Evaluation of a Two-way Datalink for Airborne Surveillance of and Communication with a Remotely Operated Aircraft Operating in the National Airspace System

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of a two-way digital datalink to implement the airborne surveillance and communication functions with a Remotely Operated Aircraft in the National Airspace System. These Air Traffic Control functions are currently implemented using primary and secondary radar systems for airborne surveillance, and radio transmissions for voice communications. The present Air Traffic Control system was examined, as well as existing datalink technologies and surveillance and communication equipment. Remotely Operated Aircraft are currently employed almost exclusively by the military, and operational experience in the National Airspace System is very limited. Several key military Remotely Operated Aircraft systems were evaluated, including their operations in the National Airspace System. There are numerous potential uses for commercial Remotely Operated Aircraft operations in the National Airspace System to satisfy varied missions and roles, and the issues associated with large numbers of unmanned aircraft operating in the National Airspace System was investigated. The information used in this study was collected from various published sources, as well as from a number of interviews with knowledgeable persons in the Remotely Operated Aircraft industry and the Federal Aviation Administration. Remotely Operated Aircraft have been established as viable military platforms, and a variety of civilian missions are under consideration to extend their demonstrated usefulness. As civilian Remotely Operated Aircraft system designs and concepts of operation are refined, many cost-effective applications have been identified for using Remotely Operated Aircraft in new roles or in roles currently being performed by manned aircraft. Large numbers of Remotely Operated Aircraft are expected to be operated in the National Airspace System in the future, and the Air Traffic Control system must be able to accommodate their unique needs and facilitate the safe and efficient operation of Remotely Operated Aircraft in the National Airspace System. Two-way digital datalink technology has significant potential for use in implementing the airborne surveillance and communication functions with Remotely Operated Aircraft in the National Airspace System. A datalink-based Air Traffic Control system provides more accurate and comprehensive time-critical surveillance information to the air traffic controller, and facilitates more efficient communications of large amounts of useful information between the air traffic controller and Remotely Operated Aircraft remote operator. It is recommended that two-way digital datalink technology should be pursued for implementing the airborne surveillance and communication functions with a Remotely Operated Aircraft in the National Airspace System. Although this technology has many key benefits, there are several important operational, safety and security issues that must be addressed before the system can be fully implemented in the National Airspace System

Aircrew displays and avionics for application in a future national airspace system

A concept for increased pilot involvement in a future National Airspace System was evolved during the FAA New Initiatives in Engineering and Development Users responsibilities and ways in which they might interact. The technical feasibility of the system is indicated by the sophisticated level of presently manufactured digital computers and display avionics, and the application of that technology under design by the major airframe manufacturers. Data collected during simulations and flights with the Terminal Configured Vehicle Program B-737 airplane are shown to have direct application to the new system concept. The adoption of the operational changes envisioned, offers some potentially significant advantages to the user

Analyzing Policy Risk and Accounting for Strategy: Auctions in the National Airspace System

We examine the potential for simple auction mechanisms to efficiently allocate arrival and departure slots during Ground Delay Programs (GDPs). The analysis is conducted using a new approach to predicting strategic behavior called Predictive Game Theory (PGT). The difference between PGT and the familiar Equilibrium Concept Approach (ECA) is that PGT models produce distribution-valued solut tion concepts rather than set-valued ones. The advantages of PGT over ECA in policy analysis and design are that PGT allows for decision-theoretic prediction and policy evaluation. Furthermore, PGT allows for a comprehensive account of risk, including two types of risk, systematic and modeling, that cannot be considered with the ECA. The results show that the second price auction dominates the first price auction in many decision-relevant categories, including higher expected efficiency, lower variance in efficiency, lower probability of significant efficiency loss and higher probability of significant efficiency gain. These findings are despite the fact that there is no a priori reason to expect the second price auction to be more efficient because none of the conventional reasons for preferring second price over first price auctions, i.e. dominant strategy implementability, apply to the GDP slot auction setting.auction, ground delay program, entropy, predictive game theory, strategic risk

An Analysis of the Role of Safety Nets in the National Airspace System

Safe operations of aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS) may be attributed to many factors, including the application of a variety of safety nets (SNs) as a last line of defense. In preparation for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), a review of Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) reports for incidents with positive outcomes was conducted to investigate the importance of current safety nets. The examination of positive outcomes not only shows what went wrong, but also what went right to prevent accidents and save the day. More than 400 incident reports for 2015 from the voluntary ASRS reporting database were studied in detail to create event sequence diagrams (ESDs), illustrating the effectiveness of SNs. The developed ESDs are considered top-level, representative models and are limited with respect to being reliably quantitative because they are based on only reports from a single year. The ESDs could offer insights into human systems integration research, such as strategically using technologies as SNs without human interface or alleviating human workload with new technologies to provide resilient recovery from off-nominal conditions ensuring flight safety

Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the National Airspace System

Continuing Education Free Session #4 - 1 FBPE CE Hour Industry Overview Systems Overview FAR Part 107 Recent News UAS Applications UAS Research toward Integration Question

Integration of Reusable Spacecraft into the National Airspace System

In the rapidly evolving world of Aviation the traffic density above the United States will continue to worsen. New Technologies like Unmanned Aircraft and an increase in commercial aircraft traffic will strain the National Airspace System.. More and more launches are occurring from the United States, and this will stain the increasingly crowded airspace above us. In order to find a solution new technologies of the FAA NextGen program can be utilised to evolve space traffic management in our airspace. Especially reusable spacecraft which will transcend the airspace the most often, and sometimes from conventional airports. Instead of closing large portions of our airspace, we should integrate these crafts into the current system. Technologies such as ADS-B and TCAS can provide live GPS tracking for spacecraft and let them communicate to convention aircraft and UAS systems. It is time spacecraft become part of our NAS not an anomaly that closes it