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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 0093.PDF
RNAV was introduced into the USA in 1970 with the establishment of a fixed-route, high-altitude airway structure. The system proved to be of little benefit and was termi nated in 1982. RNAV routes still exist in Alaska and Canada. It has been decided that RNAV policy will be adopted in Europe, and by the year 2000 it is anticipated that RNAV will be in use in both upper and lower airspace. It is argued that new satellite navigation systems such as the global positioning system of the USA, which should be operational by 1992, and GLONASS of the Soviet Union, in service between 1990 and 1995, will make RNAV workable, and that it is an idea whose time has come now, not 19 years ago. "RNAV is with us," says Dr Baldwin, director of Eurocontrol. "We have the equip ment and we are getting together to get the most out of it and put it into operation. There are problems, not least that there is a lot of modern navigation equipment in aircraft and a lot of outdated equipment on the ground. "There is a general need for communal activities in Europe which are so expensive for individual states and there is a chance that there will one day be an integrated European air navigation authority, but a lot of people are going to have to work together to make it possible. At the moment we are here to serve the European transport ministers as their executive arm." GOVERNMENT SUPPORT To put these schemes into operation, howev er, support and, more importantly, money is needed from European governments. The total bill for the modernisation, computer updating and air-route modifications of UK ATC alone is £600 million and was not easily secured from the Government. Some of the 4381 processors at LATCC are secondhand, chosen to keep the £22 million needed for the computer update to a minimum. These com puters are not operational, and are used solely for training. Political will is seen by many senior Euro pean controllers as a major stumbling block in the reorganisation of European ATC. V. Eggers, director-general of CAA Denmark, says: "Although RNAV is a sensible way of changing the method of aerial navigation; political commitment might be a problem. "What we are looking for is the realisation of two fundamental issues: firstly to get the member states involved, and secondly to appreciate that RNAV is not the solution to all our problems." The difficulty lies in persuading states that there is a problem that needs to be solved. Poorer Mediterranean countries in particular have proved difficult to persuade on this point and reluctant to allocate budgets. The problems will not just go away, how ever, and Europe, having one of the most complex and busiest air-traffic structures in the world, should be seen to be providing some direction and leadership. Although it is doubtful that the European measures both proposed and implemented are "too little too late", there are major challenges ahead and countries must move fast to stay ahead of the field. Eurocontrol, in its vanguard role of devel oping technology for a unified European air traffic management system, is already testing techniques and equipment which could fundamentally change the way aircraft are monitored and controlled and, with it, the way in which European member states fund and operate their air traffic control services. DIFFERENT PROBLEMS The problems in Europe are different to those in the USA. There is, for example, a much greater concentration of areas within which aircraft are climbing and descending than there is in North America. This is one of the reasons why collision alert systems are less popular with European controllers than with their US counterparts. When aircraft are so close, false alerts could be a major problem. Europe must work out its own solutions, and a great deal of time and effort is going into the process of planning for the future. With the guidance of organisations such as Eurocontrol, the implementation of a truly pan-European ATC structure cannot be too far off. Q JEPPESEN ALL OVER THE Worldwide flight navigation information on paper or electronic media; pilot training systems; pilot supplies; airport analysis; Bottlang Airfield Manual. For free catalog please write to: Jeppesen & Co. GmbH, P.O. Box 160454, D-6000 Frankfurt/M., FRG, Tel: 069-238030 • Jeppesen-Sanderson Inc, 55 Inverness Drive East, fcngiewood CO 80112-5498, USA, Tel: (303) 799 9090 • Jeppesen Bottlang Airfield Manual, P.O. Box 100712, D-3200 Hlldesheim, FRG, Tel: 05121-57151. Please visit us at Asian Aerospace, '90 in the German Pavilion FI IrtHT INTPONIATiriMAI 17 11 1.
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