General Aviation

NextGen, ADS-B and General Aviation

The other day I wrote about how the JDPO is working hard to design the future of aviation, and how the NextGen is going to address the issues related to the safety, capacity and efficiency of the national airspace system while providing a flexible, expandable platform to accommodate future air traffic growth. You can read my article on NextGen Air Transportation System by clicking here.

JDPO is a group of government bodies, and the industry partners include Lockheed Martin, UPS, and a few other major aviation giants.

What I did not realize was that even General Aviation, and Flight Training institutes like the Embry Riddle (ERAU) are such an active partners in this program. As a matter of fact, after I saw this video I realized that as a matter of fact, this time around, this newer technology was handed over to the general aviation community even before the commercial airlines were able to get their hands on it.

In fiscal year 2006, the FAA approved funding for the implementation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) at eight sites. ADS-B is surveillance, like radar, but offers more precision and additional services, such as weather and traffic information. ADS-B provides air traffic controllers and pilots with much more accurate information to help keep aircraft safely separated in the sky and on runways.

Here is a link to my previous article on ADS-B.

ADS-B Applications for Aircraft

• Enhanced Visual Acquisition: provides the flight crew with enhanced traffic situational awareness in controlled and uncontrolled airspace/airports.
• Enhanced Visual Approaches: enhances successive approaches for aircraft cleared to maintain visual separation from another aircraft on the approach.
• Final Approach and Runway Occupancy Awareness: reduces the likelihood of flight crew errors associated with runway occupancy and improves the capability of the flight crew to detect ATC errors.
• Airport Surface Situational Awareness – Conflict Detection: reduces the potential for deviations, errors, and collisions through an increase in flight crew situational awareness while operating an aircraft on the airport movement area.

Avionics Technician Careers

The more I am learning about this, the more I worry about that who is going to fix all these avionics when they break down. There is already an extreme shortage of aviation mechanics, and these guys are not even trained to repair avionics! And to be able to repair avionics, one doesn’t even have to be an aircraft or aviation mechanic.

And, from my 20 some years of aviation experience, I know that the avionics technicians are much harder to find nowadays, and they make a lot more money as well. So I started to look around to see who all offer Avionics Training, and I was surprised to find that there are quite a few options out there.

One excellent option is Redstone College in the Denver area. Redstone and Lockheed Martin even have a joint scholarship program for Avionics Training. If I had the choice to go back in time, I know what I would do.

In one of my previous articles we talked about the NextGen; Next Generation Air Transportation System, and how it is working towards making the future of the air navigation in aviation industry better, safer and automated. We have also talked about how the future of aviation is getting more environment friendly and greener. If you have not read those articles, I suggest you read those as well to get the most accurate and complete information on this topic.

One of NextGen’s most promising initiatives with potential for broad operational applications is Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), a technology that could revolutionize air navigation and surveillance, and be the backbone of the future system.  In fact, some companies, such as United Parcel Service (UPS), are already using ADS-B in their operations, and are realizing savings in jet fuel and faster delivery schedules.

ADS-B uses GPS satellites and ground-based equipment to allow aircraft to broadcast their transmissions with greater frequency and accuracy than the current land-based legacy radar systems.  With ADS-B, pilots will see exactly what the air traffic controller sees.

The Capstone program is a long-term, highly successful application of ADS-B in a non-radar environment.  ADS-B, one of NextGen’s essential foundational technologies, will continue its development with the goal of deployment throughout Alaska.  Since initial deployment, general aviation accidents have decreased by 40%.  The practical information provided by this FAA program has also proven invaluable in guiding the development of NextGen.

The United Parcel Service (UPS) is using ADS-B in trials at its hub in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is realizing savings while simultaneously reducing the adverse environmental impact of its flight operations.  The traditional “step-down” landing approach requires planes to use high thrust to level off at different stages, resulting in more fuel burn and additional noise and pollution.  ADS-B allows for an improved landing procedure called Optimized Profile Descents.

