first launched the idea of building a 4th runway somewhere in 1997. With the sometimes even violent conflicts over the building of the third runway still in mind, the airport let residents and environmentalists participate in
6
the process to find an agreeable solution. In 2000 a task force presented their conclusion, which generally approved a new runway. In 2001, airport operator Fraport applied for approval to build a new runway, with three possible variants assessed. This concluded that a runway north-west of the airport would deliver the fewest adverse effects for local residents and the surrounding environ-
ment. The regional government approved the plans in December 2007. Construction of the new 2,800 meters (9,240 feet) long Runway Northwest in the Kelsterbach Forest began in early 2009. German Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated it in October 2011. The event was widely covered by national and even international press, and the future of Frankfurt Main airport looked bright indeed.
4 Airports Unlike the rest of the airport and runways, the new “Runway Northwest” lies north of the busy A3 motorway. Parallel to the two old existing ones 25/07 L and R, the lateral distance is some 1400m and the threshold is displaced by 3500m compared to the other two. It allows independent parallel approaches with the other pair, which are only 500m apart. On paper at least, it‘s a very good design…
to leave Frankfurt airport in the short term. But it also created major problems for many long-range flights towards Asia: these generally leave between 22:00 and 23:00 but even the slightest delay risks their departure being cancelled... The inflexibility of this ruling has already caused many absurd situations, as the two examples raised by the Controller association GDF illustrate:
Being on the other side of the motorway, also meant that a very complex (read expensive) system of taxiways, with bridges across the motorway, were needed to link the new runway to the 2 terminals. In addition, a new control tower, closer to the runway also had to be built: the so-called Control Tower North.
A charter flight with passengers booked on a cruise ship had a few minutes delay. Making it to the runway just past 23:00, it simply had to be told to return to the stand. While the passengers were transferred to the hotel, the
The airport capacity with three runways until October 2011 was 84 aircraft an hour. Now, nearly eight months later, it has risen to 90 an hour with four runways. What? All this for six a/c an hour? What happened?
cruise ship couldn’t wait for them to join, resulting in tens of thousands euros in compensation. A fully loaded A380 managed to line up at 23:02, only to be told to return. The flight was delayed to the following day. The passengers lucky enough to have a valid visa were transferred to nearby hotels; the others had to remain in the transit area, where they could try and sleep on some improvised beds. As GDF said: “Welcome to Germany“. ^
4 Arial view of EDDF
in September 2010. In the upper right, the construction site for the new runway. Photo: Schtone | Wikimedia
The short answer is compromise... To get local residents and environmentalists to agree to the expansion, compromises needed to be made and that meant, restrictions. One of those restrictions is that the new runway can only be used for landings – so no aircraft are allowed to take off on it… It can only be used from 05:00 local to 23:00 local and possibly worst of all: some of the larger aircraft like the A380s, MD11s, Boeings 747s, etc., cannot use it. Based on a rather simplistic view that big aircraft mean big noise, the runway could be used by noisy DC8s because they are small enough! Lastly, the approach to it is only on a very strict defined STAR using ILS and visual approaches are strictly banned. To accommodate all of this, a very complex mix of procedures and crossing tracks needed to be worked out: for instance, a 747 from the North will have to be re-routed over the field to land on the South runways system. In order to balance traffic between the runways, some smaller aircraft coming from the South may have to cross the airfield to land in this new runway. The approach procedures are now so complex that the smallest deviation has a knock-on effect and causes difficulties elsewhere. The result of all of this is a staggering six extra movements per hour! As if this wasn’t enough, in March 2012, a court in Leipzig ruled that Frankfurt airport had to shut down at night. No departures were allowed after 23:00 local, with almost immediate effect. This is applied with German precision: not a single minute is tolerated! Lufthansa Cargo, one of the main night operators, will have
4 Map of Frankfurt airport.
The new runway is in the top left corner. Planned expansions are to the south of the current complex. Photo: Thomas Römer/OpenStreetMap data
7
4 Airports
4 The new north control tower.
4 A system of taxiways, with bridges across the motorway,
were needed to link the new runway to the two terminals.
Photo: DFS
Photo: fraport AG
Interview
with Michael Kolodziej, Tower Controller in Frankfurt
4 Michael Kolodziej in the Frankfurt TWR
Photo: pilotseye.tv
Philippe: Is working with the 4th runway more difficult than before? Michael: Not more difficult, just totally different. We went from three controllers in a small TWR room to four – one per runway – in a room over twice the size, lots more coordination and stricter procedures. It can get very loud and noisy there, as we have to sometimes shout at each other to be heard, which is not ideal.
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Ph.: Is the current increase of capacity (+ six movements only) temporary or pretty much final? M.: It won’t change much in the near future. Currently our main problem is with the procedures: not only are they very inflexible and don’t allow much freedom, they are also only made for good weather. Bad weather is not even mentioned in our ops manual. The other main limiting factor is the lack of parking space. The apron cannot sustain many more movements in its present layout. Until that changes, there cannot be many more move-
ments. The night curfew is also a nightmare in case of weather delays between 21:00-22:30. We could easily handle 120 movements when using Rwy 07, but not when using 25, which is unfortunately 70% of the time. Currently noise abatement has priority, so the future will show whether we´ll be able to increase the number of movements. Ph.: Do you expect any improvement to the procedures in the short term? M.: Hopefully yes. The main issue we have is the excessive coordination between the two close parallel runways (25L used for landings and 25C used for take-off). Due to their proximity, ICAO says they should be operated as one, with a single controller. Having two separate controllers is causing lots of additional coordination, problems and even incidents (see note below). We are working with our employer towards a solution, where one controller and one coordinator will be in charge of both 25L and C. NOTE: on Dec 13, 2011, an Lufthansa A380 did a go around on 25L (due to a high flare and gusting winds) while an Aeroflot A320 was cleared for take off on runway 25C, both aircraft ended up subsequently 0.97 NM and 200ft apart. The A320 found itself less than a NM right behind the super heavy. Preliminary investigation showed that if both runways had been the responsibility of a single controller, separation is unlikely to have been lost in such a way. ^
4 IFATCA Conference
IFATCA’S 51ST Annual Conference March 2012, Kathmandu, Nepal Philip Marien, ^ by Editor For their annual conference, delegates of some 60 Member Associations (MAs) headed to Kathmandu, Nepal. The capital of the most mountainous country in the world – it has 8 of the 10 highest points on earth and more than 240 peaks over 6000m/20,000ft – is an experience. It offers an amazing mix of tradition, history and traffic chaos. Temples are scattered around the city. As one guide told me, there’s more gods in Nepalese faith than there are inhabitants in the country…
Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was a proud moment for the organizing committee. With limited resources at their disposal, they managed to pull together the largest international conference held to date in Nepal – with some 450 delegates attending. The opening ceremony was a mix of formal speeches and Nepalese traditions. Guests of honour were the country’s prime minister, Dr Baburam Bhattarai and several member of his cabinet, including the minister and officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Director General of the Nepalese CAA. Both the Prime Minister and the other officials highlighted the vital importance of aviation for Nepal. Due to its challenging geography, aircraft are often the only practical way in which remote places can be reached. All recognized the important role that air traffic controllers play in this…
4 Dignitaries during the Opening Ceremony Photo: NATCA
Pratap Babu Tiwari, president of the Nepal Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), said that increasing air traffic every year had made the job of air traffic controllers more stressful considering the limited resources and infrastructure and out-dated technology.
Opening Plenary President and CEO of IFATCA, Alexis Brathwaite, presented the State of the Federation. He highlighted among other things the positive changes made to the financial management of the Federation. At the same time, too many MAs appeared to struggle to be able to pay their membership contributions. He further elaborated on the successes and recognition that the Federation enjoyed over the past years. This included the work on SID/STAR phraseology, which was incorporated in ICAO standards. The high quality work of IFATCA’s Standing Committees is receiving more and more international recognition. While positive, it also results in more and more requests for IFATCA representatives to attend meetings worldwide, putting a strain on our resources.
Committee A Former vice-president Paul Robinson (NZ) chaired the committee. He was assisted by Jean Robert Dumfries (Aruba) and Shishir Gautam (Nepal). Also sitting at the head table were Patrik Peters, Vice President of the
4 The Conference hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal Photo: BM
Federation and Darrell Meachum in his authority as EVP Finance. The various members of the Executive Board presented reports on their activities on behalf of the Federation over the past year, all of which were accepted by the committee. The Financial Committee (FIC) presented several papers in which they put forward some changes to the membership fees, reimbursements for representatives and rules for budgeting. Four items were placed on the work program of the FIC for the coming year, including a review of the tax status of the Federation and changes needed to incorporate General Accepted Accounting Practices in the IFATCA Administrative Manual. Following reports from several other officials, such as the office manager, the web manager and the editor, the Constitution and Administration Committee (CAC) presented papers on their work program items. These included a discus-
4 Prime Minister of Nepal,
Dr Bhattarai addressing the Conference Photo: BM
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4 IFATCA Conference
4 Committee B in session
4 ‘One Voice, One Capability, One Sky’ panel discussion
Photo: BM
sion on the tax-free regime the Federation currently enjoys in Switzerland. Several options were presented, one of which was a change in the constitution. Other options, including the possibility of moving the siège social of the Federation away from Geneva, Switzerland, would be further studied by FIC & CAC. The committee approved press releases, highlighting severe problems in two States, namely Pakistan and Cyprus. These concerns were voiced in press releases to the world’s media. The Board presented a discussion paper on the strategic direction the Federation would take. This recognized the need to train its representatives, make better use of internet and social media and the requirement for optimized office facilities. The committee approved the location for the next conference (Bali, Indonesia) and heard the bid for the 2014 Conference from Spain and Bulgaria and the Bahamas registered their interest in hosting the 2015 conference. Lastly, elections were held in which the current President, EVP Finance, EVP Professional and EVP Europe were re-elected for another 2-year term. The office of EVP Americas remained vacant and will be overseen by the Executive
10
Photo: EVPEUR
Board. Several officials were also (re-)appointed for the same period.
Committee B Once again the technical committee sessions were chaired by Akos van der Plaat, assisted by Mahesh Basnet (Nepal), Subhash Ranjan Baral (Nepal) and Alasdair Shaw (New Zealand). Joining them at the head table was Patrick Forrey, EVP Technical. Besides reports from various representatives to international groups and panels, members of the Technical and Operations Committee (TOC) presented various studies they had conducted over the past year. It would do their hard work injustice to try to summarize the diverse number of subjects they presented, including items such as SID and STAR naming policy; arrival manager, merging & sequencing concepts; surveillance issues, visual separation on approach and call sign confusion. As a result of the various studies, several of the Federation’s technical policies were updated or new policy was introduced. With Matthijs Jongerneel (NL) stepping down as Chairman TOC, Ignacio Baca of Spain succeeded him. As usual, he and his committee are facing a full and challenging work program for the coming year.
