ATC Global Updates SESAR Progress

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Following up on “NextGen + SESAR = Air Traffic Harmony,” ASIG wanted to share some of the information presented at ATC Global 2011, held March 8-10, in Amsterdam. Even if you don’t operate in Europe, what is going on there matters to everyone, even those who never wing their way out of US airspace. 

Before ATC Global began, the FAA and European Union signed a formal Memorandum of Cooperation. Befitting aviation’s worldwide reach, they signed the document in Budapest, Hungry. A research agreement that encourages industry participation, the memo focuses on the interoperability of avionics, communication protocols, procedures, and operational methods between America’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and the EU’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR).

It seems that in some areas, SESAR has a slight lead on NextGen. In ATC Global’s opening presentations, Florian Guillermet, chief program officer of SESAR Joint Undertaking, reported that 75 percent of the SESAR “factory” is in place.   That “factory” covers more than 300 projects, many directly involving those who use the airspace. Those projects are now starting to deliver.

Much of what was presented at ATC Global is now online. Rather than an in-depth report on it, a synopsis, with links to the source material, seemed more efficient.

SESAR Forum: SESAR is making the jump from development to deployment in 2011. This forum provided background and details, including key milestones for 2011 and 2012. There are 16 operational focus areas and 29 validation exercises set for 2011. This includes flight trials of air and ground data link services that support the initial 4D (i4D) traffic synchronization of computed and predicted controlled time arrival of aircraft.

Other 2011 SESAR deliverables include Point Merge procedures in complex terminal control areas (see Now is the Time to Invest in NextGen RNP.) These procedures better exploit flight management system capabilities, including continuous descent arrival procedures. SESAR will be validated all over Europe in 2012.

SESAR Interoperability Symposium Part I & II:  Global harmonization depends on universal technical standards defined by ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and coordinated industry standards. There are significant differences in how various parts of the world organize Air Traffic Management, so one solution doesn’t meet the needs of all nations and regions. Global interoperability, therefore, depends on common technology (systems) and operational procedures that can be equally applied and scaled to meet an area’s needs.

The keynote forum and symposium were followed by a number of Technical Workshops.

Data Mobile Communications Systems: Data link supports all airspace users from airlines and the military to general aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles. “Data will be the primary mode of future operations” with voice communications for emergency situations. It uses a multi-link approach of C-band for airport surface, L-band for general terrestrial, and satellite for oceanic and continental routes.

Green ATM: SESAR meets growing mobility needs while protecting the environment. Of particular interest to operators are efficiencies that predict 10-percent fuel savings per flight. This includes AIRE, Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions. Objectives for 2012 includes operational validation of i4D trajectory supported by satellite-based technology.

Avionics: This workshop covered avionics progress within the SESAR program, from 4D trajectory and airport navigation functions to ASAS (airborne separation assistance system) tools for pilots (including ADS-B and TCAS), and combined vision systems that include the detection of wake vortex. Four key development areas—4D Trajectory Management, Information Management, Collaborative Network Planning, and Enhanced Automation Support—are integrated across Airborne, En-Route & Terminal, Airports, Airline Operations, Military Operations, and CNS Infrastructure (including space).

SWIM: System Wide Information Management is ATM’s air-to-ground and ground-to-ground intranet. Automation handles most of the routine tasks, allowing controllers to concentrate on high value-added tasks. It includes a Registry, a complete and consolidated source of reference and service information.

It is clear that the systems and procedures required to operate in 21st century airspace are quickly coming on line with building-block functionality. Now is the time to for operators to make the transition from planning for these realities to acting on them. ASIG stands ready to help operators implement them in a phased effort that will keep you on pace with the future.

Until next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: FAA,EASA,Next Generation Air Transportation System,NextGen National Airspace System,Single European Sky ATM Research,SESAR,ATC Global

MROs: ASIG is Your EWIS Specialist

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March 10, 2011 is a date organizations dedicated to the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of transport category aircraft should be aware of it because thereafter they will likely see a growing number of tasks that may now be beyond their core competencies. It is the deadline for operators of these aircraft to incorporate in their maintenance programs OEM-dictated inspections and procedures for electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS).

