The Modular Incorporation of Digital Taxi Charts into the Air Traffic Management System
Date Published: 1992-10-01
Paper Number:922065
DOI: 10.4271/922065
Citation:
Terpstra, J., "The Modular Incorporation of Digital Taxi Charts into the Air Traffic Management System," SAE Technical Paper 922065, 1992, doi:10.4271/922065.
The air transport industry is having to cope with substantial increases in traffic. This increase in air traffic over recent years has greatly exceeded most traffic forecasts. In many areas, it has stretched the whole system to its full capacity. Today, the ground traffic on various airports evolves as a capacity overload. It is anticipated that future air traffic development will only serve to exacerbate this situation.
The characteristic reverberations of the ground bottleneck condition are airline system delays, higher fuel consumption and a general inclination toward an increase of runway incursions and taxi accidents.
A great deal of research, time and effort has been attached to the resolution of the airport ground traffic dilemma in the past. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is presently in the process of developing and implementing the Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (SMGCS). SMGCS is a strategy for United States airports conducting air carrier takeoff, landing, or taxing operations in visibility conditions less than 1,200 feet runway visual range (1200 RVR).
SMGCS also provides guidance to airport operators seeking approval of air carrier takeoff and landing minimums below 600 feet runway visual range (600 RVR). At properly equipped airports, the Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (SMGCS) will enable airlines and operators of United States airports to gain approval of takeoff and landing minimums down to visibilities as low as 300 feet runway visual range (300 RVR).
Predicated on the criteria advanced in the draft Surface Movement Guidance and Control System advisory circular, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has been granted interim takeoff approval down to 400 RVR. Alaska Airlines is the air carrier conducting the 400 RVR takeoffs with aircraft equipped with the Flight Dynamics Heads Up Display (HUD). Several aircraft types are equipped with fail operational autoland systems and have been approved for landing minimums down to 300 RVR and one aircraft type, B-727s with Heads-Up-Displays (HUDs), have been approved for takeoffs in visibility conditions of 300 RVR. Today however, these minimums cannot be utilized at most airports due to the current RVR system limitations, taxiway centerline lighting, and the lack of nationally standardized low visibility surface movement, guidance, and control systems.
Although the enhancements to airport systems and operations required by the Surface Movement Guidance and Control System advisory circular will enable low visibility operations, there must also be an improvement in the universal safety of aircraft taxi operations in all weather conditions by improving ground navigation capabilities through advanced technology. Jeppesen proposes a modular implementation and multi-iterated plan which will combine the use of an Enhanced Vision System (EVS), a Data Link Traffic Information and Communication System (DLK), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and a Digital Taxi Chart Database.
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