Committee C At the last moment, chairman Mike O’ Neill had to be replaced by Eric Risdon from the Swiss MA as the chairman of Committee C, which deals with professional and legal issues. At the head table with him were Anita Shrestha (Nepal) and Maša Sevčnikar (Slovenia), as well as Scott Shallies (EVP Professional). As with TOC for Committee B, the Professional and Legal Committee, headed by
Jez Pigden (UK), prepared work-studies for Committee C. These studies proposed policy or amendments of existing policy on ATCOs with disabilities; protection of safety information and voluntary reporting; the training manual for initial controller training (see the article on page 16); and English language proficiency. As always, Human Factors are very much a focal point in many of the subjects dealt with by PLC and Committee C.
Joined B & C Committees Over the past years, a number of topics in Committees B & C showed a significant overlap and it was decided to hold joined committee sessions to discuss these. This year was no different, with over 1,5 days foreseen. The meeting heard an update on the Federation’s representative at ICAO, Dr Ruth Stilwell. She highlighted that ICAO is asking for IFATCA representation in ever more events and symposia due to the quality of our work – a nice challenge for the Federation given the limited resources it has… The committee further discussed issues related to the operation of remote towers and the use of CCTV; a study on the proposed ICAO block upgrades program; how to judge whether a new system was ready for operational use; an item on continuous climb operations; and various reports of representatives to a diverse number of groups, panels and other associations/organizations. For those wishing to learn more about any of the topics discussed at the conference, please do not hesitate to approach your local MA.
Panel Traditionally held on Thursday, after the committees have finished proceedings, a panel discussion took place. In conjunction with the organizing committee, the theme
4 IFATCA Conference
4 The IFATCA head table with most of the Nepalese organizing committee after the final plenary. Photo: NATCA
for this year’s panel was set to ‘One Voice, One Capability, and One Sky’. Submitted was the notion that proposed new (technical) standards would be well beyond the (financial) means of smaller, poorer countries – thereby further increasing the gap that already exists today. Philippe Domogala, IFATCA Conference Executive, moderated the panel. Five panel members were each given a short opportunity to present their views, after which they would respond to questions from the floor. On the panel were Chris Dalton (Chief ATM section ICAO), Alexis Brathwaite (PCX IFATCA), Pratab Babu Tiwan (President Nepal ACTA), Paul McCarthy (IFALPA ATS Committee) and Prashsan Sanglikar (Ass. Dir. Safety, Operations & Infrastructure IATA).
4 The IFATCA ‘Family’ photo Photo: NATCA
allowed to diverge. He also noted that many social obligations mean that smaller developing countries do not have the resources to implement even small parts of ambitious projects such as NextGen and SESAR. Even implantation of the SARPs is already costing such countries a lot. So they are still catching up, let alone that they would be able to implement expensive. Alexis highlighted that in many areas, there’s not only an ATCO shortage, but technical staff is also not available. New requirements, such as the new ICAO flight plan to name one, can often not be effectively implemented… Perhaps a solution lies in sharing resources and regionalizing technical staff/ knowledge rather than every state attempting to have all expertise locally.
Chris Dalton stated that ICAO’s proposed Block upgrades (ASBU) would be scalable that could be implanted in regions depending on the regional need. He also urged IFATCA to define 5 priorities that can be very practically linked to the ICAO programs in order to provide focus for authorities and manufacturers on the most urgent needs.
Prashsan Sanglikar of IATA stressed that all too often, service charges that airlines pay is not re-invested into the service. Money is used to build beautiful airports; in other places, ATC charges are purely used for profit. This shouldn’t be the case – investments are needed in order to optimize the service and the service charges should be used for this.
Paul McCarthy stated that airlines want capacity and they want it now. This will not come from advanced gadgets and technology, if the basic needs aren’t covered first: those basics are communication and surveillance. He urged that traffic density should be the driver for equipment requirements rather than geographic location. He also noted that sovereignty remains a major problem for harmonization. Certain functions need to be regionalized rather than remain at national level.
All in all, an enlightening discussion, which stressed again that the solution to many of today’s problems, is probably not in megaprojects and technological solutions…
Pratab Babu Tiwan questioned the contradiction in certain elements being standardized (e.g. phraseology) while technology was
Final Plenary & Closing Ceremony The final plenary formally endorsed the various decisions made in the committees. In addition, the Federation also recognised several people’s exceptional work for the Federation over the past years. IFATCA awards were presented to Jens Lehman (DE), Bill Holzman (USA) and Ignacio Oliva Whitley, the outgoing EVP Americas. An Executive Board award
was presented to Catharina De Decker (BE). Very touching were the tributes to two former IFATCA board members who passed away shortly before conference: Rob Mason (AU) paid homage to Charles Stuart, former EVP Technical and PCX & CEO, while Dr Ruth Stilwell and Philippe Domogala remembered former EVP Technical Martin W. Cole. The formal part of the Conference ended by thanking the organising committee, especially its chairman Pratap Babu Tiwari. For a relatively small association with limited resources, they did a splendid job in organizing a smooth and efficient conference. As important as the formal part of the annual conference is, the value of the informal and social contacts with colleagues from across the world cannot be overstated. Amongst calls to transform the Federation into a more efficient and streamlined organization, it’s real strength remains in the countless contacts and exchanges with colleagues and friends! ^
editor@the-controller.net
11
4 Europe
Informal European Regional Meeting Kathmandu, Nepal, 16TH March 2012 Željko Oreški, ^ by IFATCA EVP Europer IFATCA has serious concerns when laws are passed, such as in Cyprus, which limit the abilities of ATCOs to take action to protect their working conditions. When those laws are used to undermine working conditions, IFATCA believes that this compromises safety. Our President, Mr. Alexis Brathwaite has said: “These are not just industrial issues. Air Traffic Control is not an administrative function. It is a highly specialized and demanding profession requiring unique skills.” Given the safety critical aspects of the job, forcing Air Traffic Controllers to work excessive overtime indisputably compromises safety. All aviation professionals should be managed using internationally accepted fatigue risk management principles. IFATCA believes this current attitude can only lead to a reduction in safety for the travelling public, and will erode international public confidence in aviation safety in Cyprus. Photo: EVPEUR
During our Informal European Regional Meeting, held during the Annual Conference of IFATCA, 30 Member Association were represented. Another 7 had given their proxy to fellow associations. The agenda was ambitious as usual, especially knowing that we had only four hours for the meeting. Among the various topics that were discussed, I’d like to highlight the following: We kicked off a long discussion about possible ways to finance some of the Liaison Officers in IFATCA that are related to Europe, such as our representative to the European Union. Given the issues involved, it will be necessary to continue the debate at the Belgrade regional meeting towards the end of this year.
Situation in Spain: On November 21st 2011, the Spanish National Safety Agency (AESA) sent urgent official letters to 470 Air Traffic Controllers informing them that there were disciplinary proceedings opened against them for a very serious offence against air traffic, related to the facts occurred on early December 2010. As mentioned in the letters, Spanish law foresees fines from 90.000€ to 225.000€ for these offences, as well as possible withdrawal of the ATC license. In terms of impact on the Air Traffic Controller staff, it is only the latest in a series of measures against staff that has been harassed by their Government and bullied by their management for the last 30 months. Controllers are facing not only losing their licenses and jobs, but additionally risk having their possessions confiscated. As a result of this notice, the little motivation Spanish controllers had left has been dealt another blow. IFATCA cannot help wonder about the direct impact on safety this has and is following the situation closely. In Romania, controllers are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the so-called Otopeni trial.
4 Hotel Moskva in Belgrade, location for the 2012 EUR Regional Meeting
Photo: jerema47 | panoramio.com
As highlighted earlier in this magazine, IFATCA remains convinced of serious systemic errors rather than of any individual blame. Unfortunately, the legal system has focused all its energy to channel the blame, rather than to prevent a re-occurrence. From our point of view, a similar event could easily happen again tomorrow! The Jordanian ATC Association JATCA put forward a request to move from IFATCA’s Africa/Middle East Region to the European Region. They presented their arguments at the meeting, which included the fact that they have more links to European cities than to African ones; they have status of observer in Blue Med FAB, that is part of Single European Sky initiative; they have signed a comprehensive aviation agreement with the European Commission and its member states and they are obliged to harmonize with European regulations. European MAs voted positively, but due to some administrative issues, the formal decision will need to be made during the next IFATCA Annual Conference in Bali, in 2013. Finally, details were provided for the 29th European Regional Meeting. This will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 19th till 21st October 2012. The meeting venue will be the Hotel ‘Moskva’. The 3-day meeting will kick off with an IFATCA Workshop on Friday. All other information can be found on the organizing committee’s website www.erm2012.com or via e-mail to the Chairman of the OC at srbatca@sbb.rs. Let me finish by expressing my gratitude to the European Member Associations for an extremely productive week during the 51th IFATCA Annual Conference. As usual, they were very active in all preparations, committees and discussions. It makes me immensely proud to be given the opportunity to lead such an active and advanced region. ^
evpeur@ifatca.org 12
4 Conference
A Flight to Everest Mohammad Farrokhi Yekta, ^ by IranATCA, ATCO at Shiraz Int’l Airport The only way to have a clear, unobstructed view of “Sagarmatha”, as Everest is known by the Nepalese, is on a VFR flight at FL250. Buddha Air has daily mountain flights from Kathmandu Tribhuvan airport (VNKT). Our Beech 1900 hopped onto RWY 20 for an intersection take-off, followed by a spiral to the right to clear the valley that encompasses Kathmandu. Everest is some 90 nm east of Kathmandu and on the way, several peaks of more than 20,0000ft are clearly visible. Only the window seats are occupied with passengers on the left getting the views on the outbound flight, while those on the right can enjoy the large windows on the way back. Buddha Air’s boarding pass has a overview map of the various peaks on the way to Everest. In addition, our flight attendant regularly pointed out which peak was which. On the Beech 1900, each Himalayan passenger also got a chance to see “Sagarmatha” from the cockpit as the flight was heading towards the highest point on Earth. And what a marvelous site it was, with winds blowing bits of the white cap off the summit into the air. It looks as though the peak knows its uniqueness. The sight fills the observer with a blend of ecstasy and awe. As soon as you can recover from this state of wonder, the flight attendant pointed out Lukla airport (VNLK), the world-famous extreme airport 9100 feet above sea level. Movements at the airport were clearly visible from FL250. Lukla is in the mid point of a 10,000 feet cliff. A 5000ft wall at the end of
RWY06, and a 5000 ft deep valley right before the threshold that rules out the option of a missed approach! Lukla’s importance is mainly because of its proximity to Everest. Many trekkers and mountaineers set out on their odyssey from there. Lukla marks the final waypoint: you either end up in Chinese territory or hit a mountain at FL270! No choice but to return. The area near Everest is non-controlled, but I was told that pilots frequently call on ATC for traffic information. The return route is almost reciprocal to the first half. This is good for passengers sitting on the starboard side, but bad for KTM ACC, who has to manage the puzzle of numerous flights all in a tight space and all either climbing or descending. Of course the return route is slightly to the north, and pilots check other traffic on their TCAS, but it’s still a great challenge for our Nepalsese colleagues. About 50 nm from KTM, all flights are handed over to KTM Radar Approach. Within the TMA, arrival and departure routes are extremely complex, because of the geography. Lateral separation is often impossible and vertical separation is very limited because of the terrain. Approach and tower have to employ all their cunning to fix the VFRs and opposite jet arrivals and departures in a never-less-than-perfect arrangement. They work in a breathtaking harmony. According to a Nepali legend, the Yeti lives in the virgin lands of Himalaya. Many people have aspired to see the Yeti, the giant snowman of the mountains; for some, a symbol of power and strength. Legends feed our imagination and to search for astonishmen-
4 Buddha Air Beech 1900 at KTM airport
Photo: B. Daenzer
4 The author at the end of his “experience of a lifetime”
Photo: MFY
thas always been an attraction for human mind, but here we don’t need to search too far: a look at Nepali ATC will give you this sense. Thank you Buddha Air for “once in a lifetime experience”, and thank you Nepali controllers for making all this possible.^
fyekta@yahoo.com
4 At eye level with the highest mountain in the world! Photo: BM
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4 ICAO
Initial Training Manual for Air Traffic Control IFATCA Takes Leadership Role for Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Ruth Stilwell, IFATCA Representative ^ by to ICAO Air Navigation Commission modernize training programs as we modernize global air navigation. IFATCA joined this effort from the beginning, knowing the global shortages of air traffic controllers would not only put undue pressure on the systems, but also has serious health and safety consequences for controllers working under shortage conditions. Our goals, to improve the quality and consistency of ATCO training, as well as to improve the quality of our profession, to ensure we are able to attract and retain qualified personnel, are key points in the NGAP initiative.