For operators and MROs alike, EWIS is a paradigm shift in thinking. Before its creation 39 months ago,  thinking of wiring as a system within a system was an alien concept because it includes everything from cables and  harnesses to connectors and clips, ties, mounts, and trays that physically integrate it with the airplane. (For more information, see EWIS Maintenance Program Deadline and EWIS, EZAP & ICA: What’s It all Mean?)

Where MROs may encounter EWIS maintenance program requirements depends on the job, but they stand out in scheduled heavy inspections, especially Cs and Ds. Depending on the operator’s program, it could be a combination of general and detailed visual inspections that seek out moisture or abrasive accumulations of dirt by specific zones, followed by prescribed  cleaning procedures and/or repair methods for wiring, connections, and physical integration.

This situation is not unlike the specialization of medicine. Like the family doc, MROs can expertly treat their patients’ everyday structural and circulatory needs. But EWIS is akin to neurology, with a unique set of tools, tooling, and processes. Like family docs, MROs can either invest the time and money needed to add this specialty to their list of capabilities, or they can call in a specialist, which would be ASIG’s FAA Repair Station. 

ASIG developed its EWIS maintenance, repair, and overhaul expertise by working with it every day to connect the systems and equipment the company integrates in a variety of aircraft. This capability, supported by a robust and reliable supply chain, makes ASIG responsive, flexible, efficient, and economical. Adding a new task to the repair station’s list of capabilities begins with an internal audits of ASIG’s facilities, tooling, tech data, and personnel. 

Rare would be the task beyond its capabilities. It’s dealt everything from fuel quantity systems that require specific impedance to cleaning and repairing the tape-style ribbon harness for the DC-9’s air stair. Usually, the EWIS comes to ASIG, but its technicians will and do travel. And the repair station opens its doors wide to EWIS still affixed in a component, like the wing of a CRJ. Removed for a skin graft, the MRO asked ASIG to make field repairs on several harnesses permanent. A complex undertaking, it required breaking through and restoring the harnesses’ outer braided shielding, which ASIG easily accomplished before returning the wing for re-skinning.

EWIS overhauls can range from new wiring, wire marking, and new connector terminations in all or just a few strands. It all depends on the EWIS requirements, which may only allow a single repair for multiple defects in the wiring instead of three or four fixes. Another example might be environmentally sealed repairs, which might be good once every 10 feet—until it’s overhaul time, when you must replace all affected wires, conduits, shielding, and anti-abrasion devices as specified.

Like any specialist, ASIG maintains, repairs, and overhauls  complex wiring systems, major harnesses that run well into five figures. A landing gear harness, for example, can cost $7,000, not counting the time and money to remove and re-install it with the interceding logistics shuffle. A quick engine change harness is another example, and any lead time increases the cost that much more. MROs can contain these costs and reduce them by keeping select EWIS on the shelf as replacements and sending the harness needing treatment to ASIG, which returns it shelf-ready. 

Until next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems,EWIS,MRO

NextGen + SESAR = Air Traffic Harmony

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In deciding when and how to equip a fleet of transport category aircraft to operate efficiently in 21st century airspace, it’s tempting to put on blinders that extend no further than your  airline’s operational area. But airspace transcends borders, so any transition plan should include international factors.

In March, Amsterdam will host two important convocations, ATC Global 2011, March 8-10,2011, and the second annual Global ATM Operations Conference, held March 10-11 by CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation. Perusing the rosters of worldwide participants, exhibitors, and workshop topics, it is clear that we fly the same airplanes, use the same equipment, and face the same operational changes that are transforming  air traffic management.

Rapidly reaching the end of its service life, the 2oth century technology of ground-based navigation and radar surveillance does not have the resolution needed to safely accommodate the world’s growing demand for capacity. Two programs are leading the transition to the 21st century’s collaborative satellite-based system. Ultimately, aircraft will report their 4D trajectory (3D + time) to the ATM network, increasing safety, efficiency, and capacity while mitigating economic and environmental factors.

