safety and technology department update - ULW PageZone

National Air Traffic Controllers Association1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005Safety and Technology DepartmentOffice: 202-220-9818Fax: 678-391-4831 (via eFax)SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT UPDATEWEEK ENDING AUGUST 10, 2012ADS-B: Rick Heckman (PHL) is NATCA’s Article 48 Representative to the SurveillanceBroadcast Services (SBS) office. This is where the work for ADS-B originates. Mr. Heckman’supdate for this week is below;• ADSB Only HITL Development - Eric Labardini (ZHU) and Craig Bielek (A90) bothhave expressed concern over the procedures being developed for the ADSB Only HITL.They feel that too much emphasis is being placed on single point of navigation, (GPSonly) A/C being introduced into the scenario. Less than 1% of all a/c in the NAS areGPS only equipped, yet the HITL work group wants to introduce numerous GPS OnlyA/C into a scenario that will also simulate loss of Radar. This issue will be on theagenda for next week’s SBS Article 48 Work Group Meeting.• Mr. Bielek participated on the Pittsburgh ATC Separation Kick Off Telecon. This briefingcovered what will be required as they move forward with ADSB/FUSION.• Tom Zarick (ZDV) participated on the Interval Management, (IM) Safety RiskManagement Panel meeting and the Ground Based Interval Management, (GIM)Assumption Meeting held in Washington, DC. Mr. Bielek was able to join via Telecon.• Mr. Labardini, participated on the required SRMD for ADSB to be deployed in areasoutside of Houston Center, ZHU. The safety case will allow ADSB to be utilized in areaswhere radar surveillance currently exists today. This does not represent a major gain incapability for the controller, but it does allow an incremental step forward. AnotherSRMD which allows ADSB to be used in non-radar airspace is due for completionsometime next year.• The ADSB Flight Inspection at ZMP was halted early this week due to an automationissue within ERAM. It is suspected that the problem, which is causing ERAM todisregard ADSB position reports, is isolated to EAC1003. EAC1100 is expected to fixthis issue, but the timing of operational use of EAC1100 and the end of the fiscal yearare very close. The FAA’s Flight Plan goal to achieve four Centers ADSB IOCs by theend of the fiscal year will be in jeopardy if this and any other identified automation issuesare not resolved quickly.ADVANCED ELECTRONIC FLIGHT STRIPS (AEFS): NATCA’s Representative on the AEFSinitiative is Pete Slattery (CLT). Mr. Slattery files the report below for the membership;• Raleigh (RDU)o Raleigh Durham Tower controllers continue to use the AEFS with mostly goodresults.o A team of TFDM engineers and user group members visited Raleigh last week toobserve controller interaction with electronic flight strips.o Robert Utley (IAD), NATCA's TFDM representative was among the group. Hesubmitted a full report to the Safety and Technology department detailing theoutcome of the visit.

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012• Phoenix (PHX)o Phoenix ATCT has had to suspend the AEFS for an undetermined amount oftime due to technical difficulties. Specifically, the AEFS is still not receiving all theflight progress strips that the ERAM/FDIO is sending to the facility.o It is unclear as to when the AEFS engineers can permanently resolve the lack ofstrips issue. Until that occurs, the facility will not be using the system.AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATOR (ASI) COMMITTEE: Pat Keane (SCT) participated in a podcastinterview this week. Mr. Keane advises,• “The JetHead “Talk to a Controller” podcast is available on I-Tunes using the followinglink… http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-lax-radarapproach/id496859195?i=119150409.