4 Ruth Stilwell, IFATCA representative in the ICAO ANC Photo: RS
Global aviation is facing many challenges in technology, efficiency, capacity, and sustainability. As we work to meet these challenges, it is very clear that one of our greatest challenges is ensuring there are sufficient numbers of adequately trained personnel to meet these challenges. If we are struggling to meet the staffing demands to manage today’s traffic levels, how will we meet the demands of tomorrow? Too often, day-today demands create pressure to cut necessary resources for future planning. There is no place more common to see this approach than training. Training is our most important investment in the future, but all too often it is targeted for short-term savings. In ICAO, it was recognized that the need to attract, train and retain qualified aviation personnel across the spectrum of aviation professions was essential to support global aviation. With this recognition, ICAO launched a Task Force dedicated to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP). This effort focused not only on attracting young people to aviation professions, but also in shifting to models of competency based training to
This spring, as IFATCA entered its 51st year representing the world’s air traffic controllers, the Federation embarked on a new era of influence and collaboration in the global aviation community. Through the hard work of the Professional and Legal Committee, IFATCA delivered to ICAO an Initial Training Manual for Air Traffic Control. This will become guidance material that did not previously exist in the ICAO library. But the work of IFATCA in developing this critical document did not begin when the PLC took on the task in 2011 at conference in Amman. This final product represented the consolidation of training materials from many states around the world most notably, the European Core Content. IFATCA and its member associations had played a critical role in developing this source material with Eurocontrol. This evolution, from our regional contributions to a global document represents the progress our organization continues to make.
sociations and their members can make a difference for our profession. We did not move our work forward in one day, or one project, or through one paper. It is the culmination of years of work, by many people, gathering the input of many associations to produce work that is valuable to the aviation community. The ATCO training manual will be an example of that value for many years to come. As ICAO moves forward with the process of formally adopting the guidance material, we should be justifiably proud of the high quality of work. It is important to remember that this work is done for a purpose.
4 The Initial Training Manual
for Air Traffic Control will become guidance material that did not previously exist in the ICAO library.
This is just one example of how the long term, dedicated, and active participation of our member as-
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4 ICAO Photo: Eurocontrol
Within the goals of the Federation are clear statements of our values, which include: to promote safety, efficiency,
mote and uphold a high standard of knowledge and professional efficiency among air traffic controllers; and to closely cooperate with international and national aviation authorities and institutions concerned with air navigation.
and regularity in international air navigation; to assist and advise in the development of safe and orderly systems of air traffic control and new procedures and facilities; to pro-
Developing a global ATCO training manual for ICAO helps us to meet these goals and provides a direct benefit to our member associations working to meet these challenges. It is in this way, in the expansion of our influence that we are able to shift from a reactive position to one that is pro-active, help to shape the future of our profession as we see it, rather than responding to the vision of others. The ATCO Training Manual is the culmination of years of work, but it is also the mark of a new era. ^
anc@ifatca.org
ICAO Demystified Commissions, Conferences and committees Ruth Stilwell, ^ by IFATCA ANC Representative 37th Assembly…190th Session of the Air Navigation Commission…12th Air Navigation Conference…what does it all mean to IFATCA? We all know what ICAO is – officially, “A specialized agency of the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency and regularity, as well as for aviation environmental protection. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 191 Member States.”1 But beyond the official definition, there is an elaborate, sometimes mystifying, process that goes on inside the walls
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of the ICAO building. These processes can have a significant impact on the profession of the air traffic controller. IFATCA has been involved with ICAO in Panels and at the Triennial Assemblies for more than a decade. Our recognition as an official Industry Observer has granted us access to the Assembly deliberations and to participate in other meetings as invited. However, three years ago, our recognition as an official Industry Observer to the Air Navigation Commission expanded that access even further. There are many international organizations with official status within ICAO, in fact, there were more than 35 Observer Delegations at the 37th General Assembly in 2010. But there are only 8 Industry Observers recognized with a seat in the Air Navigation Commission. They are IFATCA, IFALPA, IATA, ICCAIA, CANSO, IBAC, IAOPA, and ACI. With this elite status comes serious responsibility to provide the industry perspective of the world’s air traffic controllers. The ANC, commonly referred to as “The Commission” meets in sessions to consider any new proposed standards and recommended practices and forward its recom-
mendations to ICAO Council for action by the States. These sessions are each two months long and occur each Winter, Spring and Fall at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal. Currently, we are in the 190th session of the Air Navigation Commission. Issues that will be advanced to the Council are considered before the Commission at least 3 times, starting with an informal or formal briefing, then a preliminary review before the issue is sent out to the Contracting States and International Organizations for their comments. Once the consultation process is complete, the comments are reviewed and modifications are made to reflect the concerns identified. The issue then goes back to the Commission for final review before being sent to the Council to recommend adoption. In addition to the standards work, the Commission reviews the work of the regional ICAO groups, monitors safety issues, and works more broadly to affect aviation policy.
ICAO in Brief, online: http://www.icao.int/ Pages/icao-in-brief.aspx
1
4 ICAO The ICAO Assembly, which is held every three years, is the governing body of ICAO. It is the opportunity for States and Industry Organizations to actively debate issues, pass resolutions on which ICAO must act and elect the ICAO Council. IFATCA’s Observer status allows its participation in the deliberations at Assembly. This year, we are hearing about more than the routine work of ICAO, talk throughout the aviation world is now focused on the 12th Air Navigation Conference. This conference is only the 12th in ICAO’s 68 year history. Unlike other ICAO sessions, there is not a prescribed frequency for Air Navigation Conferences. Instead the Conference is scheduled when it is believed that there have been advances in air navigation of such significance and consequence that an Air Navigation
Conference is necessary. This year, the major global modernization concepts for air traffic control, including SESAR, NextGen and CARATS, helped drive the decision for ICAO to host the Conference. It is important to recognize that this is a global conference and not simply a platform for the major programs in Europe and North America. The primary focus from ICAO will be on the Global Aviation System Block Upgrades. The block upgrade concept was the subject of a working paper from the IFATCA Technical and Operations Committee presented at the Federation’s Annual Conference this year in Nepal. Through the block upgrade process, system enhancements are packaged to include the regulatory framework and technology require-
4 ICAO_World_Headquarters, University Street, Montréal, Canada Photo: Henrickson @ en.wikipedia
4 Air Navigation Council meeting Photo: ICAO
ments so that states can adopt the individual enhancements in a way that ensures global harmonization from the implementation stage. This is a new approach for ICAO and there will be a lot to be learned as we move forward. For many of the near term enhancements, concepts are well established and accepted. However in the further reaching blocks, there are several controversial issues for air traffic controllers and IFATCA will need to build the consensus among our Member Associations in order to fully address these issues. ^
anc@ifatca.org
4 36th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2007 Photo: ICAO
4 Air Navigation Commission in session Photo: ICAO
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4 Asia/Pacific Photo: © Gkuna | Dreamstime.com
Flight Plan 2 The story continues... John Wagstaff, ^ by Asia Pacific Representative In the October 2010 issue of ‘The Controller’ there was an article entitled ‘Flight Plan’ in which I described a possible doomsday scenario caused by a major breakdown in flight plan dissemination with the implementation of the new ICAO flight plan in November 2012. With less than six months to go before the deadline, I would like to report that my fears were completely unfounded and the testing and implementation planning for the new flight plan by ANSPs is Photo: © Monika Wisniewska | Dreamstime.com
on schedule and progressing well. I WOULD like to say that, but in reality the probability of a ‘doomsday scenario’ is all too real... In June 2008 ICAO published details of the new flight plan format with a three-phase implementation plan leading to a worldwide transfer to the new system by 15 November 2012. The timelines for the three phases were: Phase 1, from 1 January to 31 March 2012; Phase 2, from 1 April to 30 June 2012; and Phase 3, from 1 July to 15 November 2012. Few, if any of the ANSPs in the Asia Pacific region have followed this plan and the ICAO Regional Office has major concerns about
the preparations to complete the required equipment testing and staff training in time to meet the 15 November 2012 deadline. The ICAO Regional Office has conducted a risk assessment to determine the effect on the Asia Pacific ATM network inherent to the failure of ANSPs to transition to the new flight plan format on or before the deadline. Based on information submitted to the ICAO Flight Plan Implementation Tracking System (FITS) website, in response to regional questionnaires and from updates provided at ICAO Regional meetings, they have categorised each of the Asia Pacific ANSPs’ risk as Very High, High, Medium or Low. The ICAO Regional Office has not publicised their findings, but it is known that of the 47 FIRs within the Asia Pacific region, only 2 FIRs have updated the FITS website to show they have completed Phase 1 and are actively progressing with Phase 2. Worryingly, 26 FIRs, as of 19 April 2012, have indicated that they have not yet completed the Phase 1 implementation tests, with some not even ready to commence the tests. The only good news is that some of the FIRs have not informed ICAO of their progress in the implementation process and it is hoped that they will be able to comply with the 15 November 2012 changeover date. (It is interesting to note one FIR does not have any automated flight plan system – everything is still done manually!). At the majority of ATS units, flight plans are something that are handled either by the communications section or the ATC assistant staff and are rarely seen by controllers. But from the sophisticated ATM centres to the simple aerodrome control tower, the flight plan remains the vital source of essential information. So why change? What are the changes? How will they affect me? As part of the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan and the implementation of Performance Based Navigation procedures, aircraft are being equipped with more sophisticated and specialised navigation equipment. However the present flight plan form can only indicate very basic navigation and communication equipage e.g. ILS,
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4 Asia/Pacific Photo: JW
VOR, DME, GNSS, Data Link and RNP, by use of a single code letter. With the growing introduction of RNP procedures based on RNP and RNAV specifications, there is a need for ATC to be aware of the detailed capabilities of an aircraft. Hence the introduction of the new flight plan which will provide detailed information of the on-board systems via a new list of alphanumeric codes, e.g. the present single Data Link code ‘J’ will be replaced by seven codes, permitting the precise type of CPDLC system to be shown on the new flight plan; similarly the present single RNP certification code ‘R’ will be replaced by 9 codes, permitting the different RNP Specification(s) for which the aircraft is certified to be shown on the new flight plan.
