May/Jun 2000

Corporate developments

 

The straight goods
Borne of a controller strategy for resolving aircraft conflicts, the Direct-To tool automatically searches for aircraft eligible for shorter trajectories to downstream fixes. Carroll McCormick reports.

 

Airports increase multilateration surveillance
Recent contract awards to the Sensis Corporation of DeWitt, N.Y. to deploy its Multistatic Dependent Surveillance technology to the Memphis, Heathrow and Frankfurt airports indicate an increasing acceptance of beacon multilateration, using transponder squitters, as a secondary airport surveillance tool.

 

NATS public private partnership — the debate goes on
The recent publication of the United Kingdom's Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee's Third Report on the proposed changes to National Air Traffic Services Ltd's status continues to be the source of much debate. Mike Burlyn examines how airlines could offer some examples of what issues the PPP may bring UK air traffic control.

 

UK government stands firm on NATS PPP
Discussion of the PPP planned for UK’s National Air Traffic Services continues as Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott answers the committee’s report and seeks to quell dissent.

 

The season for solar flares
The height of Cycle 23 is keeping satellite manufacturers on their toes.

 

Automatic transmission
Datalink trials and the implementation of operational ADS waypoint reporting this July spell the eventual passing of HF voice communications over the North Atlantic. Carroll McCormick reports.

 

Seeing ghosts
Nav Canada has enhanced and deployed a MITRE CAASD visualisation tool that enables controllers to keep converging runways open under IMC. Carroll McCormick reports.

 

Modernising with Mode-S
Airlines remain sceptical of the value of Mode-S secondary surveillance radar technology as other datalink forms become available, although a large portion of European aircraft are carrying the transponders as a collision-avoidance device.

 

Deploying POEMS
Pre-Operational European Mode-S ground stations are nearing deployment in Europe.

 

Under Surveillance

 

Events calendar
A round-up of world-wide air traffic events