In the United States, the FAA is implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System, NextGen, and across the Atlantic Eurocontrol is doing the same with the Single European Sky ATM (Air Traffic Management) Research, SESAR. In addition, SESAR is melding the air traffic services (ATS) of its 39 European Union members into a unified operation that will deliver seamless service.

“Future operations, based on the SESAR three core principles of time, trajectory and performance, will transition aviation into a new frontier where efficiency, cost-effectiveness, safety and capacity are all enhanced,” wrote Eurocontrol Director General David McMillan in the Winter 2010 Skyway. “However, this vision can only be achieved through improved and interoperable CNS systems arrived at through common standards and specifications applied throughout Europe and eventually worldwide. This is a huge task involving all players within the aviation community and beyond.”

Under any name, 21st century ATM must provide seamless operation worldwide. To ensure technical, equipment, and operational harmony, the FAA and Eurocontrol are working together and under applicable umbrellas of the ICAO, the International Civil Aviation  Organization, and CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation.

Sister initiatives, NextGen and SESAR are multi-phase efforts built on required navigational performance (RNP) and ADS-B, what separates them most is terminology (Europe’s “WAAS” is called EGNOS, European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) and timelines. 

SESAR has three phases: Definition, which developed the master plan, ran from 2005 to 2008. Development, 2008 to 2016, produces the new technology defined by the master plan. And Deployment, 2014 to 2020, is the large scale production and implementation of the new ATM infrastructure.

The European ATM Master Plan has three Implementation Packages. IP1 covers systems ready for deployment now with ATM initial operational capability set for 2012. IP2 covers mid-term deployment of ATM services between 2013 to 2019. And IP3 addresses long-term programs that start deploying in 2020.

SESAR requires ATC datalink communications for all new aircraft delivered after January 1, 2011, and all aircraft operating in Europe will need the system by 2015. A Eurocontrol NPRM will require all aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B Out by 2015, with an exemption for those that weigh less than 12,500 pounds and cruise at slower than 250 knots. Described as a stepping stone to ADS-B In, the NPRM does not require WAAS/EGNOS and specifies less stringent GPS performance.

NextGen is phasing in ADS-B now, with full ground-station coverage planned for 2013. The FAA is encouraging airlines to take advantage of the system now (See NextGen Update: Time & Money) , it does not mandate the equipment until 2020.

SESAR and NextGen are also taking different routes to RNAV. Europe has been flying to RNAV-5 and RNAV-3 (mile separation) standards since 1998. The US is just now starting to phase it in (See  Now is the Time to Invest in NextGen RNP), the FAA is way ahead of Europe in establishing precision GPS/LPV  approaches at airports nationwide.

Regardless the route taken, operators and air traffic services will ultimately fly in harmonious 21st century airspace. Just as NextGen/SESAR gives operators options on the best trajectory to their destinations, ASIG can provide the guidance and services that will give international operators these capabilities.

Until next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: NextGen,National Airspace System,Single European Sky ATM Research,SESAR,FAA. Eurocontrol

NextGen Update: Time & Money

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The Next Generation Air Transportation System is no longer a science project. Commercial aircraft must be equipped for NextGen by 2020, and that deadline is fast approaching. Proactive airlines, such as Southwest and JetBlue, have  started upgrading their fleets. Others, it seems, are trapped in paralyzing decision-making debates of conflicting points. 

Among them is the DOT Inspector General’s report of  inadequate detail and timelines for the implementation of some components and software problems in the computer that processes incoming GPS-based aircraft positions and distributes them throughout the system.

Like any change in the status quo, NextGen is suffering growing pains. The technology involved is relative to the time. The transition from airway bonfires and beacons to radio ranges and radar suffered similar problems. The ground-based radar system NextGen is replacing was not born perfect, it matured with time. NextGen will do the same. 

