Tag: NextGen

An Opportunity We Should not Miss!

I was talking to an old time, well respected colleague the other day discussing his view that instead of forcing the industry to implement yet another expensive capability, full use should be made of what was already there… Once the benefits start to accrue, airspace users would be much more inclined to take the extra… Continue reading An Opportunity We Should not Miss!

Airbus to support FAA Greener Skies Initiative with ATM expertise

Airbus has been selected to provide Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Performance Based Navigation (PBN) expertise for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Greener Skies Initiative. As part of Boeing’s FAA System Engineering 2020 (SE-2020) team, Airbus will identify procedures which fully utilize aircraft precision navigation capabilities to reduce fuel burn, lower emissions and decrease noise.… Continue reading Airbus to support FAA Greener Skies Initiative with ATM expertise

The pessimism of an optimist

Some readers of Roger-Wilco asked me why we tend to report on problems so often. The answer is simple. Because almost nobody else seems to be doing it. If you read the official communiqués from various projects, they do tend to project a much brighter picture and if you read only those, you will sleep… Continue reading The pessimism of an optimist

NextGen and SESAR – is this a race???

For the past several years news from the US repeatedly mentioned how the FAA was teetering on the brink of running out of money while Congress was debating the so-called FAA reauthorization bill. At one point the Agency actually shut down for a few days while extra funds were made available for them. Of course… Continue reading NextGen and SESAR – is this a race???

Outdated Mentality Slows ATM Progress

I am sure Jane’s Airport Review will forgive me for picking the title of one of their articles but it was so stunning, I could not resist the temptation. It looks like October was a month of bad news from the world of ATM and I am starting to get a terrible feeling of déjà vu…… Continue reading Outdated Mentality Slows ATM Progress

The crystal ball of surface movement analysis

We have all heard of the so called airport hot spots… places where extra caution is required to avoid nasty incidents like runway incursions. Until now, hot spots were discovered the hard way. Usually the dangerous places were identified as such following several incidents that made the situation clear: this is where danger lurks, extra… Continue reading The crystal ball of surface movement analysis

Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing (APNT) – What is this?

In any conversation about satellite navigation and the use of enablers like GPS, talk inevitably shifts to the risks and the ease with which GPS for instance can be jammed. It is easy to sketch doomsday scenarios with a full-scale GPS outage once NextGen and SESAR are operational, making the industry essentially dependent on signals… Continue reading Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing (APNT) – What is this?

Air Traffic Control – Your Safety in the Air? Or something more…

Back in the early 70s I was the vice-president of the Hungarian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (HATCA) and we were busy searching for a good slogan for the association. In the end, we decided to use an adapted version of the slogan put out by the Canadians: “Air Traffic Control means you will have a… Continue reading Air Traffic Control – Your Safety in the Air? Or something more…

Metron Aviation Wins NASA Contract for NextGen Airspace Management

Metron Aviation announced  that it has been awarded a contract from NASA to perform advanced research and development to further NextGen airspace management concepts. This is an interesting twist in the NextGen story… Metron Aviation has been recently acquired by Airbus. Metron Aviation will support NASA’s NextGen Concepts and Technology Development Project (CTD), as it… Continue reading Metron Aviation Wins NASA Contract for NextGen Airspace Management