ANSPs have chosen to modify their systems to convert the new format into present flight plan data, but they lose much of the new information and will not be aware of the exact navigation and communications equipment the aircraft carries. An even more critical aspect is that during the conversion process information may get corrupted, resulting in incorrect or false data in the changed flight plan. In addition the converter may not be able to automatically check the routeing requirements with the aircraft’s equipage. Any requirement for manual checking of the flight plan will increase ATC workload.
plan generating systems, but most of them can only handle the present flight plan, so they will also have to be replaced with systems capable of generating new flight plans prior to 15 November 2012. In accordance with the ICAO implementation plan Phase 3, operators (i.e. airlines, business aviation, the military and private pilots) may file new flight plans any time during Phase 3, but after 0000 UTC 15 November 2012 operators must file new flight plans. Although the actual flight plan form will not change, the new flight plan format requires a greater amount of information, which must be entered in the correct location. Any error or omission in the flight plan will result in it rejected by the ATC processing system or held pending manual review. Any requirement for manual intervention in the process will increase ATC workload. I conclude this article with the same words of my Flight Plan 1 article 18 months ago – Let’s all hope it has a happy ending. Unfortunately the signs are not encouraging. That is why it is important that all MAs should monitor the status of their ANSP’s flight plan transition and training programme and be aware of the contingency measures for handling any problems. ^
The airlines are faced with a similar dilemma – all major airlines use fully automated flight
John.wags@gmail.com
However this does not mean that the controller will have to learn lots of new codes and abbreviations. The flight plan processing system should automatically check the routeing requirements with the aircraft’s equipment and indicate any discrepancies to the system operator. Therefore, before the flight plan is transmitted or the flight strips are printed, any anomaly will be resolved. So what is the problem? What could go wrong? The majority of the present ATC flight plan processing systems are old and they cannot handle the new ICAO flight plan format – they have to be replaced or modified to convert the new format into present data before 15 November 2012. Many
4 Overview of the changes Photo: Eurocontrol (source)
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4 Asia/Pacific
The Seamless Sky Asia Pacific Musings Phil Parker, ^ by ASP Regional Editor I was talking to John Wagstaff the other day about the latest ICAO Asia Pacific meeting he attended as IFATCA Representative. This meeting was the ICAO ASIA PACIFIC SEAMLESS ATM PLANNING GROUP MEETING/1 held in Bangkok in February. John made a presentation on ‘The Controller and Seamless ATM’. As we were talking, I was thinking that, although the ICAO initiative is very worthwhile and of course should be the ultimate aim of ATM, progress, at least in this part of the world is going to be extremely slow. Regarding the word ‘seamless’, various dictionaries state the following: – “no interruption – coherent – smoothly continuous or uniform in quality – combined in an inconspicuous way – flowing – a seamless output – a seamless performance.” Let’s just look at 3 regions around the world, USA, Europe and Asia Pacific and see where they stand. REGION
CURRENT
FUTURE
USA
1 ANSP – 20 FIRs
NextGen – 8 FIRs
Europe
39 ANSPs – 44 FIRs
SESAR – 9 FABs
ICAO ASP Region
40 ANSPs – 52 FIRs
No plan…
The USA started on their way to implement the ‘Seamless Sky’ concept in 2003 when they announced NextGen. This is a concept not of takeoff to touchdown, but ‘curb-to-curb’. If all goes according to plan 2025 will be the date of Pro-
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ject completion. The USA can be likened to a completed Rubik’s Cube in that there is only one ANSP completing the puzzle. Their main requirement is resources, (money). Europe started earlier than the USA with SESAME in 1999, which was followed by SESAR I in 2004 and SESAR II in 2010. The Eurocontrol concept, like the USA, is not takeoff to touchdown, but ‘gate-to-gate’. The Project completion date is 2020. Europe could also be likened to a Rubik’s Cube, in that all the pieces, (ANSPs) are there, however with 39 playing the same cube, there will be some difficulty in completing the game. The subject of a Seamless Sky in the Asia Pacific region was first discussed at the DGCA Conference in Osaka in 2009. Further meetings and conferences on the subject were APANPIRG 22 in 2010, the Seamless Sky Symposium and Ad-hoc Meeting in 2011 and the Seamless ATM Planning Group Meeting /1, which John has just attended in February this year. Part of the report of 2009 DGCA Conference states: “Most APAC States have a genuine desire to be in full compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), but often lack the critical mass of
aviation safety expertise or infrastructure to achieve this goal”. The problem with the Asia Pacific Region is that the area resembles a Rubik’s Cube that hasn’t even been properly assembled yet, never mind even attempting to complete the game. There is a huge disparity between Asia Pacific ANSPs in capabilities, equipment, personal and training, ranging from those with the same capabilities as Europe and the USA, (some even better), to those with virtually no infrastructure at all. There are 10 major traffic routes in ASP Region, but hundreds of regional and domestic routes. We have no centralized Flow Management Unit. Japan of course, have their own CFMU combined with Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) in Fukuoka and other ANSPs are discussing or putting their own systems in place. There is, however, no core CFMU or coherent traffic management for the very busy South China Sea area and until there is, the ‘Seamless Sky’ is a distant goal lacking a time line. The region has made a start, but has no idea when there will be a solution to the game. ^
philatcinhk@netvigator.com
4 Asia/Pacific
Managing Airspace, the Afghan way Air Traffic Control in The World’s Most Dangerous Country Craig Lippett, ^ by GATCO VP Finance & Administration The war in Afghanistan, now a consistent issue within the national psyche, has many aspects other than the hard fought ground dimension shown routinely in the world’s media. This article covers a lesser-known aspect, the air dimension and particularly the complex and dynamic airspace management procedures employed to cope with the needs of military operations that must be blended into an increasingly saturated civil airspace environment. The spectrum of airspace management within Afghanistan spans the extensive civil airways structure which supports the constant stream of high level airline traffic routing to and from the far east, to the hard pressed forward air controller (FAC) in the deserts of Helmand Province, procedurally controlling a wide variety of tactical assets in support of combat operations.
Airspace Structure and Terrain The airspace coordination authority for Afghanistan is the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Force Base (AFB) in Qatar, but the day to day running
of the airspace is devolved to a number of agencies in Afghanistan. The first thing to consider about Afghanistan is the topography, which is dominated by the vast expanse of the Hindu Kush mountains, a range that covers almost 80% of the country. The average terrain height is considerably more than in many places around the world. For instance the average elevation in a relatively flat (by Afghan standards) Helmand Province is 3,200ft. As you travel north, the terrain rises dramatically and the mountains that surround Kabul are in the order of 9,00010,000ft high. Consequently, the transition altitude for the Kabul FIR is set at 14,000ft AMSL with the first available flight level being FL160.
Agencies Area civil responsibility rests with the Kabul Air Control Centre (KACC), which resides in a small room within the control tower at Kabul airport. KACC personnel are US contractors who are provided with a USAF liaison officer to enable the critical military interface. Civil airspace begins with a criss-cross network of medium level airways beginning at FL160
4 View from the Air Traffic Control tower at Kabul International Airport. On an average day, the airport handles more then 400 movements. Photo: ISAF | USAF Staff Sgt. J. Swafford
rising to south east-north west orientated higher level airways beginning at FL290. The Kabul Air Control Centre has no radar provision and control is procedural with civil traffic reporting at beacons at set altitudes. The military area radar element is provided by a small number of military control and reporting centres (CRC) dotted throughout the country, each with adjacent battle management areas (BMA). Until recently No 1 Air Control Centre (1ACC), an RAF tactical radar unit based at Kirton-in-Lindsay in Lincolnshire, had a permanent detachment at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province but this has now been replaced by a United States Marine Corps equivalent called the Tactical Air Operations Centre, callsign ‘MISER’. Each CRC dynamically manages its BMA above
4 Milad, Afghan Air Traffic Controller, writes on flight progress strips Photo: ISAF
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4 Asia/Pacific FL160, providing radar assistance to KACC where possible. Below that level, the tactical airspace is procedurally controlled by each coalition task force in its area of operations. In the procedural tactical arena below FL160, United Kingdom military controllers are involved in a number of airspace management roles from the increasingly busy terminal function conducted at Camp Bastion to aerospace battle managers (ABM), formerly known as fighter controllers. The ABMs are located at Task Force Helmand HQ, Lashgar Ghar, conducting the procedural control of a multitude of fixed and rotary wing movements in support of ground operations.
