At the biggest international Air Traffic Management exhibition, ATC Global being held this week in Amsterdam, the SESAR Joint Undertaking presents the first components of the future European ATM system. The aim of this first SESAR Release is to group projects and validation exercises and to start delivering together with the 49 SESAR members and… Continue reading First concrete SESAR achievements in 2011
Tag: ATC
Changes are coming to a tower near you – the Distant Aerodrome Control Service
DFS, the German ANSP will be introducing its Distant Aerodrome Control Service for the first time at ATC Global Amsterdam (8 to 10 March). Using the Distant Aerodrome Control Service, aerodrome controllers can switch between the display of visual information and sensor data. They are no longer primarily reliant on the direct out-of-window view. Aerodrome… Continue reading Changes are coming to a tower near you – the Distant Aerodrome Control Service
What everyone is waiting for – Details of SESAR Release 1
Without any doubt the most anticipated news at ATC Global (which will be held next week in Amsterdam) is details about SESAR’s Release 1. Those of you attending the event, look for the brochure with this cover. Those who are not so fortunate, come to Roger-Wilco and you will be able to download the brochure… Continue reading What everyone is waiting for – Details of SESAR Release 1
The Great SID/STAR Phraseology Fiasco
Most of us find the workings of ICAO pretty strange. The constant repetition of States’ sovereignty, with its assumption that they actually know what they are talking about, is quaint, rather than obviously dangerous. The glacial speed of progress, with timescales measured in years for quite minor textual changes, can be exasperating, but nothing is… Continue reading The Great SID/STAR Phraseology Fiasco
Women in ATC – Echoes from the past
The subject of women in air traffic control is dear to my heart for several reasons one of which is that I did play a small role in setting the scene for girls to be eventually accepted as ATC cadets in Hungary. The real achievement belongs to the ladies themselves who completed the fight but… Continue reading Women in ATC – Echoes from the past
Obituary – Mary Elizabeth (Chance) VanScyoc
The lady recognized by most accounts as the first woman controller in the US has passed away. VanScyoc, Mary Elizabeth (Chance), 91, passed away Wednesday, February 9, 2011. Mary was born on Dec 26, 1919 to Gerald and Lois Chance in Wichita. She obtained her pilots license at age 20, graduated from Wichita University and became the first… Continue reading Obituary – Mary Elizabeth (Chance) VanScyoc
The Story of Alpha Mike (Part 2)
The Road to Becoming an En-route Air Traffic Controller To continue with my story, let me just go back to that time when, in 1981, I received an Order transferring me to the Manila Area Control Center (ACC), eight years after I graduated from an air traffic control training course. The ATC staffing crisis –… Continue reading The Story of Alpha Mike (Part 2)
Do you really understand – Trajectory based operations (TBO)?
There is a misconception in some air traffic management circles that trajectory based operations is simply business as usual except that the current, notoriously imprecise ground generated trajectories are replaced by more accurate, 4 D trajectories and that is all there is to it. Some will add that parts of this 4D trajectory might be… Continue reading Do you really understand – Trajectory based operations (TBO)?
Women in Air Traffic Control
My original article about the difficult road women wanting to become air traffic controllers (and commercial pilots…) faced in the early days seems to have struck a chord in several parts of the world. First there was Aminda’s lovely contribution from the Philippines then Evon Russel contacted me on Facebook with a link to an… Continue reading Women in Air Traffic Control
Freight dogging with TNT Airways
Sure they can…! A large majority of Air Traffic Controllers are usually busier during the day than during a nightshift. There are however a few radiotelephony callsigns which are always associated with night operations. One such call sigh is “Quality”, the official ICAO callsign of TNT Airways which sounds familiar to all ATCO-s on night… Continue reading Freight dogging with TNT Airways