Aviation: Taking U.S. Solutions Worldwide

Supporting FAA'S Global Aviation Efforts

As stated in its Flight Plan 2007 to 2011, one goal of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is to increase the safety and capacity of the global civil aerospace system in an environmentally sound manner. FAA is a recognized global leader in improving safety and capacity as well as in implementing new technologies. The agency has also led the development of an effective international regulatory structure and provides a forum for addressing compatibility issues between the unique aviation systems of different nations.

Since its inception in the early 1970s, the Volpe Center has played an important role in supporting FAA's efforts, contributing to the development of air traffic management systems, to the improvement of navigational systems, and to the amelioration of environmental impacts of aviation. These activities have laid the groundwork for the Center's continuing support to FAA as the agency responds to growing aviation requirements both nationally and internationally.

This article showcases several of the Volpe Center's expanding international aviation support efforts. The Center has demonstrated an international leadership role in support of FAA in many key areas, including:

• International regulatory work
• Air traffic flow management
• Air traffic control modernization
• Environmental measurement, modeling, and analysis
• Human factors
• Wake vortex studies
• International Global Positioning Systems (GPS) efforts

International Regulatory Work

The Center plays an important role representing FAA in international aviation organizations that are concerned primarily with developing and implementing aviation policies. The Center's experts attend international as well as bilateral meetings and conferences; provide technical expertise, guidance; and present FAA's vision to the international community. For example, they are heavily involved in many of the activities of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This United Nations agency was established in 1947 with a mandate to secure international cooperation on civil aviation issues and to establish Standards and Recommended Practices related to air navigation as well as to develop policies, regulations, technical manuals, and circulars. The Center also contributes in a similar way to the work of EUROCONTROL, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. This civil and military aviation organization is responsible for developing the European air traffic management system.

Air Traffic Flow Management

The Volpe Center is responsible for the development and daily operation of FAA's Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS), the primary system used to support the agency's mission to track, predict, and plan air traffic flow; to analyze effects of ground delays; and to evaluate alternative routing strategies. ETMS integrates weather and flight data from multiple sources and presents it in a graphical format, allowing FAA to anticipate and balance air traffic flow across the national airspace. ETMS initially focused on North American air travel. However, ETMS is now expanding into the international arena, both because FAA needs an interface with international aircraft arriving in the U.S. and in response to the growing needs of emerging markets and developing economies. In addition to providing essential technical support to ETMS sites in Canada, Mexico, Chile, Columbia, and Central America, the Center is involved in several of these initiatives:

• Exchanging data with EUROCONTROL.

  A key feature of a recent release of ETMS (8.3) is the ability to exchange data with EUROCONTROL. ETMS can now accept European departure messages, and EUROCONTROL data provides FAA traffic flow managers with a more accurate prediction of flight arrivals at U.S. airports.

• Traffic flow management requirements of other nations.

  The increasing worldwide demand for air travel and air cargo shipments has led to the need for formalized air traffic flow systems in some countries. Several countries have expressed serious interest in ETMS.

  • India.

    

    VOLPE CENTER SUPPORTS INDIAN AVIATION. Mr. Nelson Keeler, Director, Office of Aviation Programs, with Mr. Ramalimgnam, Chairman of the Airport Authorities of India (AAI) in New Delhi, April 2007.

    India's aviation industry is dealing with rapid growth. The Airport Authorities of India (AAI) understands that it must expand and improve its aviation infrastructure and services to address the dramatic increase in traffic that is predicted to occur over the next decade. The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has made the establishment of an advanced air traffic control system one of its top priorities, and FAA has agreed to contribute technical assistance. Last year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) was signed between FAA and India to facilitate joint ventures. Volpe Center senior staff recently visited India and participated in discussions with the Ministry on how the United States could help India with its aviation flow control requirements. Volpe Center staff demonstrated ETMS to AAI representatives, who expressed a strong interest in it and wanted to establish a government-to-government relationship with the United States in order to implement a similar system in India. FAA proposed that it take the lead for the United States and use the Volpe Center as its federal partner for this work. The MOA that is currently in place could be used as the vehicle for the cooperative arrangement.

  • China.

    

    DELEGATION FROM CHINA'S BUREAU OF AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT DURING A 2006 VISIT TO THE VOLPE CENTER. Mr. David Lev, Volpe Center Deputy Director, and Mr. Nelson Keeler, Director, Office of Aviations Programs, flank the delegation on the left and right, respectively. (Photo by Diane Wells)

    China's aviation sector is also experiencing rapid expansion. Cargo volume is expected to increase at a rate of 14 percent annually, while the annual number of air passengers is estimated to reach 270 million in 2007 compared with 138 million in 2005. A lack of infrastructure as well as limited civil air space could hamper growth and increase air congestion. Chinese authorities realize the need to address these issues, and the Volpe Center has established a fruitful dialogue with representatives of that country. In June 2006, a delegation from China's Bureau of Air Traffic Management visited the Volpe Center in order to learn about best practices for air traffic management and about ETMS. The Bureau wishes to maintain a working relationship with the Volpe Center as it moves forward with building a new air traffic management facility in China.

