WASHINGTON, D.C. — Business as usual in air traffic management won’t work, which is why the FAA Administrator is calling on the aviation industry to help in adapting and assuring the financing of new approaches. That was the message FAA Administrator Michael Huerta brought in a recent speech to the Aero Club of Washington.
The sabotage and resulting fire at the Chicago en route center can be described by one word: Devastating, he said.
Keeping the system operating and bringing it back to full capacity was marked by what he called “profound teamwork.” When he visited the Chicago center to see the progress, he said he couldn’t see who was a manager, who was a controller and who was a technician. Nor could he tell who was from industry and who was from government.
“This goes to show what can happen when industry and the government work together,” he said.
Chicago controllers traveled to facilities in other states to help keep traffic moving. They know the Chicago airspace and shared this knowledge with controllers in other areas who suddenly had to take over operations for that area.
It’s this kind of cooperation and joint effort that Huerta wants to see for developing the Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen.
The FAA is facing massive challenges in both maintaining the air traffic control system — 50,000 operations per day — while at the same time modernizing the system. More than 10,000 miles of cable to 835 distinct circuits had to be replaced, he reported.
With NextGen, unexpected outages like those suffered in the Chicago area can be recovered more quickly because it is a more flexible system, he said.
The FAA is focusing on near-term priorities for NextGen. A report recently given to Congress lists the four areas that the industry and government have agreed on: More satellite-based navigation procedures; better use of runways; better situational awareness of airports; and more streamlined departure clearances through DataComm.
Seattle and Denver were cited as two cities where satellite-based navigation is showing results by fast-tracking more direct flights in the airspace above these and other metropolitan areas. Houston is another example of fuel savings and lower carbon emissions. In the Houston area along, Huerta said, airlines have saved 3 million gallons of fuel annually.
Better use of runways has resulted in improved wake turbulence separation. Nine airports in five cities will have reduced separation standards put into effect over the next year.
Long-term benefits will come through NextGen when point-to-point communication is replaced by a network of communications. Under the current system, each air traffic facility can see and talk to only aircraft within its prescribed area. NextGen will enable controllers to transfer duties from one facility to another.
ADS-B — Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast — is one of the foundational elements of NextGen. The deadline for equipping aircraft that fly in certain classes of airspace with ADS-B is Jan. 1, 2020, little more than five years away.
The administrator said he wants everyone to be equipped by that date “because it is not going to change.”
He warned that there seems to be a pervasive complacency, which must be corrected by a concrete plan developed collectively between the aviation industry and government. He called on the two to work together not only equipping for NextGen, but to also achieve a stable budget for the FAA to allow work to progress.
In his talk, Huerta focused mainly on benefits to commercial airlines. Business aviation was also cited. Another part of the diverse aviation industry he named was “recreational flyers.”
The ADS-B thing is really putting a burden on us. The comment about us being different from the “heavy iron” is spot on point. They need to leave us to alone to “see and be seen” from 12,500 and below (i.e. the no oxygen requirement level). There aren’t any airlines that are below that altitude except on take off and departure so who are we in conflict with except just other small airplanes that have done pretty darn well over the years keeping seperated thank you very much. Just give us the means to keep coming into the reliever airports without all the expensive avionics. Oh yes, by the way, the third class medical does no one any good whatsoever except the medical business machine that keeps rolling over the public more and more each day.
I recently read that the FAA has referred the Third Class physical proposal to the DOT. What does the DOT have to do with this change. The FAA is “kicking the can” down the road again. They want my help I don’t think so how about help from the FAA. Make a decision will you.
The FAA wants all of us to cooperate and help, but what are they doing to help the pilots. Dragging their feet and being secretive about the third class medical? That’s sure going to motivate me to get on board with them.
As stated by TedK, stop treating all aircraft the same. It’s time to recognize light aircraft as something different from all the heavy iron in the system and relieve some of the financial burden of forced upgrades like ADS-B out and the high dollar “FAA Blessed” ADS-B out GPS units.
I would easily pay $100 per year just for the FAA to go away and leave me alone.
Howabout the FAA quit treating every private GA airplane like it is the Space Shuttle? There really ought to be a simple accepted definition of “minor alteration.”
Reading this article seems like even more reason FAA should eliminate the Third Class Medical for recreational pilots. Sounds like the time and expenses saved are needed for this upgrade.