Airspace Management In many respects, the range of air traffic encountered in Afghanistan is not all that different from operations elsewhere – civil airliner traffic at medium and high level and military traffic operating lower, albeit with more live ordnance! There are two other factors that present a considerable difference however. Firstly, there is a plethora of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), such as Predator and the
British Army’s Hermes 450, which swarm over the operational areas and require an appropriate amount of ATC attention. Secondly, there is an almost complete lack of pleasurerelated general air traffic for obvious reasons. With these factors in mind the control agencies, using mutually agreed multi-national airspace management procedures formed around the Afghanistan AIP and coalition airspace management doctrine, impressively provide wide coverage to air customers. The civil and military airspace structures are not mutually exclusive and often require a considerable amount of deconfliction. For example, guided rocket fire missions are often required for operational support which require a ballistic trajectory to be cleared up to FL350-400 (and sometimes higher) and, upon initiation, produces a feverish rush of deconfliction activity that has become well honed by years of practice. This means that such activity can be conducted in a few minutes and vital fire support delivered to ground forces who, in almost all cases, desperately need it. At the very bottom of the airspace arena in the coalition, the tip of the spear in military parlance, is the forward air controller, now more commonly referred to as a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC). Above them, the task force agencies and the control and reporting centres work tirelessly using modern command and control applications to provide them with the support that often, quite literally, saves lives. The JTACs world is dusty and frenetic and often requires them to procedurally control a number of offensive air assets and artillery fire missions in severe
4 A Boeing 747 takes off from Kabul international Airport, Kabul.
Photo: ISAF
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combat conditions all using nothing but the naked eye and an encrypted UHF portable radio. On many occasions this activity is conducted ‘on their belt buckle’ whilst under heavy insurgent fire and it is a testament to their professionalism and training that they continue to provide this excellent service in the face of such enormous difficulties.
Summary Within a multi-national coalition consisting of different ATC organisations, equipment and different practices, the airspace environment in Afghanistan is as complex as any that can be found on the globe. Overcoming a constant turn around of personnel and units and, notwithstanding procedures that evolve constantly to address the ever-changing tactical environment, the consolidated controlling service provided is excellent. Each controlling decision, civil or military, is influenced by the need to support the tactical situation on the ground but safety, as always in our profession, is paramount. So when you are sipping your gin and tonic the next time you’re lucky enough to fly east on business or for a well earned holiday, spare a thought for those ATCOs of many nations who are working hard to organise the airspace below you and keep you safe – in some cases their decisions may literally be a matter of life or death. ^
Extensive information on operations in Afghan airspace can be found on the website of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: http://goo.gl/1hWMC This article first appeared in Transmit, the magazine of the UK Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers (GATCO)
4 A USAF joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) talks on his radio.
Photo: U.S. Army | Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel
4 Technology
Performance Assessment FASTI’S LEGACY TO SUPPORT ATC PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT TOOLS Bogdan Petricel, ^ by ATC senior expert, EUROCONTROL The First ATC Support Tools Implementation (FASTI) programme has come to an end in April 2012. The EUROCONTROL programme, established in 2005, supported the development and implementation of controller support tools at control centres across Europe.
The methodology includes an operational performance assessment and an analysis tool to measure the performance and the accuracy of CDTs and associated trajectory prediction and addresses a broad range of aspects related to operational definition, performance, validation and implementation monitoring.
The early management of aircraft’s trajectories can facilitate a better distribution of controllers’ workload in the event of constraints. Controller tools, mainly Conflict Detection Tools (CDTs) contribute to improving this critical aspect of European network operations.
The methodology further focuses on those aspects of the system that impact the usability and the performance of CDTs under nominal operation. Combined with the Trajectory Prediction Analysis Tool (TPAT), the OPA provides a complete package for ANSPs and system providers to develop and adjust the performance of CDTs to their local environment and to meet the expected performance levels.
FASTI tools include software tools such as automated conflict detection between aircraft, conformance-monitoring aids including trajectory updates and route deviation alerts and electronic support to coordination and transfer of traffic between different control centres. As such they deliver operational improvements, in line with Single European Sky (SES) and SESAR concepts, that have a direct positive impact on the network in the area of traffic growth, costs reduction, customer’s service improvement and environmental impact reduction.
Adaptable guidelines and methodology The design and implementation of tools, such as the Conflict Detection Tool (CDT), can be a complex and lengthy process. The Eurocontrol FASTI Programme concluded by providing the community with a comprehensive set of supporting documentation and guidelines for the development and implementation of controller support tools into operations. In its final phase, FASTI delivered a set of specifications and guidelines, known as the FASTI Operational Performance Assessment (OPA). The objective was to provide the community with a generic methodology and software support that can be adapted to different airspace environments.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) was closely involved in the work and set up performance measurement within the new COOPANS system that was put into operation at Shannon and Dublin centres at the start of 2011.
Feedback from ANSPs Some 36 Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) and their system suppliers participated closely in the programme activities. Several ANSPs provided positive feedback in the field of capacity, safety and flight efficiency. Skyguide (Switzerland) reported 25% increase in declared capacity, mainly thanks to the deployment of conflict detection tools (CDTs) in an electronic stripless environment. NATS (UK) reported capacity increase ranging from 12% to 20%, following the deployment of the interim Future Area Control Tool Support (iFACTS). DFS (Germany) reported 10% capacity growth following the deployment of the new VAFORIT system for Karlsruhe ACC. At the last workshop (November 2011 – Geneva) Chris Brain, former FASTI Programme Manager, pointed out: “These tools can play a major role in increasing capacity, reducing workload and improving efficiency. We always thought conflict detection would work well with Single Sky concepts, and now we have good evidence.”
Photos: Eurocontrol
Next steps FASTI tools deployment is still on-going within centres across Europe. Based on the lessons learned and expertise, the Network Manager will continue to provide support in the areas of network performance enhancement through controller support tools implementation. ^
bogdan.petricel @eurocontrol.int
The FASTI website www.eurocontrol.int/fasti will give you access to: • a complete set of FASTI Programme deliverables • information regarding the OPA methodology and TPAT analysis tool • FASTI tools deployment status • support for FASTI tools implementation
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4 Technology
Surveillance Data Distribution System A SERVICE-BASED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
4 Pict. 1: SDDS systems collect
local surveillance data and distribute it to neighbouring centres Photo: Eurocontrol
4 Pict. 2: SDDS features a number of important safety and security functions Photo: Eurocontrol
Dimitris Doukas – Surveillance Data Distri^ by bution Products Manager – EUROCONTROL Surveillance and communication are at the heart of Air Traffic Control. The efficient exchange of all air traffic management (ATM) data – surveillance data in particular – is essential in underpinning the requisite capacity, safety and performance for the network as a whole. Having this in mind, our Member States requested us to develop the Surveillance Data Distribution System (SDDS). EUROCONTROL, placed at the centre of the communication and surveillance community in Europe, plays a pivotal role in helping to set validated standards and in ensuring that they are implemented uniformly. Besides, our status as a founding member of the SESAR Joint Undertaking allows us to guarantee full consistency and continuity between the many technological developments generated by that pro gramme, especially those related to Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. Surveillance products constantly evolve: they have to display innovation and adaptability while meeting the safety and quality requirements of operational systems.
The new generation The current system for distributing surveillance information, called radar message conversion and distribution equipment (RMCDE), has reached the end of its useful life. It needs to be replaced by a newer system
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that meets today’s more searching surveillance data communication requirements. A new generation system of SDDS is being developed. It incorporates state-of-the-art technologies to make for a highly flexible and scalable communication system. Initially conceived for the distribution of surveillance data, SDDS could potentially be used for other applications – such as acting as an ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast) report server or for conveying other types of data. The primary application of SDDS is inter-centre communications. In each of the centres in a given “group” (e.g. FABs) an SDDS or similar system collects local surveillance data (from radars or surveillance data processing systems) and distributes it to neighbouring centres. A more generic application would be as a general-purpose international gateway. The SDDS allows different protocol type to be connected and the advanced security features ensure a high degree of control over the data that crosses borders. The SDDS features a number of important safety and security functions, such as data validation, protecting downstream systems from receiving faulty data, and a firewall safeguarding against intrusion. Its interoperability features are crucial, too, and the system has gateway functions that allow the simultaneous use of a wide variety of communication protocols and the synchronous introduction of technologies (e.g. ADS-B).
tivities began in 2008, SWIM was not mature enough to be included in the specifications. Nevertheless, a lot of “lower level” functions of the SDDS are also present in other communication front-ends, so it was decided to base the system on a layered and modular design and to use a generic platform for the operating system, the IP communication layers and the system monitoring, control and configuration facilities.
The SDDS has been designed with a strong focus on cost efficiency. It is an extensible communication system designed in a modular way by applying a layered architecture with a base platform that allows a multitude of plug-ins to be integrated into it.
In the near future, the layered design of the SDDS will facilitate its transformation into a “real” SWIM-box; this will be done as soon as SWIM’s requirements are mature.
A step towards SWIM Although the SDDS was not initially designed to be a SWIM-box, it can be used as a step in the SWIM (System-Wide Information Management) direction. When SDDS ac-
On the methodological side, investigations are on-going to stimulate product innovation for the benefit of the whole community. Models based on open source and collaborative innovation principles are also being considered as an interesting way forward. ^
dimitris.doukas@eurocontrol.int
4 IFALPA
IFALPA 67 Annual Conference TH
PARIS, 3-7 APRIL 2012 Philippe Domogala, ^ by Deputy Editor This was the largest IFALPA conference they ever held, with some 650 participants. IFALPA currently has 90 member associations and 53 of them were in Paris. Two new members were accepted at the conference: Kazakhstan and a federation of helicopter pilots, PHPA (IPHPA).
COMMON TRAINING MODULES for Pilots and Controllers The conference was opened by Patrick Gandil, head of the French Directorate of Civil Aviation. In his opening speech, he said that the lessons learned after the AF447 accident in the south Atlantic have resulted in some drastic changes in pilot training. It will incorporate glider and aerobatic experience and an increased number of hours flying IFR solo. Also, since France has a unique Civil Aviation University in Toulouse, educating both commercial pilots and controllers, it is possible to integrate the training for both groups. Both will once again be trained to private pilot level and the pilot group will follow basic ATC training. This should prepare both groups for ADS-B techniques and eventually even allow self-separation. An interesting development…
FATIGUE One major topic discussed during the conference was fatigue: there was a very good Safety Seminar on this. Some very important points were raised, also valid for us controllers… Two presentations were made by IFALPA and ICAO promoting the recent publication of an Implementation Guide for Aircraft operators on Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS), jointly made and published by IATA, ICAO and IFALPA. The document is downloadable free of charge on their respective web sites.