Air Traffic Control Modernization

The Volpe Center is working with FAA in applications of aviation surveillance technologies to improve efficiency and safety in the national airspace system. The Volpe Center has been FAA's principal program support arm in implementing the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, which uses Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals to provide air traffic controllers and pilots with accurate information that will help to keep aircraft separated safely in the skies and on runways. In testimony before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation on the Future of Air Traffic Control Modernization Aircraft, FAA Deputy Administrator Robert Sturgell stated that transponders receive GPS signals and use them to determine the aircraft's precise position in the sky, which is combined with other data and broadcast out to other aircraft and controllers. When properly equipped with ADS-B, both pilots and controllers will, for the very first time, see the same real-time displays of air traffic, thereby substantially improving safety. ADS-B is a primary component of FAA's Safe Flight 21 architecture; the agency is currently implementing it nationally and advocating its use internationally. The Volpe Center is supporting the international implementation of ADS-B in several locations:

• Gulf of Mexico.

  Because current land-based, long-range radar systems operated by the United States and other nations do not provide surveillance coverage along entire international flight routes for aircraft traveling from the United States to Mexico and farther south, air traffic controllers must use oceanic separation standards (e.g., 100 nautical miles), thereby decreasing capacity and efficiency. The Volpe Center is supporting FAA's efforts to implement ADS-B in the Gulf of Mexico to resolve these limitations.

• Safe Skies for Africa.

  

  AFRICAN AVIATION IMPROVEMENTS. FAA's Safe Skies for Africa initiative is designed to improve aviation safety and harmonize U.S.-Africa aviation ties. The Volpe Center's role relates to improving regional air navigation services in Africa by using modern satellite-based navigation aids and modern communication technology. (iStockPhoto.com)

  The World Bank and the FAA are involved in an exciting initiative, Safe Skies for Africa, in which a key component is to introduce ADS-B to East African countries. Volpe Center staff have traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to evaluate the potential implementation of ADS-B in those countries. This is part of a larger effort to support the development of aviation infrastructure in those nations. ADS-B implementation is especially significant for developing countries where radar coverage is spotty at best, and the technology also provides situational awareness to pilots.

• ADS-B standards.

  Implementation of ADS-B services requires that standards for messages from aircraft and ground equipment be established for use worldwide. To this end, Volpe Center staff support FAA by attending meetings of international organizations such as EUROCONTROL to explain the technology, to coordinate the development of common standards, and to address technical and operational issues, implementation dates, regulatory actions, and the economic impact of a transition from radar to ADS-B surveillance. Center staff recently traveled to India, Japan, Australia, Canada, Greece, and China to participate in discussions about the technology and its implications.

Environmental Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis

The Center has been providing support to FAA in the area of environmental measurement and modeling since the mid-1970s. This work includes the continued design and development of FAA's Integrated Noise Model, which has over 800 users in more than 46 countries, and is used for modeling aircraft noise in the vicinity of airports. More recently, the Center designed and developed for FAA the System for Assessing Aviation's Global Emissions (SAGE), which provides input to stakeholders involved with ICAO, as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As international concern for the human and natural environment grows, the potential impacts of air transportation, such as noise and air quality, are receiving greater interest. The environment is seen as a key barrier to aviation growth in the U.S. as well as globally. As stated in its Flight Plan 2010, FAA is committed to "continued global leadership in environmentally responsible aviation." Environmental analysis has become an integral component in the planning, development, and deployment of aviation systems. The Volpe Center is internationally recognized for its expertise in environmental measurement and modeling. FAA's Office of Environment and Energy is currently integrating all of their environmental modeling tools into a single system, which will be capable of assessing the interdependencies between aviation-related noise and emissions.

• FAA's Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT).