Taking advantage of improved situational awareness, Optimized Profile Descents permit planes to constantly descend from cruise altitude all the way to touch-down.  Using Optimized Profile Descents, UPS reduced flight time, allowing more planes to land, while cutting back on emissions and noise.  Once ADS-B is fully implemented, UPS anticipates an annual fuel reduction of 800,000 gallons.  Furthermore, the company forecasts a 30% decrease in noise and an emissions reduction of 34% in the vicinity of airports (3,000 feet or below).

The FAA signed a Memorandum of Agreement with helicopter operators, and oil and gas platform owners in the Gulf of Mexico to improve air traffic control in the region.

Currently, most helicopters operating offshore in the Gulf cannot communicate or be seen by air traffic controllers, requiring pilots to rely mostly on visual flight rules.  As a result, helicopter service to offshore platforms is severely curtailed in poor visibility conditions.

With ADS-B equipment installed on aircraft and platforms, helicopters are able to transmit critical position information to the Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, resulting in improved communications.  This allows for continued helicopter activity on platforms in poor visibility in contrast to periodic weather-related stoppages.

Network-Enabled Operations (NEO) refers to the ability to link together information from a wide range of sources.  It is a high priority for JPDO and NextGen partner agencies.  NEO provides a platform for interested parties to have consistent, up-to-date, secure, and simultaneous access to the same information.

The Future of Aviation

NextGen, shorthand for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, refers to a wide-ranging initiative to transform the air traffic control system. It focuses on leveraging new technologies, such as satellite-based navigation, surveillance, and networking. The initiative involves meaningful collaboration among government departments and agencies as well as companies in the aerospace and related industries.

Currently, the U.S. air transportation system handles roughly 50,000 flights over a 24-hour period. By 2025, air traffic is projected to increase two-to-three fold, equating to 100,000-150,000 flights every 24 hours. It is acknowledged that the current U.S. air transportation system will not be able to meet these air traffic demands.

In transforming the national airspace system, JPDO is working with the FAA , NASA , the Departments of Transportation , Defense , Homeland Security , Commerce , and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy .

The Senior Policy Committee of JPDO directs the NextGen initiative. The committee is chaired by the Secretary of Transportation, and includes the Undersecretary for Policy of the Department of Transportation; Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Secretary of the United States Air Force, representing the Department of Defense; Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce; Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; and the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

There are nine capabilities that will enable the transformation of the national air transportation system. The NextGen capabilities are as follows:

1. Integrated NextGen Information
2. Separation Management
3. Capacity Management
4. Trajectory Management
5. Security
6. Flow Contingency Management
7. Environment
8. Safety
9. Flexible Airport and Surface Operations

Providing a high level of security in air transportation is a major goal for NextGen, which envisions a layered, adaptive security system.  This means a system that depends on multiple technologies, policies, and procedures that adapt to individual situations, and can change according to the threat level.  Other security measures will be in place as additional roadblocks to neutralize the threat, whether it is in the airport, on the plane, or in the air.

Intercontinental travel is, of course, a key element of the world’s air transportation system.  “Global Harmonization” is the technical term for coordinating NextGen activities with our counterparts throughout the world.

The FAA entered into an agreement with the European Commission (EC), which formalized cooperation between the NextGen initiative and its European counterpart, the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) program.  The FAA and EC are following through to identify opportunities and, as appropriate, establish timelines to implement common, interoperable, performance-based air traffic management systems and technologies.

And by the way, the ability to track any flight, whether commercial airline flights, or privately owned Cessna aircraft, from the convenience of your computer is already available, and I have talked about it in my other post – Live Flight Tracking. And it is Free.

ADS-B; Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast is one of the initiatives of the JPDO’s NextGen program. You can read all about it here; and watch the video as well. It is pretty cool!

