Solar Flares and GPS systems...Anyone else think relying on GPS for air traffic control might be a bad idea?

Given the growing frequency and intensity of solar flares? It seems to me a disaster in the making.


New tracking system warns pilots of danger

By DAVE HIRSCHMAN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/18/07

An airliner is preparing to land when a cockpit alarm warns pilots that another plane has rolled onto the runway.

Two planes over the Pacific are on a conflicting path when the same device alerts pilots to the danger.

A computer-generated picture lets an airline crew know they are flying too low to clear a mountain range and shows them a path that avoids the tallest peaks.

It seems too good to be true that a single piece of technology could prevent some of aviation's most lethal types of accidents: runway incursions, midair collisions and controlled flight into terrain.

But a satellite-based system the Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to adopt, known by the cumbersome acronym ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast), promises to do all that as well as allow airlines to safely increase capacity and reduce air traffic delays.

"ADS-B is so different from the current system that it's hard to even begin to compare them," said Paul Takemoto, an FAA spokesman in Washington. "It's a quantum leap in technology — not an incremental change. And it's not theoretical. It's been tested and proven. We know it works."

The FAA plans to spend $80 million this year laying the groundwork for an ADS-B network that eventually will replace the costly, ground-based radar system that has been in place more than half a century. The new system will rely on an existing constellation of Global Positioning System satellites, new cockpit avionics and scores of relatively small radio stations on the ground.

When the ADS-B network is complete in 2025, large and small airplanes alike will carry cockpit displays that identify the airplanes around them, threatening weather and terrain. Takemoto said a multiyear ADS-B experiment in Alaska known as "Capstone" lowered accident rates 40 percent, and he predicted a broad range of benefits for the rest of the country.

"The current radar-based system is safe and it works," he said. "But it's not set up to handle the level of traffic we're anticipating. We have to make the switch."

U.S. passenger airline traffic is expected to double by 2025, FAA officials said, and the total number of planes could grow even faster as airlines use smaller regional jets, while high-end customers use smaller corporate planes and air taxis to avoid airline hassles.

The FAA believes ADS-B will safely reduce the distance between airplanes in flight and vastly expand air space capacity. Radar typically updates aircraft positions every 4.8 seconds, while ADS-B does it every second.

UPS pioneer user

Sandy Springs-based UPS helped pioneer the new technology and is making extensive use of it at its air cargo hub in Louisville, Ky. The company is fitting its entire fleet with ADS-B equipment and says it's already gaining efficiencies.

Instead of air traffic controllers instructing the crew of each plane to climb or descend, turn, speed up or slow down as they approach for landing each night, beginning this summer they will simply tell the pilots of ADS-B-equipped planes to follow one another in a particular sequence.

"The controller will instruct our pilots to follow the guy ahead of him at 105 seconds and the pilots will be responsible for maintaining that spacing," said Karen Lee, UPS director of operations and a Boeing 747 pilot.

"We'll be able to get close to 60 arrivals an hour, up from 50 now, and that's a huge difference. The time it takes a package to go through [our sorting hub] is fixed. If we can add 10 more airplanes an hour, that's huge for us."

Charles Keegan, director for strategic initiatives at Raytheon, an ADS-B designer, says the technology will enable pilots to operate in cloudy weather much the same as they do on clear days.

"Right now our aviation system works incredibly well when the weather's good and pilots can see each other," Keegan said. "ADS-B allows the system to run that way all the time. Pilots can see the other planes on their [cockpit displays]. They'll just derive the information from a different source."

Some critics contend ADS-B is more vulnerable to terrorism and equipment breakdowns. Radar shows returns anytime it encounters a solid object in the sky — but ADS-B only displays planes with properly functioning onboard sensors. And when that electrically powered equipment fails, air traffic controllers must have a way to identify them and safely redirect traffic.

Funding controversial

Airlines almost universally back ADS-B for the cost reductions, capacity increases and added safety it promises. But paying for it is highly controversial.

The FAA proposes a funding plan that would vastly increase taxes on aviation fuel and charge "user fees" for all planes — large and small — that use busy air space or air traffic services. General aviation advocates claim the new proposal would unfairly pile heavy costs on private and corporate fliers, dramatically increase the price of learning to fly, and make the United States more like Europe, where expenses and bureaucracy prevent all but the very rich from flying private planes.

Corporate and private pilots also say they are concerned ADS-B data will be used to track people's movements, and they fear the information will be used by cities and states to levy new taxes or for the FAA to impose flight violations.

"The only reason cities and states don't currently charge overflight fees is that they don't have the ability to do it," said Darryl H. Phillips, a retired avionics developer who opposes ADS-B.

"Once ADS-B provides that information, general aviation could be taxed and regulated out of existence."

Costly upgrades

Complying with the new regulations is likely to be costly, too, with the simplest onboard equipment selling for an estimated $7,000 to $12,000. The FAA estimates the total cost to re-equip U.S. planes is likely to top $400 million — and that tab will be paid by aircraft owners.

FAA officials say annual spending for ADS-B is likely to reach $156 million a year in 2012, and it's the cornerstone of a "next generation" air traffic system with a total price tag of $22 billion by 2025. The FAA says the U.S. aviation industry will lose $9 billion a year from air traffic control delays without the updated system.

The FAA also expects to eventually save more than $100 million a year by taking radar out of commission and reducing maintenance costs. But the agency must maintain the existing, radar-based system while funding its replacement.

Competing for contract

Lockheed Martin, ITT and Raytheon are competing for a massive FAA contract to build, maintain and operate the national ADS-B infrastructure. The FAA is formally requesting proposals this month, and it is expected to name the winning contractor late this summer.

Australia has shifted to ADS-B for air traffic control at high altitudes, Canada is in the process of doing the same for vast regions of the remote Hudson Bay where radar coverage is lacking, and many other countries have committed to adopting it in the future.

Cargo carriers UPS and FedEx have been championing ADS-B for about 10 years and participated in early experiments aimed at developing the technology. Each uses ADS-B at their hubs in Louisville and Memphis, respectively.

Raytheon's Keegan said pilots and controllers will have access to the same information and work together to improve safety and efficiency.

"It has the potential to take a burden off the controllers," he said, "and it will free them to improve the flow of traffic."

Keegan expects the essential nature of pilots' and controllers' jobs to remain the same — but with new tools that make them more productive.

"Pilots and controllers using ADS-B will perform exactly the same activities they do now," Keegan said. "Pilots will still follow the planes in front of them at set intervals and time their arrivals. But instead of looking out the window to see traffic, they'll derive the bulk of that information from avionics. Both activities are the same. The question is where do you get your information — and do you believe it?"