AFRICA-MID EAST: The main issue there is the draining of African pilots towards the Gulf. The middle-eastern airlines have ordered some 2500 new aircraft over next 20 years and will need an estimated 33.000 pilots. The fear is that many current pilots flying in the African Region will move to better paid jobs in the MID region. Safety in the region is also an issue, with the Number of airprox on the rise, the vast majority of which are not investigated. There is a lack of political will to solve deficiencies. IFALPA asks its pilots to continue to use of lateral offset and in-flight broadcast procedures (TIBA). ASIA-PACIFIC: here the main problem is the low pilot representation in most States. The region currently has the biggest growth of traffic in the world. This could lead to outsourcing and use of off-shore pilots, no flight time limitations, no fatigue management and the use of untrained staff in supports jobs. IFALPA issued statements of support for a few of their MAs in the region, including Bangladesh Biman pilots who were forced to accept a drastic reduction in their working conditions; Fijian pilots, where a new military regime abolished all unions and cancelled all previous agreements forcing everyone to work as they ordered; and Japan, where 81 pilots were dismissed from JAL because of age and/or sick leave usage, violating constitutional rights. EUROPE: Some low cost airlines working conditions are destroying existing social models and society. Issues like moving jobs on paper to States with minimal regulations.
IFALPA also issued a very strong statement against Spain regarding the accident report of the Spanair accident in Madrid in August 2008. It states that the authorities disregarded safety recommendations to favor judicial blame of individuals thereby violating ICAO Annex 13. NORTH AMERICA: the US ALPA and Canada joined forced to create ALPA International. Works very well. Fatigue management is the main issue in the region. SOUTH AMERICA: There are no flight time limitations, no fatigue management and a poor incident reporting scheme in the region. Open skies policies means fierce competition. English language proficiency is also an issue there…
MONTREAL and the Future Finally IFALPA is moving their office to Montreal (from near London in the UK) to be closer to ICAO and IATA (and also us...) The Next conference (2013) will be in Dublin (Ireland) and 2014 will be in Panama. ^
dp@the-controller.net
Photo: IFALPA
REGIONAL issues Many worrying regional issues were reported by the Regional vice presidents.
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4 Industry
ATC Global 2012 Conference A CLEAR FUTURE BUT A MURKY PRESENT Philip Butterworth-Hayes, ^ by PMI Media Ltd The ATC Global event is always a rich repository of clear visions and exciting long-term strategies. It’s only the next few years that are shrouded in mystery. For the first time, however, at the ATC Global event speakers were addressing – if only at a high level – some of the more important workplace consequences of the vision of a more automated, performance-based navigation system. One day, probably around 2018, a pilot on an operational flight in Europe will program his FMS with a point in space and time which the network manager will have identified as being the exact place for the aircraft to be for the flight to be managed in the saf-
est and most cost-effective way. The airline will have told the ATM network manager to prioritise a route based on cost or environmental efficiency. Once the coordinates have been input by the pilot the aircraft will then automatically fly the optimised route to that point, making constant changes to take advantage of prevailing weather and traffic conditions, with the help of uplinked data messages. One day, a single ANSP will take responsibility for all phases of an aircraft’s flight, from taxiing to the runway on departure to docking at the terminal gate on arrival on the other side of the world. One day, trainee controllers will be able to enrol at a wide range of universities and technical colleges in all continents to study the craft of ATM and then find positions among ANSPs from a host of different countries. Rick Ducharme, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Federal Aviation Administration, said: “If we don’t put the same emphasis on safety and separation standards as we do on new
Photo: Greg Myles
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technology we’ll be implementing parts of NextGen and SESAR using old rules and inhibiting new technology… We are asking operators to change the way they do business – we are asking controllers to think about fuel burn and carbon emissions and this is a change to the way the system functions. Airports will need to understand we are moving people rather than aircraft.” Rick Ducharme asked whether standards should all be implemented in the same way. “We haven’t invested enough time and money in the next generation of controllers, he said, they will have to “own” NextGen and take pride in the new system.” The first initial four-dimensional (I-4D) trajectory flight took place in Europe on February 10, 2012, under Europe’s SESAR modernization programme. SESAR members Airbus, Eurocontrol, Honeywell, Indra, Noracon, and Thales carried out a demonstration flight with an Airbus A320 test aircraft taking off from Toulouse to Copenhagen and Stockholm. Four-D trajectory concepts are not new. They were explored at a more basic level first in Europe in 1996 with a BAC1-11. They were the cornerstone of the FAA’s advanced automation system (AAS) 20 years ago – a system which failed because it was too complex and the computing power was simply not up to the job. According to Patrick Goudou, Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), speaking in Amsterdam: “The challenge is to harmonise the actions of all actors from aircraft manufacturers to airports. ATM changes will touch all parts of the aviation system, requiring new types of training for pilots and controllers and a new maintenance system.” According to Patrick Goudou we will have to make sure the “automation failure mode” could always be managed by human beings. Kerlin Toner, Director and Senior Staff Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation for NextGen, JPDO said: “We have the technology but we haven’t looked really at the impli-
4 Industry
cation of changing controller and pilot roles. This research is lightly covered. Nor do we fully know how you will manage risk, looking at that type of automation.” Daniel Azema, Head of the Cabinet of the Secretary General, ICAO, suggested maybe the Middle and Far East will be the first regions to invest in some of these new concepts but we needed to reach a consensus on new systems and then we can all invest. But agreeing the roadmap to global implementation of concepts such as I4D divided the world – and the speakers – into two camps, those who insisted on consensus and those who thought the concepts should be pioneered by one or two states with the rest of the world following on once the concepts had been proven. Consensus slowed progress but meant the world moved ahead in an integrated framework; pioneering nations, working with a concept of “best equipped best served”, would lead to a fast introduction of new concepts but risked creating a divided global ATM system. All speakers agreed that the twelfth ICAO air navigation conference later this year, with the plan for block upgrades before it, would be an extremely important key to global interoperability.
with different ways of doing things, requiring different reactions to the need for change. There were ATM programme updates from Brazil, India and China – each pointing to a fast-track implementation of PBN principles. China had already completed testing a new ADS-B system and plans to have PBN in operation at all airports by 2016. Brazil published its operational concept aimed at ATM evolution called Project Siriu in 2007 and updated in 2011 and has implemented ADS/C and CPDLC in the Atlantic region. In India ASMGCS equipment is in place in six airports and airport collaborative decision-making is also a priority. “The GAGAN GPS-augmented navigation system is entering its final operational phase, with the system to be certified by June 2013. The authority is working towards the complete radar coverage of the country and has introduced CDA operations at Delhi,” according to E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Director General of Civil Aviation. In Europe, the pace of the European Commision’s Single European Sky programme was being hampered by slow progress by
member states on introducing functional airspace blocks. Matthew Baldwin, Director, Aviation – International Transport Policy, European Commission, was unequivocal about what would happen if states missed the deadline of the end of this year for introducing FABs. “The FABs deadline is nearly upon us. But the fact remains we need to see concrete measurable steps towards defragmentation by the end of 2012. Member States have preferred a bottom-up approach and now it is time to deliver… Primarily legislation may not be necessary”, he said, “but if we face continuing challenges we will come with a Single European Sky package three if all other avenues are blocked off.” ^
philip.butterworth-hayes@ pmi-media.com
Photo: Eurocontrol
There were also major cultural issues to be overcome – with safety implications now that ATM was moving beyond national boundaries. According to Patrick Gandil, Director General, Direction Generale de l’Aviation Civile, the problems within the FABEC group are mainly cultural and procedural, rather than technical, with different organisations,
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4 Industry
Controllers are
4 One of the many networking opportunities
Photo: UBM/ATC Global 2012
not against change Panel discussion at ATC Global 2012 Marc Baumgartner, ^ by IFATCA EU SES Team Coordinator IFATCA had an opportunity to present its views during a panel discussion about the need to change the ATM culture. Our main message was that controllers are actually not against change provided it is well managed and that the working environment is actually necessitating a workforce, which embraces the daily challenge of the change. An average, a controller is exposed to 30 – 40 changes per year. These can be of a technical, operational and/or social nature. One could even say that the main challenge of a controller is change, given the very dynamic and changing nature of traffic flows. If change is transparent, understandable and introduced following a set of understood criteria(s) then controllers would embrace it. Vital for any change introduced in an ATM system is to understand or at least be aware of the operational culture. This can be defined as a set of formal (explicit, i.e. regulations) and informal (implicit, i.e. daily practice) norms. These
are not necessarily written down, but the unit’s staff can pass them on.
that will work with these future systems are currently infants or, more likely, not yet born!
A lot will depend on what we will be able to change. Modernisation programs such as SESAR and NEXTGEN will have to improve the ground infrastructure to a level which is unknown for the time being. As such, this will pose it’s share of challenges for all actors involved. IFATCA remains convinced that even with the introduction of advanced automation, the need to have traditionally trained controllers will remain until at least 2020. A potential reduction of workforce per movements will not become a reality before 2030. And even then, it is not likely that the number of controllers can decrease, but that each controller will handle a significantly increased numbers of aircraft. So, industry has to accept, and be prepared for, the scenario that a potential reduction in controller numbers due to automation will not be possible with the current generation of controllers. In other words, the controllers
During the transition phase from the current to future systems, there will be a need for more than the minimum numbers of controllers, keeping in mind that we’ve have never seen optimum staffing levels to handle the current day-to-day traffic. If SESAR and NEXTGEN are to be successful, it will require the current workforce in validation, modelling, conceptual work and simulations. This will put a strain on the controllers available in the operation rooms. Add to this the staffing requirements for the introduction of Safety Management Systems and the shift from the current ‘technology driven’ to a ‘performance driven’ approach will require more experts with an operational background in non-operational roles. Our conservative estimate is for at least an additional 15% above the minimum staff numbers, just to handle today’s traffic levels. ^
sesar.coord@ifatca.org
28 Photo: UBM/ATC Global 2012
4 Technology
Update from the Solar Impulse FIRST INTERCONTINENTAL FLIGHT AIRCRAFT FOR SOLAR POWERED AIRCRAFT Philippe Domogala, ^ by Deputy Editor The experimental aircraft Solar Impulse completed a flight of more than 2,500km (1,550 miles) without using fuel, from Switzerland to Morocco, with a stopover in Madrid. Under the High Patronage from King Mohammed VI and upon invitation of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN), Solar Impulse will help promote the construction of what will be the world’s largest solar power park in the world, in Morocco’s Ouarzazate Region. It’s foreseen that the complex will have a capacity of 160 MW by 2015. By 2020, the ambition is to have a total of 5 such arrays, which should be capable of generating a total of 500 MW. After taking off from Payerne airfield in Switzerland on May 24th, the Solar Impulse piloted by André Borschberg crossed the Pyrenees before landing in Madrid after a 17-hour flight. The average ground speed was 89km/h and the maximum altitude was 27,000ft. On June 5th, Solar Impulse’s cofounder and initiator, Bertrand Piccard, took HB-SIA across the Mediterranean and into Morocco for his first mission flight. He landed at Rabat-Salé international airport after a 19-hour flight. His average groundspeed was nearly 52km/h. This long-duration flight serves as a dress rehearsal for the round-the-world flight planned in 2014. It has allowed the mission team to gather additional experience in cooperating with international airports, integrating the prototype into regular air traffic patterns and to manage the maintenance logistics. “We didn’t have a moment’s hesitation in accepting the idea of working with Morocco”, declared André Borschberg, co-founder and CEO of Solar Impulse. “This destination corresponds fully with the goals we had set ourselves, in terms of distance and flight duration.” He added: “Flying as far as this, powered only by solar energy, will be excellent training for the round-the-world trip.”