  The Volpe Center is leading FAA efforts to develop AEDT, a multifaceted, comprehensive tool that will enable integrated noise and emission modeling on a scale ranging from local to global. As research tools and approaches have become more sophisticated, the interdependencies of noise and emissions have been acknowledged, though they are not yet fully understood. AEDT will integrate FAA's local and global noise and emissions tools into a single modeling framework. Local models will support local and regional regulatory and planning efforts while global models will support national and international policy development; all models will use the same data sources to help ensure accuracy, transparency, and efficiency. AEDT incorporates legacy tools, including those developed previously by the Volpe Center, e.g., INM and SAGE. The tool incorporates several modules: Aircraft Acoustics, Aircraft Emissions, Emissions Dispersion, and Fleet and Operations (for forecasting). AEDT is part of a larger effort by FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop an integrated suite of analytical tools. Other tools will include the Environmental Design Space (for assessing aircraft technologies) and Aviation Environmental Portfolio Management Tool (APMT), for assessing economics. Together, these tools will provide valuable decision-making capabilities that can help government and industry to reach agreement and in turn can facilitate international agreements on standards, recommended practices, and mitigation options for international policymaking.

• Global acceptance of noise and emissions modeling.

  FAA is advocating that AEDT become an internationally accepted model for assessing aviation noise and emissions interdependencies. Volpe Center staff regularly represent FAA and participate in meetings of international organizations to explain the new model and to build consensus among stakeholders. The International Civil Aviation Organization's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection is charged with setting environmental standards for civil aviation. The Volpe Center actively participates on the Committee, including chairing the Modeling and Database Task Force, with a representative from Switzerland. Volpe Center representatives also actively work with their counterparts in EUROCONTROL on issues related to modeling as well as global database development.

• Novel research supporting the models.

  The Volpe Center is assisting FAA with research in several areas, which is leading to improvements in the modeling tools. For example, the Volpe Center recently developed the First Order Approximation (FOA) for estimating particulate matter emissions from aircraft. The FOA was internationally accepted for use by ICAO/CAEP in 2006. Also, in 2006 the Society of Automotive Engineers' approved an international standard on the lateral attenuation of aircraft sound, coauthored by the Volpe Center and the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority.

Human Factors

Volpe Center researchers analyze and address human factors considerations in the design and evaluation of communications and display technologies in aviation. This research is particularly pertinent to the international aviation community, where differences in language and standards may exacerbate communication problems. The Volpe Center has an international reputation as an expert in this field and routinely represents FAA at meetings where these issues are discussed.

• Flight symbology research.

  Electronic displays that show aeronautical navigation information range from small handheld devices to installed displays. Although there are industry-recommended standards for symbols on these displays, the standards are not always followed. Volpe Center researchers are working with the SAE International G 10 Aeronautical Charting Committee in an effort to update an industry recommendations document on symbology. Results of this research are intended to be of use to FAA, industry, ICAO, and other civil aviation authorities. These organizations may reference the symbology recommendations developed for SAE International in their own guidance documents. The most recent study has received the support of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA), which is helping the Volpe Center to gather data from many international pilots.

• Electronic Flight Bags.

  

  ELECTRONIC FLIGHT BAGS. Instead of traditional flight bags loaded with paper documents such as checklists, operating manuals, and navigation publications, many flight crews are bringing aboard Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) in the form of handheld, laptop, or tablet computers, as shown above. Details on the Center's EFB work are available at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/ hf/aviation/efb/index.html. (Photo courtesy of Teledyne Controls)

  Rather than traditional flight bags loaded with paper documents such as checklists, operating manuals, and navigational publications, many flight crews are bringing aboard Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) in the form of handheld, laptop, or tablet computers. FAA, system designers, and customers all recognize that EFBs are sophisticated devices that could affect pilot performance. As a result, human factors issues have received considerable attention from the EFB community. In support of FAA, the Volpe Center has developed guidelines for the design and evaluation of EFBs. Volpe Center experts regularly attend international conferences to share their human factors insights on the use of electronic display devices in the cockpit.

• Flight simulators.

  Flight simulators are an indispensable tool in airline pilot training. As part of an international working group sponsored by the Royal Aeronautical Society, Volpe Center human factors experts are making important contributions to ICAO's Flight Simulator Standards Harmonization Effort. The result of this effort will be a revision and expansion of the Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulators (ICAO Doc. 9625) and an addition to the Procedures for Air Navigation Services.

• Air traffic separation.

  FAA is adopting the separation conformance metric, developed by Volpe Center human factors researchers, as a new way to classify the severity of loss of standard separation between aircraft. Loss of separation refers to loss of the minimum required safe distance between an aircraft and other objects on the runway surface. This metric categorizes the severity of loss of separation as a function of the percentage of required separation. It provides an objective assessment of the degree to which separation standards are maintained. NAV CANADA, a private corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system, has proposed the use of the metric as an international standard.