Another point is the ATC labor force. The FAA needs to train controllers for NextGen, and t0 offset retirements, it must hire and train roughly 11,000 new controllers by 2019. With this timeframe, there’s no need for alarm. This challenge doesn’t come close to the pinnacle of ATC workforce anxiety, the need to hire and train—right now—the replacements for the 11,345 controllers Ronald Reagan fired on August 5, 1981.

Decision-making debaters will rightly note that these problems might cause delays, thus giving airlines more time to discuss their NextGen strategy. But these delaying tactics do not change the unavoidable  result: airlines  must equip their fleets for operation in NextGen airspace.

As most managers know, when solving problems, there is a symbiotic relationship between time and money. The FAA will pay bills necessary to keep NextGen on time, a point sure to be  made in the Administration’s FY2012 proposed budget, said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

LaHood told Airline Transport World that “airlines have to make a ‘hard call’ on whether to make a significant upfront investment in equipping aircraft with NextGen-capable technology.” In reality, it is not a question of “whether” to equip. NextGen isn’t going away, so the question is really “when” to bring a fleet up to NextGen standards.

Which brings us back to money. In the Washington Post, the FAA estimated the full NextGen upgrade cost between $162,000 and $670,000, depending on the airplane’s age. What that might be in a few years, when deadline demand surpasses the supply of  equipment and man hours needed to install it is anyone’s guess.

For those deciding to upgrade now, ATW reported that the House Aviation Subcommittee hoped to include “loan guarantees” and other assistance in the FY 2012 budget. But don’t count on it. Congress  is still trying to pass the FY 2011 budget. The Wall Street Journal reported that the aviation appropriation before the Senate does not include any NextGen assistance for airlines, despite administration requests for it.  Facing an even tighter fiscal situation in 2012—and reports of airlines with billions in cash reserves—assistance may be a dream politically unfulfilled. 

One airline did get some help. JetBlue just scored $4.2 million from the FAA for ADS-B equipment in 35 of its Airbus A320s. Part of a multi-year, multi-phase trial, they will provide real data on the fuel and time-saving benefits of this NextGen component. The airline will cover all training and maintenance costs, and the  trial’s key results are due in 2012.

In giving airline decision makers real numbers to crunch, the FAA hopes more of them will step up to NextGen now. Phase 2 will equip JetBlue with ADS-B (in), which displays traffic and other info in the cockpit, allowing tighter en route and terminal separation, thereby increasing capacity.

JetBlue engineers started work on ADS-B two years ago, and  “independent of the FAA investment,” said CEO Dave Barger, “this is just good business.” In the Washington Post he said, “I’ll be delighted to make the rest of the investment” to equip the rest of its fleet of 116 A320s and 44 Embraer E-190s.

With this investment, JetBlue will join Southwest Airlines as the vanguards of NextGen technology. And to them go the competitive (and economic) advantages of getting onboard early. And that, too, must become part of the debate that determines  when to step up to NextGen. If you want to be among the vanguard, ASIG can help make it happen.

Until next time, say 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: NextGen National Airspace System,ADS-B,Southwest Airlines,JetBlue,Fleet Upgrades

Now is Time to Invest in NextGen RNP

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All operators of transport category aircraft face the same broad challenges, each with a number of solutions. Southwest Airlines is  one of the nation’s consistently successful and perpetually profitable airlines, so reverse-engineering how it responds to these challenges is prudent good business.

On January 11, Southwest said  that it was flying efficient RNP (Required Navigation Performance)  procedures at 11 airports it serves, including Boise, Chicago Midway, LA, and Raleigh-Durham. That efficiency will help Southwest maintain its low fares.

In concert with RNAV, RNP is the cornerstone of the satellite-based Next Generation National Airspace System. Teammates, RNAV and RNP facilitate the design of efficient airspace and procedures that improve safety, access, capacity, predictability, and operational efficiency. Precisely defined terminal procedures improve access and flexibility, enhance reliability, and reduce delays, thereby reducing fuel requirements and emissions.  