Aviation has completed over a century of dynamic growth and advancement, resulting in the present air transportation system dominated by the commercial airline industry’s hub and spoke system. The initial 50 years of aviation were a chaotic, rapid evolutionary process involving disruptive technologies that required frequent modifications. The second half century produced a stable evolutionary optimization of services based on achieving an objective function  of economical operations. In the ongoing 50 years of what I call Aviation 3.0, there is a potential for aviation to transform itself into a more robust, scalable, adaptive, secure, safe, affordable, convenient, efficient, and environment friendly system. Read more about environment friendly aviation initiative in my “Green is the future of Aviation as Well” article.

However, such a global optimization requires not only the ability to perform analysis of larger system of system impacts, but also the ability to consider new value propositions that involve different infrastructures and business models that those which are currently the norm of the present aviation industry. While many obstacles exist, including technology, regulations, and perception; the Aviation 3.0 has the potential to mirror other on-demand market revolutions that have taken place over the past half century.

Highly successful innovators like Henry Ford and even Wright brothers believed that aviation would one day be capable of reaching an everyday impact in our daily lives. Yet after many years of rather empty promises, ranging from road-able aircraft to a a helicopter in every garage, the aviation community remains transfixed in a highly centralized world of very expensive, and not cost efficient aircraft.

Pessimists of the personal aircraft vision say that the aviation market evolution has brought us to the logical solution. Optimists of the vision respond that government regulations and the conservatism of the aerospace community have inhibited the industry. Both are correct, and as is typically the case, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. However, with a long-term viewpoint of demand and utility, it seems inevitable that in the very near future small aircraft will have a far more significant daily impact in many of our daily activities.

Sport pilot regulations, training and certification of the pilots, and the sport aircraft are a result of such an initiative from the government and the industry. If you desire to experience the spirit of what I am trying to express here in this article, find some time during your busy lives, visit your local GA airport, and ask someone in one of those FBOs to arrange for a demo flight for you in one of their Sport Aircraft. And then come back here and give this article and second read. And leave me a comment here underneath.

We have been noticing, eventually, that the Green initiative to save our beloved planet earth is picking up globally. It is somewhat late, but I would agree to being late than sorry is still better. Computers, home electronics, vehicles, just about in every industry there is a new born phenomenon of going green. And my friends, General Aviation is also in the lead. Or at least, it has taken a lead role as of this year for sure.

The NASA Innovative Partnership Program, and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation (CAFE) have joined hands and announced the upcoming CAFE Green Flight Challenge at the EAA Airventure 2009. Teams from around the globe are welcome to participate in this competition scheduled to be held in June 2011 out of California’s Santa Rosa airport. Guess what the prize purse is? I guessed $100,000 when someone asked me this same question, just FYI.

The 1st prize winner will get a total of $1.5 million (USD) check in about 60 days after the announcement of the winner in competition results. The objective is to have a GA aircraft fly at least at 100 mph speed, and put out at least 200 passenger miles per gallon of gas demonstrated over a 200 mile distance flown. In other words, 100 mpg fuel burn for an aircraft equipped with 2 seats, with 2 pilots weighing at 200 pounds each.

Just in case, if there is not even a single competitor achieving this target, there is a consolation prize possibility, which amounts to $153,000. But I am sure there would be no need for the consolation prize. The early bird deadline to submit the application is Dec 31st, 2009, with an entry fee of $4000. The entry fee goes up after the early bird deadline.

So, what do you guys think? I am thinking of partnering up with a good friend of mine, who happens to be an excellent aerospace engineer and general aviation enthusiast and going at this. We both believe that we will achieve the minimum efficiency target with no problems. And we are already working on a plan of action now. And if you guys take it easy on us, who knows maybe we’ll just be able to easily bag the bounty all to ourselves. Or, you can try and make it a little bit of fun for us!

By the way, our plan includes..oh, not telling ya! See you at Santa Rosa airport in June of 2011. And you can click here to download the rules and application kit.