Wake Vortex Studies

Aircraft wake vortices, which are disturbances in the air caused by aircraft motion, have been responsible for a number of deadly aviation accidents. Volpe Center scientists have made a significant contribution to the international aviation community's understanding of the behavior of vortices when aircraft take off or land. The Center's research is cosponsored by FAA and NASA. FAA and a consortium of European organizations — including EUROCONTROL, DFS, and ONERA — currently participate in a joint wake turbulence measurement program for which Volpe Center scientists conduct measurement and analysis activities. The program's goal is to increase airport arrival and departure rates by reducing operating restrictions aimed at mitigating hazards posed by aircraft wakes without increasing the risk of an incident or accident. U.S. stakeholder groups include airport operators, major air carriers, pilot organizations, and air traffic controller organizations. Volpe Center researchers have played a key role in developing and evaluating wake vortex prediction and measurement technologies. One such sensor currently being utilized is the light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) system, which measures both wind shear and wake vortex. LIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that measures properties of scattered light to determine the range and other information about a distant target; it has been shown to be especially effective at detecting dry wind shear. FAA and EUROCONTROL have agreed to share expertise and resources for conducting LIDAR wake turbulence measurements in Europe, specifically in Frankfurt. Other sites, such as Paris and London, are currently under consideration. Volpe Center staff are participating in these studies. Center personnel are also actively studying the wake vortex challenges of large aircraft such as the new Airbus A380.

• Runway Incursions Classifications.

  Runway incursions are defined by FAA as any occurrence in the airport runway environment involving an aircraft, vehicle, person, or object on the ground that creates a collision hazard or results in a loss of required separation with an aircraft taking off, intending to take off, landing, or intending to land. Runway incursions have been responsible for several collisions that have involved injuries and loss of life. Volpe Center runway incursion experts designed the Runway Incursion Severity Classification (RISC) scheme to provide a consistent assessment of runway incursion events. This is a critical component of measuring risk, where risk is a function of the severity of the outcome and the probability of recurrence. The model is currently being validated by FAA and other countries and is being considered by ICAO as a tool for standardized ratings of runway incursions. A working version of the model has been developed for use by Air Services Australia.

International Global Positioning System (GPS) Efforts

The Volpe Center is working with a number of international organizations to better integrate the GPS satellite navigation system into civil aviation. These efforts have increased recognition of the Center's GPS capabilities and have offered opportunities for other countries to capitalize on advances in GPS transportation applications and thus to increase safety and efficiency and facilitate trade. Introduction of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and the European GALILEO system in conjunction with the use of GPS could bring additional potential improvements to aviation.

In addition, the Volpe Center supports individual countries in the introduction and utilization of GPS:

• Canadian Navigation Services.

  The Center supports the Canadian Civil Air Navigation Services (NAV Canada) in the integration of a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) service volume model with the Canadian Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system for predicting and reporting when WAAS will be unavailable for use by aircraft operating under instrument flight rules. WAAS is the system of ground stations and geosynchronous satellites that provide GPS signal corrections, thus significantly improving GPS position accuracy. Moreover, WAAS provides aircraft with information on the integrity of GPS signals.

• Air Service Australia.

  The Center provided implementation support to Air Service Australia's ADS-B Availability Prediction System. This system assesses the integrity of GPS signals based on aircraft use of Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) and provides the capability to distribute GPS/ADS-B integrity outage information to aircraft via a network of groundbased VHF radio transmitters. ADS-B is a cost-effective alternative to radar for the sparsely populated interior of the Australian continent, which currently lacks surveillance service.

• Brazil's Department of Air Space Control (DECEA).

  The Center is helping Brazil develop and deploy the first real-time Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) performance monitoring capability for operational use that is not part of an augmentation system, such as WAAS. The system will be able to monitor the operational status of a GNSS system in real time, as well as predict its future performance. GNSS is the standard generic term for satellite navigation systems that provide autonomous geospatial positioning with global coverage.

• Improving air navigation safety in Africa.

  This year, on behalf of FAA, the Volpe Center participated in an ICAO Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The Center discussed implementation of a GPS Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system to support flight planning and provide training in the use of a GPS outage prediction tool (developed by the Volpe Center) that supports generation of aeronautical information. Aviation representatives from each country in Africa participated. As part of the Safe Skies for Africa initiative, this effort would encourage the expeditious implementation of the use of GPS to improve air navigation safety.

Conclusion

In response to the increasing demand for air travel, FAA and several partner agencies have responded with the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) (also known as NextGen). The Volpe Center is well positioned to support FAA in meeting the technical and managerial challenges of this transformation, both nationally and internationally. A key element of this challenge is to work toward one seamless, standardized, international airspace system. To this end, FAA is working with the international community, with Volpe Center staff members providing their expertise on the multiple aspects of this effort.