By flying RNP procedures at 11 airports, Southwest projects its initial savings at $16 million a year. That will grow to an estimated $60 million when RNP covers all of its 70-plus destinations. An ongoing effort, so far the FAA has authorized more than 200 RNP procedures at 63 airports in 33 states and territories, and more than 340 RNAV procedures at 118 airports in 30 states and territories.
Southwest invested four years and $175 million to equip 345 Boeing 737-700s for RNP operations and trained its pilots and technicians to use and maintain the system.  Beyond the immediate return, integrating the system now provides flexibility  in “any new aircraft platform we might use in the future.”

Entering international service in 1996, RNP is not bleeding edge technology. Collaborating with technical and operational experts from several nations,  the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published its globally  harmonized  Performance Based Navigation (PBN) manual in March 2007. 

Unlike Southwest, many airlines seem reluctant to invest in RNP upgrades. Perhaps they are waiting to see if their calls for federal aid will materialize. Given the current political discussion to cut the budget by $100 billion, this seems unlikely, especially when the really big-ticket items—Defense, Social Security, and Medicare—are exempt.

Over the past several years, many airlines have been building their cash reserves to soften the impact of another economic downturn. As NextGen marches inexorably toward toward full implementation, failure to invest a portion of that reserve could result in a self-inflicted financial wound. 

Most people  know it always costs more to meet the requirements of an unavoidable deadline at the last minute, whether buying an airline ticket or integrating—and learning to use and maintain—new technology in a fleet of airliners.

Without a doubt, some NextGen steps are suffering growing pains, as all new technology must, but RNP is not one of them. As ASIG reverse-engineers the logic of Southwest’s new RNP capabilities, the airline is  marching toward NextGen compliance in a measured, step-by-step process of its own making and timing.

Proven and providing an immediate—and growing—return, RNP  is the heart of an airplane’s NextGen system. To it Southwest will  efficiently and economically connect NextGen’s remaining steps as they mature and deliver reliable dividends. Call it a self-funded NextGen compliance plan with benefits, and ASIG can show how it will work for your operation.

Until next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: NextGen National Airspace System,Required Naviation Performance,Performance-Based Navigation,Southwest Airlines

EWIS Maintenance Program Deadline for Parts 121 & 129 is March 10, 2011

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When it comes to meeting deadlines, having too much time can be just as bad as not having enough. The FAA published the final rule about Enhanced Airworthiness Program for Airplane Systems/Fuel Tank Safety on November 8, 2007. It became effective on December 10, 2007. Everyone involved, from OEMs to operators of Part 121 and 129 transport category aircraft had 39 months to comply with the new requirements.

That 39 months is up on March 10, 2011.

If you remember our post last July, EWIS, EZAP & ICA: What’s It All Mean and last September’s Aging Aircraft Safety Rule Deadline, Fatigue-Critical Structures & ASIG, the Enhanced Airworthiness Program final rule gave life to the Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS), the requirements of which are elucidated in in Subpart H of Part 25.

The not-so-new rules behind the fast approaching deadline apply to turbine-powered transport-category aircraft with a type certificate issued after January 1, 1958 that carry 30 or more passengers or have a maximum payload of 7,500 pounds or more. In other words, just about everything flying today. There are 13 exceptions.

Because ASIG is involved with EWIS requirements on several levels, we felt a heads up about the approaching deadline was in order. The salient regulatory paragraph, which is identical in 14 CFR 121.1111 and 129.111, Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems (EWIS) maintenance program, is:

(b) After March 10, 2011, no certificate holder may operate an airplane identified in paragraph (a) of this section unless the maintenance program for that airplane includes inspections and procedures for electrical wiring interconnection systems [emphasis added].

As spelled out in 14 CFR 26.11, an operator’s maintenance program must be built  on instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) developed by holders of, and applicants for type certificates and supplemental  type certificates (STCs). These entities had two years to create ICA that met the requirements of Part 25 Appendix H and passed muster with the FAA Oversight Office.

