NextGen Data Comm Responds Exceptionally to FAA Trials
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NextGen Data Comm Responds Exceptionally to FAA Trials

CIO Review


FREMONT, CA: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will soon bid farewell to the air traffic woes with its brand new technology of Data Communications.



Air traffic controllers currently use radio voice communications to give clearances and other flight information which puts across barriers of time, noise and other constrains. Data Comm technology eliminates these barriers and restrictions so that air traffic controllers, pilots, and airline operations centers can communicate more clearly and efficiently.

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FAA has been conducting trials with FedEx, United Airlines and UPS in Newark and Memphis to showcase the capabilities and benefits of Data Comm. the technology currently under pilot test in few areas is already delivering positive results and can be expected to revolution communications between air traffic controllers and pilots as the airlines are seeing reduced delays and cost savings immediately after its installation.



Better communication paves way for better productivity, impementation of Data Comm technology gradually will bring in enhanced airspace capacity and reduced flight delays which in turn help aircraft to improve re-routing, save time and fuel, reduce environmental impacts and safety issues. By making two-way data exchange a reality, Data Comm upgrades air traffic safety by letting controllers to give more timely and effective clearances.



"The advantage is that the controller can now formulate a message, in fact he can formulate multiple messages to multiple aircraft on multiple routes, and with a few keystrokes send that clearance to the flight deck in parallel rather than the radio in theory, to where the pilot then can review the clearance and load it into the flight management computer," states Allen, the chairman of the Data Comm NextGen Integration Working Group for the NextGen Advisory Committee while talking to Woodrow Bellamy III of Aviation Today.



It was at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2014 that the FAA agreed with the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) to continue operating the Data Comm prototype for 15 additional months at Memphis and Newark. Acknowledging to the vast opportunities laid by the technology, FAA in February, 2015 has sought for more funding for Data Commutations’ security steps in the next Fiscal Year 2016.



Data Comm will be deployed in more than 50 air traffic control towers beginning in 2015. By 2019, it will be implemented in air traffic control facilities that manage high altitude traffic, if the FAA plans work out successfully. With successful trials even International carriers can benefit from the from Data Comm capabilities.



 

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