Airspace Management

In a move away from the current network charging policy, the CAA is investigating ways of recording individual aircraft movements so charges can be levied for specific facilities provided at specific locations. Charges will be made, for example, on an aircraft performing circuit training at a General Aviation Airport Procedure (GAAP) airport where tower controllers are provided. Charges will also be levied at some airports where there is no CAA presence.

The CAA is calling on consultants to come up with a reliable system of recording aircraft movements. At the moment there is no adequate method of recording data on aircraft movements, even at GAAP airports, for the purposes of billing. This all ties in with the reclassification of Australia’s airspace to the ICAO based plan currently under review by the aviation industry. So, it’s reasonable to assume there will be Class A charges, Class C charges, etc. as well as charges for operations into, or out of various airports.

I look forward to seeing what sort of technology the consultants come up with to nab those pilots who might refuse to use their radios to avoid detection and therefore charges. The CAA request for tender document suggests some techniques which may be employed, such as:

Optical character recognition of existing ID number, combined with servo controlled camera mounts; Recognition of callsign spoken over the radio; Electronic recognition utilising current airborne facilities coupled with automatic recognition of transponder ID; Active or passive transponder on each aircraft and interrogated by radio beacons, strobe lights, infrared or microwave beams alongside each runway, or other locations; Video recording, 24 hours per day, of all aircraft movements and manual review of tapes; At GAAP airports, providing air traffic services staff with screen based flight data recording equipment to both assist them in their work and provide the data necessary for charging; and Manual recording of movements at locations (see photo).

Discussion of the above would take more space than this column allows, but whatever alternative is chosen, it’s bound to be costly. Let’s see how this one develops.

Fans Is Near

The Future Air Navigation System (FANS) is the most significant development in air traffic management since the invention of radar. The Boeing FANS 1 avionics package is expected to receive CAA and FAA certification during trial flights in June. Qantas, the leaders in the development of the system, are using one of their 747-400s (VH-OJQ) to conduct the trials on behalf of Boeing.

A number of airlines including Qantas, have placed orders for the equipment and implementation of procedures and standards will be introduced over the next few years. One of the many benefits of the FANS system is a substantial saving on fuel costs due to aircraft being able to select the best tracks based on weather conditions and positive separation from other aircraft.

Meanwhile, New Zealand will be the first nation to use satellite control over its oceanic airspace thanks to a $6m system being installed by CAE Electronics of Canada. The Oceanic Control System (OCS) will oversee New Zealand’s 34 million square kilometre flight information region, which extends from the south pole to the equator. An integral part of FANS, the OCS will use satellite technology to track aircraft in oceanic airspace. Controllers will track aircraft on air situation displays using satellites to provide an ocean wide view. On board aircraft navigation equipment provide accurate position information to controllers using inputs from GPS satellites. This position is then transmitted to ATC via a separate satellite.

Sat Nav Conference

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will host a Satellite Navigation Technology conference in Brisbane from June 26 to 28. The conference will be run in conjunction with the Airport Management Navigation (AMN) conference. The AMN is an international conference which will provide information and discussion on effective methods of integration and technology migration of GPS with existing ground based en route, approach and landing systems. Information on the conference is available from the QUT Space Centre in Brisbane.