The ICA deadline was December 10, 2009, or with the approval of certificate applications after that date.  And that brings us to another important paragraph in 14 CFR 121.1111 and 129.111:

(d) After March 10, 2011, before returning an airplane to service after any alterations for which EWIS ICA are developed, the certificate holder must include in the airplane’s maintenance program inspections and procedures for EWIS based on those ICA [emphasis added].

EWIS is an ASIG specialty because the company has long understood that like a hybrid circulatory/nervous system, it  delivers power to and/or controls virtually every system in today’s transport category aircraft. As a result, there are few alterations or system improvements that will not include EWIS maintenance inspections and procedures.

At ASIG, developing the applicable EWIS ICA and operator maintenance program requirements are an integral part of our process, not an afterthought that meets the minimum regulatory requirements.  That is why we offer not only this reminder of the approaching deadline, but our fullest support and stand ready to help you comply with it.

Until next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems,Insructions for Continued Airworthiness,FAA Deadline,Transport Category Aircraft,Part-121 Operators,Part-129 Operators

Reverse Engineering: Building New Pieces for the Airworthiness Puzzle

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In many ways, maintaining the airworthiness of a transport category aircraft is akin to constantly reworking a jigsaw puzzle. Whether it is a pneumatic or hydraulic valve, tooling used for sheet metal repairs, or a bushing or bearing, each piece is important. For whatever reason, if it no longer measures up to its  type certification data, the puzzle is incomplete, says ASIG Managing Director Luke Ribich, which means the airplane is not airworthy, unable to earn its keep.

If a piece cannot be economically replaced or repaired, or it does not deliver the desired reliability, creating a new piece by reverse engineering the original may well be the most efficient and cost-effective solution, especially when its costs can be shared by a fleet over time because “high-volume programs can buy down the unit cost,” says Ribich.

For example: An airline with a DC-8 fleet needed engine thermocouple harnesses, an expensive item from the OEM with a long lead time. ASIG reverse engineered the harness, and manufactured certified PMA parts for a fraction of the cost of buying them from the OEM.

Better reliability is another benefit of reverse engineering, especially with pieces of older puzzles. “In their day, the 707 and DC-8 were good to have 70 percent dispatch reliability. Today, operators want 92 percent or better dispatch performance,” Ribich says, “and you might not get that out of some of those older materials and process designs.” In addition, “A lot of those old parts suffer from self-inflicted wounds, otherwise known as maintenance malpractice, caused by improper handling by technicians.”

To create a piece of the puzzle ASIG’s engineers dissect an existing product or component. Drawing on an arsenal of tools, from micrometers and laser scanning devices to testing equipment that analyzes metallurgy, hardness, surface texture, and electrical properties, there isn’t anything they don’t know about it. At the same time, they assess the original’s design for reliability, performance and material durability.

In crafting the new piece, which fits the airworthiness puzzle just as the original did, ASIG’s engineers employ all the advances made in design, materials, and manufacturing since the OEM created the original part. ASIG not only produces reverse-engineering technical data packages equal to those of its STC efforts, says Ribich, it can manufacture parts “that stand up to government verification, validation, and qualification” examinations.

Reverse engineering can also be a great learning tool. The lesson, he says, is to create compatible parts that deliver lower cost and better documentation and require less time to manufacture. MROs, (maintenance, repair, and overhaul companies) are turning to ASIG, seeking replacements for expensive parts with long lead times, like the bushings, bearings, and other fittings used in flight control system components.

“The OEM charges $60,000 for this hand-sized chunk of metal because of its captive market, which drives up the costs of these things,” Ribich says. Given the cost and lead time, when one reaches two-thirds of its service value, many airlines “will buy another one, just to have it in stock.” Replacing these items with reversed-engineered PMA parts enable MROs to give their customers more responsive, economical, and flexible service.

In the past, there was some question about using PMA parts on transport category aircraft. This issue came to a head with replacement blades for turbine engines, which are not inexpensive. But the FAA settled that issue several years ago, Ribich says, paving the way for greater use of PMA pieces in the airworthiness puzzle .

Until next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

Technorati Tags: PMA Parts,Maintenance Repair & Overhal,MRO,Reverse Engineering