nge of routing data.
With much of the coordinate information available directly to pilots, less radio time with ATC is required—decreasing the possibility of communication errors. When pilots and ATC can see this information simultaneously, automation is used in setting the order of departures, thus reducing delays even in bad weather.
Utilizing the ground capabilities of the Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X)—a runway safety program used to prevent conflicts on the ground—NextGen takes it a step further incorporating a software tool called Surface Management. This extends the surveillance capabilities of ASDE-X beyond runways and taxiways to ramp areas, thus improving the position awareness between the airport control tower, the airline ramp management crews, and the airline operations centers.
Under the current system when a plane takes off, radar sends signals that bounce off the fuselage to calculate the craft’s position. However, since radar information can be off by as much as two miles, the system accounts for the discrepancy by separating planes at least three miles or more apart. With NextGen pilots will be able to know their position down to a few hundred feet.
Through precise navigational procedures, planes will use multiple departure paths. Add to this the aid of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B)—another aspect of NextGen that also relies on GPS signals—and a craft will be quickly guided to its cruising altitude.
This system will see a plane swiftly navigating out of the busy airspace over the airport ascending steadily, thereby using less fuel, saving time, and increasing airport capacity.
The idea behind the ADS-B is to give pilots information that previously only controllers on the ground were able to see: the aircraft’s location, the location of other aircraft, as well as graphical and textual weather information on a moving map. This valuable information allows pilots to get decisions quickly and safely.
In addition, ADS-B will allow planes to fly closer together without sacrificing safety, thereby increasing airspace capacity.
Flight paths across the country will no longer be limited by radar on the ground and air highways. Planes will take direct flight paths accounting for the wind speed, the distance of their final destinations, the surrounding air traffic, and the most current weather information which is displayed in the cockpit via the ADS-B.
Arrivals and Departures Via NextGen Tools
Hundreds of miles away form the airport, planes wait for permission to land. Under the old ATC system, planes might circle the airport for quite awhile before they could descend, wasting fuel in the process. However, the FAA has now developed tools to safely bring aircraft to their destination airport as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Tailored Arrivals (TA) is one of these tools that allow controllers to look over an aircraft’s flight path and tailor it to avoid certain conditions that might otherwise slow it down, such as bad weather and restricted airspace.
For example, earlier this year the San Francisco International Airport saw more then 250 TAs, resulting in an estimated 27,350 gallons of fuel savings. Yet, this fuel conservation is not the only benefits NextGen brings to airlines and the environment.
In preparation for descent, the plane uses yet another on-board software tool—The Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA)—that keeps the most efficient altitude for as long as possible before the plane begins its approach to the airport.
This results in a smooth descent—rather than the stepped-down approach required by current procedures—saving time and money while reducing carbon emissions, noise, and holding patterns.
With this new tool alone Delta Airlines saved an estimated 200 pounds to 1,250 pounds of carbon and 10 gallons to 60 gallons of fuel per arrival into Atlanta’s airport during flight trials, according to FAA.
At the time of touch down, the plane’s ADS-B will provide the crew with their runway exit, taxi route, and assigned gate allowing passengers to reach the gate faste