• You can also access the interview via the Jethead Website athttp://www.JetHeadLive.com/Podcast18.mp3.AIRSPACE: Jim Davis (PCT) is our National Airspace Representative. Mr. Davis forwardedthe following reports from his team for this week’s update;• Houston OAPM:o This week the Core Team and a few SMEs from ZHU and I90 met with ourenvironmental/legal team to work on the Environmental Assessment document. Itwas tedious work (spending 45 minutes debating what "efficiency" means, etc...)but productive. Several days went into early evening (contractors and supportonly, no BUEs were harmed during this production). At the end of theweek though we've made great progress towards a finished product. We plan todo another week of similar meetings in September.o The rest of the I90 SMEs were over at the TRACON working with our newlyarrived PDARS support to redesign their internal airspace. There are around 57airspace modules comprising 17 separate configurations that need to bemodified. It took a while to get up to speed so at the end of the week only 7 or sohave been completed but our MITRE lead thinks progress may accelerate aseveryone gets comfortable with the process. Keith Brown (ZHU), Houston OAPM D&I NATCA Lead• NoCal OAPMo Leads reviewed last week items, set agenda for NCT Workgroup NCT frequencies for DP/QR HITL travel scheduling Future NorCal OAPM work schedule Hazard lists for DPs (TBD) Grouping terminal procedures by “dependent” or “independent”- ongoing Updating TARGETS file from PBN office list TGS review of procedures and current NCT sectorization NCT airspace definition FY12 travel requirements Agenda for next weeko Worked on agenda items shown above:Page 2 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o NCT airspace changes: reviewed proposed procedures in TGS for possibleairspace changes to NCT sectors, Steve Hefley has a shorthand copy of requiredairspace changes due to proposed terminal procedureso QR Guide frequencies: on going with MITRE + NCT SMEso Fused radar briefing:o Briefing from Steve McCoy (NCT) on Fused Radar capability at NCT. Fusedradar is slated for implementation at NCT sometime in FY13. NCT currently has13 ASR radars that will be mosaicked together as “fused radar”o Discussions concerning proposed design of SERFR STAR due to Marina ASRradar site and whether or not with Fused Radar coming on line before STARimplementation if the SERFR STAR should be redesigned with Fused Radarcapabilities in place? NCT SMEs determined that the current SERFR design isrequired due to jump zone airspace near MRY airport, no further action neededo Below is a list of requested procedure revisions from Southwest Airlines forWorkgroup SME consideration: EMZOH (W): waypoints MYCAF, MYEAR moved slightly, MYAKL addedto tie into approaches, added waypoint 87 (name TBD) and assignedaltitudes +5000’, -7000’ to stay above MVA, removed altitude blocks fromfix SKIZM WNDSR (W): added runway transitions off of HOPTA to 27L/R, industryrequested HOPTA at 6000’, but NCT Working Group was unable to revisethe altitude and it was left at 5000’ due to TRUKN SID from SFOrestrictions DYAMD (W): ended the STAR at ARCHI instead of MEHTA; Industryrequest 7500’ at ARCHI due to SFO class B airspace, ARCHI altituderemains at 8000’ and an Industry requested speed of 210kts at ARCHI toaid in aircraft descent rate, Workgroup SMEs determined that ARCHI at8000’, speed 230kts would be needed for side-by operations at SFO SLAMR (S): built runway transitions to runways 16L/R over AZIMI at3000’, changed TENCO to +4500’ -10000’, changed ZOKEM from +5000’to +6000’FRLON (SE): changes PEGYS from 7000’ to 5500’, revision acceptedSHVVR (Rwy12): Industry requested HITTR at 4000’ speed 210kts as thefinal altitude/speed on the STAR, workgroup approved change, thecurrent restriction over JESEN at 4000’ speed 210kts will remain in placeas wellSILCN (Rwy12): Industry requested HITTR at 4000’ speed 210kts as thefinal altitude/speed on the STAR, workgroup approved change, thecurrent restriction over JESEN at 4000’ speed 210kts will remain in placeas wellBRIXX (12/W): Industry requested HITTR at 4000’ speed 210kts as thefinal altitude/speed on the STAR, workgroup was unable to change thisdue to SFO BDEGA STAR traffic, proposed BRIXX STAR will remain;BRIXX at 12000’o NCT airspace changes: (Rick Cote has SDAT file that includes proposedairspace changes)o Defined NCT airspace changes with NCT OSG (Rick Cote)Page 3 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o ATAC visualizations were providedo Discussions concerning how to proceed with NCT airspace changes; via OAPMprocess or by NCT OSG prior to OAPM procedures being implemented. Theteam decided to proceed with proposed changes first and then determine on howto proceedDYAMD STAR (W): NCT sectors-NILES, SUNOL, CEDARInitial discussions involve CEDAR 12000’ block of airspace being loweredto 10000’ and