Photos: © Solar Impulse | Jean Revillard
Upon arriving in Morocco, the pilots presented to their hosts with samples of the solar technologies exploited by Solar Impulse. For the latest info and correct flight plan of the day you can visit their web
site (www.solarimpulse.com) or IFATCA’s own website (www. ifatca.org) where a link to the info will be available. ^
Solar Impulse, HB-SIA, is the first aircraft that can fly day and night using small electric engines. Its speed is in the region of 30 Kts. Its main aim is to demonstrate the huge potential of new technologies in terms of energy reduction and the production of renewable energy. This revolutionary carbon fibre aircraft has the wingspan of an Airbus A340 (63.4m) and the weight of an average family car (1,600kg), and is the result of seven intense years of work, calculations, simulations and tests by a team of 70 people and 80 partners. A plane of this size and this light has never been built before. The 12,000 solar cells built into the wing provide four 10HP electric motors with renewable energy. By day the solar cells recharge the 400kg lithium batteries, which means the plane can fly at night. HB-SIA is very sensitive to a number of weather challenges. The prototype must follow the sunniest routes; avoid turbulence; avoid heavy head wind; take the quickest possible route to avoid exhausting the pilot; and conform to international air traffic restrictions. ^
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4 Book review
Pilots Don’t Just Fall From Heaven RUDI ROEDIG / KARL-FRIEDRICH KROHN:
^ by Werner Fischbach This is not a teaching aid or a textbook explaining how to become an airline pilot. This book is different. Rudi Roedig, flying B777s in the meantime, takes a humorous look at what it takes to reach the captain’s seat in the cockpit of an airliner and what happens after you succeed. He knows what he is talking about: he didn’t take the traditional, European way via the flight academy of a big airline like Lufthansa. He did it the long way around – starting with a private pilot licence, working as a flight instructor and an executive pilot (overworked and underpaid) before he joined a German charter airline. Now he works as a B777captain. Karl-Friedrich Kohn, who illustrated countless training programmes for Lufthansa for over 30 years, illustrated the book. According to Rudi, aviation started in ancient Greece. The first crash occurred when Icarus, the junior partner in Daedalus & Sons Aircraft Cor-
poration, flew too close to the sun. And as Rudi never forgets ATC, he submits that there was the possibility of a near miss or even a mid-air collision with Helios´ chariot of the sun. So there is the possibility that early Greek air traffic control was involved somehow. The books has several parts – the selection process, flight training, type rating as well as explaining the technical systems of the aircraft. Rudi always talks about these matters in his typical humorous way. For example: What the public, the media, and pertinent Hollywood movies call „emergencies“ are actually referred to in the aviation industry – with a fine sense of understatement – as „Abnormal Operations“. The expression was probably coined by a PR-representative with the same sense of twisted logic as the guys who started calling the Ministry of War by its new, more innocent by-.name: Department of Defense. Rudi never forgets ATC. For instance he talks about the situation in the eastern part of Germany after reunification when the traffic volume at the three major airports increased by approximately 4800% and Cottbus Radar kept departing aircraft low and arriving aircraft high, which resulted in pretty steep descents: Awestruck observers were often
reminded of manouevers last seen in movies like „Hellcats of the Pacific.“ And he notes some ludicrous outcomes that result from political posturing. For instance when aircraft were approaching the island of Crete from the north (that means from Turkey) or aircraft flying from Canada to Cuba. As the aircraft passes out of Miami Center´s area of control, the American controller acts as if it has simply disappeared from his screen. His Cuban colleague (with whom the pilot has already established contact via the second radio) pretends, for his part, that the Canadian aircraft has suddenly appeared out of nowhere. On the return trip they go through the whole show again, in reverse order. Anyhow: FLYING IS BETTER THAN WORKING FOR A LIVING. Rudi says. I´d like to add: CONTROLLING TOO! Those interested in buying the book can visit www.duesendruck.de or to send a mail to info@duesendruck.de. A collective order would be best way for those living outside Germany. Rudi Roedig / Karl-Friedrich Krohn: Pilotss Don´t Just Fall From Heaven. Duesendruck Verlag, 168 pages and 140 drawings, ISBN 978-3-9807174, 15,--. ^
W.Fischbach@gmx.net
4 The author when he’s not flying a B777
Photo: RR via duesendruck.de
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4 The author when he’s not flying a B777 Photo: RR via duesendruck.de
4 Feature
An SST for the USSR COLD WAR COMPETITION PUSHED RUSSIA TO THE EDGE Philip Marien, ^ by Editor
4 Artist’s impression of the Tu-135P, as proposed to Soviet authorities in the early 1960s
4 Prototype CCCP-68001 at Schönefeld Airport, East Berlin in 1971
Photo: Ralf Roletschek | German language Wikipedia
Last issue, we looked at the development – or failed development – of an American Supersonic Transport (SST) aircraft. As promised, this time we’ll explore what happened on the Soviet side. Supersonic transport was just one of the many ‘races’ between East and West: prestige projects aimed at demonstrating a country’s superior technology to the ‘enemy’.
the canard layout, wings and nacelles. The initial plans were submitted less than one year after commissioning the design and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ordered the Experimental Design Bureau of A.N. Tupolev to begin construction of the SST Tu-144. The plan called for five flying prototypes to be built in four years.
Design
By 1965, the Russians were confident enough to show a scale model to the Paris Air Show. But in addition to the multitude of projects, there were major difficulties to overcome in the design itself. The Soviet designers did not have access to the same technology as their western counterparts: Concorde for example was using an electronic engine control system, designed by UK firm Lucas Industries. Fears that the system might make its way onto military aircraft meant it couldn’t be exported to the USSR. Tupolev’s designers had to make do with a conventional analogue control system for the engines.
As with the American and European SST projects, the Soviets announced their plans in 1962. Being a totalitarian regime, the government simply instructed General Designer A.N. Tupolev to develop a supersonic passenger plane. It wasn’t as if the bureau hadn’t enough to do already: other ambitious projects included the Tu-154 passenger aircraft and the Tu-22M bomber. The multitude of projects resulted in shortcuts and even design errors. These would not only affect the Tu-144, but the Tu-154 as well: the first 120 Tu-154s for example suffered structural wing problems and had to be withdrawn from service. Early configurations of the Tu-144 were based on the Tu-135 supersonic bomber, despite the fact that this only existed in drawings and plans. The passenger version, initially code-named Tu-135P, would retain
Espionage Throughout the development, there were frequent and persistent allegations of industrial espionage. It’s likely that all the designers kept a close eye on their competitors, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they blatantly copied each other. The Tu-144 was outward-
ly similar to the Concorde but so were the American designs, making it very hard to determine who copied who. While the ‘Concordski’ matched the fuselage, nose-tilt and wing design, it is certainly not a 1:1 copy of the Anglo-French supersonic aircraft. Control, navigation and engine systems are completely different. It lagged behind the Concorde in range, braking and engine control, but the aerodynamics of the Soviet aircraft were allegedly better. The biggest outward difference are the two small retractable canard surfaces just behind the cockpit. In delta wing aircraft, the canards cancel out the nose down movement, caused by the elevons (a combination of elevators – for pitch control – and ailerons – for roll). It allowed the production Tu-144 to reduce its landing speed to an acceptable 315–333km/h (170–180 knots), albeit still some 20 knots higher than that of Concorde.
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4 Feature stretched fuselage, improvements to the engines and overall, an extended range. In the mean time, the prototype toured air shows, including the 1971 Paris event, where Concorde was also shown. Meanwhile, construction of the improved pre-production model, now designated Tu-144S, was underway. The Tu-144S was deemed ready for public display in April 1973. In a highly publicized media event, CCCP-77102 flew from Moscow to Volgograd and back. One month later, it flew to Paris for the 1973 Le Bourget air show.
4 CCCP-77102 in flight.
This aircraft crashed in Paris in 1973.
Photo: RIA Novosti archive, image #497340|Lev Polikashin|CC-BY-SA 3.0
Another major difference was the air conditioning system: Concorde’s designers used the fuel of the airliner as the coolant for air-conditioning the cabin and the hydraulic system. Tupolev used a separate system, increasing the weight of the airliner and thereby reducing the range. This wasn’t seen as a major problem, since the primary target for the aircraft was the domestic market. In combination with the engine noise (supersonic flight required the constant afterburners – detrimental for the range, but also for the noise), cabin noise was horrendous: reportedly, passengers resorted to scribbling notes to each other as talking would be nearly impossible! After several delays, only one prototype was built, registered as CCCP-68001. It first flew in December 1968 near Moscow, two months before Concorde. The Tu-144 first broke the sound barrier in June 1969, and one month later became the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2, again beating Concorde by several months.
