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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0608.PDF
AIR NAVIGATION ACCs and airports in the Link2 000+ region will cost €298 million, with an ACC upgrade esti mated at between €5million and €30 million, depending on the complexity of the system, and an airport ATS upgrade estimated at less than €1 million. In return, the workload reduction could reach 29%, capacity gains could be as much as 14% and air traffic flow management (ATFM) delay reductions could reach 53%. DATALINK DEMONSTRATIONS Operational datalink communications have already been demonstrated in projects and trials designed to prove the concepts and applica tions. Both the Preliminary Eurocontrol Test of Air/Ground Data Link (PETAL II) and European Pre-Operational Data Link Applications (EOLIA) projects have validated the operational use of air/ground datalink to support controller-pilot communications. The supporting services and infrastructure have also been proven, with EOLIA demonstrating the feasibility of modifying ATC data processing and airborne systems to accommodate end-to- end communications. The Prototype ATN (PROATN) and ATN Trials Infrastructure (ATIF) projects also demonstrated the feasibil ity of an ATN internet meeting the require ments of air/ground communications. It is the PETAL II trial that is really paving the way for the implementation of Link 2000+. Launched in April 1998, PETAL II is a three- phase programme conducted in an operational ATC environment, with controllers at Eurocontrol's Maastricht centre communicat ing with aircraft crew by digital datalink, with voice communications back-up. The project has been using three different datalink tech nologies - the North European ADS-B Network (NEAN) VHF Data Link Mode 4 infrastructure, the satellite communication- based future air navigation system (FANS- 1/A), and the ATN. PETAL II has involved numer ous airlines, including Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Lufthansa, Air Canada, American Airlines, Air New Zealand and United Airlines. The first flight of an ATN-equipped aircraft was conducted late lastyear, when DERAs BAC One-Eleven test aircraft and a Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory's Cessna Citation sent datalink messages over the ATN in-flight (Flight International, 7-13 November 2000). The first operational ATN flights are due to be conducted by American Airlines Boeing 767- 300ERs fitted with Rockwell Collins avionics from May, followed by Honeywell-equipped 747-400s and Airbus A3 20s operated by Northwest Airlines and Swissair, respectively. Simulations to support the Link 2000+ case have also been conducted at the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre, to determine the effect of CPDLC operations on controller workload, on the level of service provided and on controllers' perception of safety. In the simulations, the controllers found datalink operations easy to understand and work with, and although they were unsure as to whether it enables the provision of a better ser vice, the general view was that CPDLC could allow more aircraft to be handled. The commu nication workload reduced by 45%, 61% and 84% when the aircraft fleet was 50%, 75% and 100% datalink-equipped, respectively. The major challenge facing Link 2000+ is whether all players meet their part of the bar gain, with the biggest risk being a lack of equipped ACCs and aircraft, concedes Eurocontrol. A realistic objective for fleet equipage is 25% by 2007, Wandels believes. Operational and financial incentives are expect ed to be offered to airlines that equip early, with a group currently studying this issue. To mitigate the risk, Eurocontrol intends to start formalising die industry support. Wandels says: "We will start a letter of commitment pro cedure in which partners will formally commit to equip identified centres or numbers of air craft by a certain date." • Datalink interpretation will have a major impact on cockpit communications Little steps The FAA is taking a revised step-by-step approach to implementing datalink communications in US airspace RAMON LOPEZ/WASHINGTON DC T HE US FEDERAL Aviation Admin istration's collaborative effort with users and industry to develop controller-to- pilot datalink is on track for critical initial trials at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center next June. But the benefits of using controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) to supple ment voice communications with digital data messages will not be realised until its use spreads across the USA. Much remains to be accom plished before frequencies are unclogged, allowing speedier clearances and greater con troller efficiency. The US aviation agency's CPDLC develop ment remains faithful to the aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) standard defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which would allow air craft to transfer seamlessly from one part of the world to another. But the FAA has changed its CPDLC evolution to roadmap on how to get from pointAtopointB. As the introduction of datalink will have "profound implications" for controllers and pilots, and will "fundamentally change the way they communicate", the US Department of Transportation's Office of the Inspector General (DoT IG) audited the CPDLC pro gramme in 1999. It determined that "imple menting CPDLC is a complex, long-term development effort that will require the FAA and industry to address a wide range of issues." The report concluded: "Given the complexity of the effort and uncertainty regarding con troller and pilot issues, revisions to cost and schedule are likely. But the challenges and risks...are not insurmountable and can be addressed through careful planning and effec tive risk mitigation." The FAAs goal has always been to implement CPDLC in US en route airspace by 2005. To mitigate risk, the FAA had planned to field CPDLC in four phases or "builds" -1, IA, II and 40 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 February 2001
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