changing the underlying NILES/SUNOL airspace toaccommodate this changeCEDAR/SUNOL common northern boundary changesSHVVR STAR (W): NCT sectors-MORGAN, CASTLE, TURLOCKInitial discussions involve sector boundary changes east of new fix NIKKTand parallel to theproposed EMZOH STARSERFR STAR (W): NCT sectors-LAGUNA, MORGAN, BOLDER,HOOKS, LICKE, FREMONT, SECAInitial discussions involve FREMONT/SECA sector boundary east andparallel to proposed SERFR STARNCT airspace changes: (Rick Cote has SDAT file that includes proposedairspace changes)SILCN STAR (W): NCT airspace changes to support the SILCN STARutilizing SDAT continue with SME input and NCT OSG technical supportWNDSR STAR (W): RICHMOND/DIABLO airspace changesEMZOH STAR (SE): SUNOL, NILES, CEDAR, MULFORD, TOGA,DIABLO, TRACY - airspace changes to accommodate the OAK Rwy11transition, NCT Working group agreed to change on EMZOH STARSoutheast transition add a waypoint approximately 5nm northwest ofWNDML named JODDO (TBD) +8000’ -9000’, changed the altitude atWNDML to +7000’ -8000’ to accommodate proposed airspace changeduring Southeast configuration between NILES and SUNOL, route hasbeen saved in TGS Master file.DYAMD STAR (SE): CEDAR - NILES – SUNOL, airspace changes toaccommodate the SFO Rwy19 transition• Steve Hefley (NCT), Article 48 Rep., Northern California OAPM• DC OAPMo We implemented the newly published FRDMM, TRUPS and GIBZZ OPD RNAVSTARs, along with the BLUES and RNLDI RNAV SIDs for the Washington Dullesand Washington National Airports. Flight crews appeared to be well aware of theprocedures and complied with published altitude windows and speeds asdesigned. In addition, ATC operations ran very well although, WashingtonCenter (ZDC) and Potomac TRACON (PCT) experienced some minorPreferential Arrival Route (PAR) issues between ZID into ZDC, it was mitigatedquickly. Other minor issues reported by the controller workforce and Industryobservers was improper phraseology by flight crews when checking in from theEn Route environment to the Terminal environment.Page 4 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o We had team members at ZDC, PCT, and ZOB as well as running a continuoustelecom for other affected facilities.o The Team continued providing support to all affected facilities (ZDC, PCT, ZID,ZOB, IAD and Command Center) by procedures worked earlier in the week. Bennie Hutto, Article 48 Rep, DC OAPM• NY/NJ/PHL Redesign:o Most of the team is on summer leave schedules.o ZDC and ZBW are still working on finalizing details for the upcoming portableHITLs in late August and early September. ZJX will send representatives toobserve the ZDC HITL and be on hand to assess downstream effects of thedesign.o The PDARS/ISIM lab has been set up in the RO at JFK. We anticipate a furtherdemo of submitted scenarios the week of August 27th. First run (N90 scenario) isscheduled for mid-September. Timon Kalpaxis (N90), Article 48 Rep, NY/NJ/PHL Redesign• ATL OAPMo Monday the team traveled to MITRE in Washington, DC for our HITL scrub.Monday afternoon we observed two scenarios run without pilots. Minor changeswere noted for the MITRE engineers to correct.o Tuesday morning the team observed two additional scenarios without pilots andmade corrections to the data where needed. Tuesday afternoon we ran twoscenarios with pilots. Overall Tuesday was a productive day.o Wednesday Mr. Russell attended the bi-weekly environmental telcon and thenational OAPM telcon. MITRE had communication issues that caused delays, sothe group was only able to run 3 scenarios.o Thursday MITRE had numerous issues with the HITL platform that resulted in theteam only “running” 2 scenarios. Those that we did run went very well. We also 3pilot test benches imbedded in the scenarios that allow pseudo aircraft to beflown by pilots and receive commands from the controllers. The aircraft usedwere the A320, B737-800, and E170. When we run the actual HITL, we will haverepresentatives from Delta and ASA in attendance to fly the test benches.o Friday morning the team ran two scenarios and then traveled back to Atlanta.o Next week the Core team and POCs are back in DC to help MITRE polish thefinal product for our HITL run on the 20 th . Also, ZDC will run 2 scenarios on themorning of the 20 th to look at connectivity between the Potomac, Charlotte, andAtlanta OAPM projects. Jeff Russell (ZTL), Article 48 Representative, Atlanta OAPM• Florida Study Team:o The Florida Study Team met with the facilities and industry partners at thesecond outreach meeting in Miami. We briefed the group on our ideas for thenew procedures for the STARS (OPD’s) and SIDS. The study team will be backat MITRE for the next three weeks to implement the changes the facilitiesrequested and to prepare for the final outreach meeting at the beginning ofSeptember. Jeff Woods (I90), NATCA National OAPM Study Team Lead• CLT OAPM:Page 5 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o The Team travelled on Monday with the Core Team meeting in the afternoon toplan the week.o Representatives from the PBN office gave a briefing on Q-Routes and then theTeam worked on various Q-Route issues that are part of OAPM. Progress wasmade and these will be turned over to the PBN office to connect the routesoutside of our scope and to shepherd them through the rule making process.o Significant discussions were held on the pros and cons of Charlotte taking16,000 feet. The Centers, Charlotte Approach and the Industry Partnerparticipated. The Centers and our Industry Partner favor the move. The CharlotteTeam has some concerns and they will discuss this internally and report backnext week.o The Team spent time going through each procedure working on holding andnaming. Progress is being made in all areas.o Leads participated in various TELCONS and dealt with the usual administrativeissues.o Team members traveled home on Friday.o Next week we meet at ZJX. Bob Szymkiewicz (CLT), Article 48 Rep, CLT OAPMDATACOMM: Chad Geyer (ZLA) represents NATCA on the DataComm initiative. Mr. Geyer’sreport for this week follows;• Called into Trials Weekly Schedule telcon• Attended DataComm Flight Plan 2012 meeting. This meeting is discussing theinteraction between the new ICAO Flight Plan filing and the DCL applications on theTDLS system.• Called into the TDLS Thin Spec and GUI telcon. This telcon will be held every Tuesdayto discuss CHI requirements of the production DCL system and the Trials system.• Called into the DTAP TIM to discuss build applications on the Trials system• Called in to the Article 48 telcon• Began initial discussion of training, the phases that will need to implemented, and howwe will have to cover transition and attrition training. Since IFCET will be programmingthe new DCL system and updating TDLS the discussions will be centered on building onto the delta training that is already available and how to add a DataComm and TDLSapplication specialist training for the controllers.• Attended Weekly Trials Test Activity ReviewERAM: Jim Swatek (ZAB), NATCA’s ERAM Technology Lead provides the update below forthis week on ERAM;• Status Update on EAC1100 and ICAOo ICAO’s risk reduction approach through early discovery, test across all FAAautomation platforms, and tests with multiple filers remains on schedule.EAC1100 site exit briefing was held 8/7/12. The ERAM, and more broadly theAgency, are in a good position to meet the mixed-mode goal of 9/15 and fullycompliant goal of 11/15.• Build SchedulePage 6 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o Earlier this spring Article 48/11 agreed to introduce room in the schedule forpotential EAC1100 “delta” builds. Packaging decisions for these builds will bebased primarily on the principle on meeting the ICAO-compliant milestones.Some content has been packaged into the first delta build, and the schedule isstill under analysis. Any additional delta builds have not yet been packaged.Additional information will be forthcoming once available.• There were some issues this week with facilities that were on host having problems withtheir neighbors on ERAM. Reports were several dozen flights per day were not postinguntil the handoff was accepted. Lockheed Martin (LM) is working on the fix.ERAM CHI TEAM: Ray Spickler (ZKC) is the NATCA lead for the ERAM CHI Team. Below ishis report for this week;• Reviewed a question from Lockheed Martin (LM) on the use of “resume normal” CHI forGIM. LM believed a problem existed. There is no problem with the current design andwe advised them.• We commented on another GIM question regarding TBFM and ERAM conformance.The systems calculate conformance differently. TBFM will always send a speed toERAM even if the flight is out of conformance. When should ERAM display a newspeed?