There, during the second demonstration flight, the aircraft made a low pass over runway 06. At the end of the runway the aircraft pulled up into a steep climb. When the canards were retracted, the Tu-144 entered a dive. Extending the canards again, the crew tried to pull out of the dive but overstressed the airframe. The left canard-wing is reported to have separated, striking the wing and puncturing the fuel tank. The Tupolev broke up and crashed in the small town of Goussainville – only about 5km north of where Concorde flight 4590 would crash 27 years later. The crew of 6 and 8 people on the ground were killed. The causes of the crash remain somewhat mysterious. One theory has it that Tupolev engineers made modifications to the control systems, after seeing Concorde perform. They allegedly overrode some protections, to enable a more spectacular demonstration flight. Another theory is that a French Mirage was flying above the Tu-144, possibly to take photographs of the Tupolev in-flight. The fighter is not mentioned in the official report and French authorities only reluctantly admitted that there was such flight above the Tupolev years later. According to this theory, the Russian crew believed a mid-air collision was imminent and they threw the aircraft into a dive they couldn’t recover from. Another, more unlikely explanation was that Concorde designers had suspected spies would try and steal their design plans and had circulated blueprints with a flawed design. The crash caused a 6-month interruption to the
The Crash Tests continued over the next months and years, leading to significant modifications and improvements. These included a modified wing design,
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4 Vertical profile of the Tu-144 fatal flight in Paris. Photo: Wikipedia
test program, but (possibly under high political pressure), flights resumed in December 1973.
Structural Failures The most serious problem with the aircraft was discovered when two Tu-144S airframes suffered catastrophic failures during ground testing. In hindsight, one of the highly advertised design innovations were large, wholemoulded and machined parts. Unfortunately, these contained inconsistencies in the alloy structure that cracked at stress levels less than the part was supposed to withstand. Because the parts were bigger than on conventional designs, once a crack started to develop it spread quickly for many meters with nothing to stop it. Later the same year, another Tu-144 was placed in a hyperbaric chamber, to simulate pressure and temperature changes in flight. Contraction and expansion happen because of the cooling during ascent and descent, heating during supersonic acceleration and cruise and because of the pressure changes. The airframe cracked heavily, even though the exposure was less than the design called for. While fatigue cracks are normal in aircraft, if they occur in small enough parts, it has no effect on the rest of the structure. In the Tu-144 however, the parts were much bigger than usual and cracks could go uncontained for several meters.
In Service Despite many more problems, the Tu-144S went into service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services. These were planned to commence in November 1977, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the communist revolution. The Tu-144S proved extremely unreliable in day-to-day operations. During 102 flights and 181 hours of freight and passenger flight time, the Tu-144S is known to have suffered more than 226 failures, 80 of them in flight. Alexei Tupolev, Tu-144 chief designer, and two USSR vice-ministers had to be person-
4 Feature ally present in Domodedovo airport before each scheduled Tu-144 departure to decide whether it could take-off. Soviet officials limited flights to the absolute minimum possible that still allowed them to claim regular service. They also constrained passenger load to minimize the (political) impact of a possible crash. The passenger service ran a semi-scheduled service until the first Tu-144D experienced an in-flight failure during a pre-delivery test flight, crashlanding on the 23 May 1978 with two crew fatalities. The Tu-144’s 55th and last scheduled passenger flight occurred on 1 June 1978. About one year later, Aeroflot started a freight-only service, using 6 of the more efficient Tu-144D. But in July 1983, a government decree halted all commercial use and designated the remaining Tu-144 aircraft as airborne laboratories. In 1985, a Tu-144D was used to train pilots for the Soviet Buran space shuttle. From 1986 to 1988 Tu-144D №77114, built in 1981, was used for medical and biological research of high-altitude atmosphere radiological conditions. Further research was planned but not completed, due to lack of funding. In the mid-90s, this aircraft was converted into a flying laboratory, as part of a joint venture between several commercial companies, Tupolev and NASA. The object of the program was to develop technologies for a proposed future second-generation supersonic airliner to be developed in the 21st Century. Designated Tu-144LL, it made 27 flights from Tupolev’s facility at the Zhukovsky Air Development Centre near Moscow between November 1996 and February 1998, when the program was cancelled for budgeting reasons.
A TOTAL OF 17 AIRFRAMES WERE BUILT Tu-144 – The prototype Tu-144 aircraft. Only one was built. Tu-144S – (S for Sereeynyy = series) Re-designed production aircraft powered by Kuznetsov NK-144 engines; 10 were built, one of which was later converted to a “D” model. Tu-144D – (D for Dahl’nyee = long-range) Production aircraft powered by Koliesov RD36-51 non after-burning engines. 6 were built: one of them later converted to an “LL”. Two of them were the only ones used for ‘regular’ passenger flights (CCCP-77109 & 77110). The last one (CCCP-77116) was never finished Tu-144LL (LL for Letayuschaya Laboratoriya = flying laboratory) – One Tu-144D aircraft (CCCP-77114) was converted into a flying laboratory with four Kuznetsov NK-321 afterburning turbofan engines. Plans existed for a Tu-144DA, an improved version of the Tu-144D with greater fuel capacity and increased range, up to 7500km. ^
pic flame and take part in an air show. It’s not clear how realistic such an undertaking would be: some of the remaining airframes are on display in various parts of Russia, but most of them are in a really sad state. Others, including the never finished last one (CCCP-771116) are reportedly in storage at Tupolev’s Zhukovsky facility or at the Voronezh production plant, some 500 km south of Moscow. A successor for the Tu-144 was on Tupolev’s drawing tables during most of the 1980s. It had some advanced features, such
as cryogenic fuel, fly-by-wire and cameras to see the runway, rather than a tilting nose. The project was cancelled in 1993. Tupolev has shown concept drawings of a supersonic business jet, the Tu-444, but it’s anyone’s guess when, if ever, it will fly… ^
ed@the-controller.net
Conclusion The biggest issue was probably that the project was ideologically motivated rather than driven by intrinsic needs, or actual capabilities, of the Soviet society. In 1998, one of the Tupolev’s senior designers estimated that the Tu-144 project was 10–15 years beyond the USSR’s capabilities at the time. In addition, it’s estimated that the program significantly slowed down the development of other Soviet aircraft projects, such as the IL-86 wide-body jet, and stagnated Soviet aviation development for almost a decade.
4 The only Tu-144 on display outside Russia – on the roof of the Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany – right beside an Air France Concorde Photo: mroach | Flickr
Rumours have it that Tupolev has offered to restore one Tu-144 to flying condition for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. It would be used to transport the Olym-
4 Tu-144LL flying laboratory in 1998 on one of its last flights Photo: Jim Ross | NASA
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Charlie
‘Charlie’s Column’ Photos: INT
Charlie’s new idea: let’s have RPAs controlled from the place as the Remote Towers! We simply put the 2 groups in the same room, watching the same screen, each with a remote control in their hands! What? It exists already? Ah, it is called Wii or a Playstation video game at home. Well that means the hardware would be “off the shelf“! Brilliant! Even cheaper! And they can even play a real video game during their breaks! Mark my words: you will see this one day... Remember you saw it in Charlie first!
4 Our unmanned delivery
Environmentally friendly UAV
agents are fast and work tirelessly. Easy Ordering On Your Smartphone. Just tap and let the machines do the rest. www.tacocopter.com
The Tacocopter Announced in March this year, a new fast food company plans to introduce a new delivery service in the San Francisco Bay area, USA. Using a helicopter-type UAV (see photo), they want to deliver tacos – a popular traditional Mexican dish – to anyone with a smartphone.
to make sure people wouldn’t just steal the device itself as soon as it got to them. Many more problematic scenarios exist, but just like with Remote Control Towers, it’s only a matter of time before someone will try this for real.
I could not resist this one: the smallest UAV, eco friendly (editor: I’m not sure the flies agree). Four engines, delivering the required 4 Fp (flypower) thrust for this mini A340 challenger. I wonder what the rate of climb is?
A true story
MSA for Hot Air Balloons?
The concept behind Tacocopter is very simple: order and pay tacos online via your smartphone. The application includes your GPS location in the order. After picking up your order, this allows a tacocopter to find you and deliver your tacos to wherever you happen to be… The contraption then simply flies back to the restaurant to pick up its next order.
Early one morning at a not-remotely-controlled Scandinavian airport, a painter had just finished re-painting the yellow stop line at one of the runway holding points. The painter asked the tower controller to keep aircraft away from that holding point for the next 15 minutes to allow the paint to dry… So when a Blue B737 taxied out, the pilot was instructed to line-up but not to take the first holding point as it has just been re-painted. After the controller dealt with another aircraft, he discovered the aircraft was just crossing the freshly painted stop line! Controller to pilot: “Big blue aircraft with yellow wheels – cleared for take off”.
It’s a hoax of course – a few students who came up with the idea and made a real-looking website. But the concept was enough for the FAA to comment that the current UAV regulations do not allow commercial operations. While a lot of initially believed (hoped?) that this would become a reality soon, there are a few other issues that need to be resolved first. For instance navigating through buildings and bridges, keeping the food warm, finding a city map precise and up to date enough to avoid hitting buildings, construction cranes, electric and telephone wires. Birds, smelling the food, could give chase. Not to mention the human side of things: how to ensure the tacos are delivered to the correct person in a crowd (e.g. at a sports venue) and how
34
UAVs RPAs and SONY ICAO just changed the name of UAVs. From now on, they are to be referred to as Remote Piloted Aircraft, or RPAs. This clearly stressed that they are aircraft and that there is a pilot somewhere but it is all remotely done. A bit like our Remote Controlled Towers: there’s a tower and there is control but it’s remote.
Enough about UAVs and on to hot air balloons. As you can see, yes they can cause damage to buildings on take off just like real aircraft. Let’s hope there weren’t any people in the toilet at the time. If there were, it would have made for an interesting explanation at home: “Sorry about the mess, but I was hit by a hot air balloon!“ ^
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SAVE THE DATE! ATC GLOBAL 2013 | 12-14 MARCH | AMSTERDAM RAI
BRINGING TOGETHER THE INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY FOR OVER 20 YEARS ATC Global 2013 is THE meeting place to share knowledge and do business with stakeholders from across the entire air traffic management industry, over three days, under one roof. ATC Global 2012 welcomed over 5,500 attendees* to the Amsterdam RAI, including senior representatives from ANSPs, CAAs, governments, airports, airlines, military organisations, consultancies, associations and research institutions from 116 countries worldwide.
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ATC Global 2012 was my first experience as a conference panellist at this important Nanjing aviation forum. 32° 3’of42” / 118° 46’ The quality and span theNtopics and40” E experts made the event a great success.
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Essential industry updates at ATC Global 2012
Participation in this major event was very rewarding. I believe that the presence of those in the different sectors of ATM is of vital importance. ATC Global allowed us to meet people working in the areas of our region of air traffic control and with whom we hope to develop cooperation programmes evolving for our respective countries.
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