• The team’s opinion is that ERAM will only display the new speed if ERAM is inconformance. That way, grossly incorrect speeds that could be issued by TBFM will notdisplay. This also prevents the need for other free/flat track indicators. Controllers willlearn that if the flight is in free track that GIM speeds will not be generated. They willknow that if they want good speeds they must update the track.• We reviewed tools that are part of the Future Enroute Work Station (FEWS) to see whichones we want to receive further development at LM for incorporation into D Pos andERAM. These have been previously mentioned in my reports at various times, and wehave discussed their use at LM meetings over the past year. However, as of yet theyhave not received formal development by LM. The ones we selected for furtherdevelopment are:o Data block flyouts for 2 nd and 3 rd level display of data from the target area. Weinitially see these used for point out and flight plan data display.o Enhanced route display, for display of fix names along the route and the ability tointeract with these nodes. This also can develop the transmission of auto-loadflight plans that contain lat/long and fix/radial/distance fixes via data comm.o Alternative track indicators, to display various aircraft states that the single slashcannot accommodate.o Data block manager, to facilitate an enhanced auto offset experience, toimplement initially for the D Pos only.o Two character sector ID’s, to eliminate the need for use of alpha-containing CID’sat the sector.o R side message acknowledgement (not really a FEWS tool, but an oftenmentioned enhancement that has not been covered yet).• We reviewed the tech center DataComm demo to examine the CHI they have beendeveloping. They currently use a blue highlighting of different areas of the data block toshow that an amendment is pending for that area. This blue would potentially conflictPage 7 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012with Nexrad blue. Ben and his team at the tech center are working on the use of adifferent color.• In general, DataComm wants to use a lot of color to indicate various message states.This may be a problem with the limitations that could be imposed in the future by thecolor palette that is being developed. NATCA RVP’s Victor Santore and Phil Barbarelloare taking the lead for NATCA on this issue.• The complexity of multiple pending messages was discussed. DataComm requirementsevidently allow for this. But this is not allowed in ATOP. There was some discussionwithin the group of whether multiple pending messages should be allowed, at leastduring initial DataComm deployment. This is not CHI, but is a concern of some in thegroup.• We obtained lab time on the mid shifts to see some of the changes to the D Pos thatwere made after incorporating the technical comments from the HITL’s. The changeswe agreed to in June were completed and were observed in the scenarios. Thechanges from the July meeting were not incorporated yet, so those have not beenobserved in a lab environment. Hopefully we can obtain some lab time on our next tripto the tech center to see these changes on the glass. But a separate trip is not plannedat this time.• The first night was spent going through a list of the changes so that they would all bereviewed. The second night we ran problems using some pilots to simulate actual traffic.The team was pleased with the changes that have been made. A few minor commentswere given to the FAA will be sent back to LM.• The CHI Team’s late August meeting was cancelled by the FAA. The next scheduledmeeting is at LM in Rockville, MD, September 24-28.FACILITIES:• GSP - The department continues our work with the GSP local and their desire to haveequipment installed at one of their Federal Contract Tower (FCT). This FCT is locatedonly 5.4 miles from another FCT so equipment such as D-BRITE, ATIS and FDIO wouldassist the controllers at GSP. The main roadblock in this effort is the low traffic count atDonaldson Center (GYH). The agency does have minimum traffic numbers when itcomes to installing equipment unless there is a safety issue or a defined need thatwarrants a waiver to the traffic minima.GOVERNMENT:• GAO: Dale Wright (S&T) participated in a telcon with the General Accounting Office(GAO) to discuss facilities and equipment. This study is just getting started and themeeting was set up by Jose Ceballos and his staff. They will be the lead on this andthere will be involvement by several members of the S&T staff, committees andrepresentatives.INTERNATIONAL:• IFATCA: The agency was advised this week that Mel Davis (SCT) has replaced BillHoltzman (ZDC) on the IFATCA Technical Operations Committee (TOC). Mr. HoltzmanPage 8 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012is coming up on retirement. NATCA once again thanks Mr. Holtzman for his great workfor us when serving on the IFATCA TOC.• SESAR - The Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) is the European NextGen.Mark O’Neil (S&T) has been monitoring the work on this for NATCA. This week he hasprovided their annual report for the membership. The report still maintains there will bea 50% reduction of ATM costs by 2020. The report is available on the S&T Webpage atNATCAnet.• AUSTRALIA: The department discussed NATCA’s experience with the Aviation SafetyReporting System (ASRS) program. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) inAustralia requested information on airspace issues and how the ASRS worked. Theyhave been provided with instructions on how to access the ASRS Online search.LOW COST GROUND SURVEILLANCE (LCGS): Rich Burton (SJC) is NATCA’s Article 48Representative for the LCGS initiative. Mr. Burton continues to review the Off-site/On-site Techreport for MHT and will report any discrepancies or concerns when complete. Other LCGSinformation follows;• MHT Statuso Off-site tech report will be available by end of the weeko Moved Caroline’s on-site visit for continued observations to 8/14o Contracts – Awaiting response from CO regarding executed DO 2 Mod 2• SJC Statuso New CWP has been installedo Caroline and Bruce will provide status on Op Evalso Continuing to track lease issueo HITT & SRA proposed to complete majority of changes because they aresoftware related. Need to evaluate whether we want to hold off until after JRC.o ARTS will be moving to STARS. Equipment installed 3/31. Systems will run inparallel until final cutover in October 2013. Need to discuss this with the vendor.In preparation for this change we need to begin the paperwork process.• LGB Statuso Tentatively ready to go with Sensis onsite week of 8/20. Will be finalized by endof the week.o ARTS has been adapted and waiting on connection from Sensis.o T1 line has been ordered and should arrive around 9/15.• RNO Statuso Quick look report is ready for release.o Held Shadow Ops kickoff meeting with AT Mgr. and Tech Ops on 7/31.o Began core Shadow Ops on 8/8. They will continue through the end of themonth.• GEG Statuso Issue has been resolved and system is functional.o Interface Testingo No updatesMINIMUM VECTORING ALTITUDE (MVA): While at the AUVSI Conference NATCA wasapproached to comment on a potential proposal on minimum vectoring altitude (MVA) areas.Page 9 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012The issue is based on concerns from pilots they are being descended below the MVA whencontrollers “anticipate” their rate of descent into the lower MVA. The department has a surveyfor controllers at the link below. Please take the time to complete the survey.• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFoxdGF0S0JTUFR1OWJPOW92OEVIZGc6MQNAS INFORMATION DISPLAY SYSTEM (NIDS): NATCA’s Representative to the NIDSProgram is Rich Fuga (PIT). Mr. Fuga’s update to the membership is below;• All Weather Incorporation’s (AWI) cost/schedule proposal for the Minimum SystemRequirement (MSR) changes is due to the FAA August 13.• SAT at BNA:o Program Office (PO) continues to focus a lot of attention on achieving their FlightPlan Goal of a SAT at Nashville Tower (BNA) by September 30, 2012.o After much discussion within the PO, the name has been changed from a“conditional Site Acceptance Test” to a “System Acceptance Test” (I guess in thePO’s eyes, this still meets the Flight Plan Goal of running a SAT at BNA by9/30/12).o The Quality Reliability Officer (QRO) for the program reminded the PO that a realSAT (Site Acceptance Test) cannot be run until after Developmental Testing (DT)and Operational Testing is complete. The QRO also advised that a Formal SiteAcceptance Test will still have to be completed at BNA which will add cost to theprogram.• Joint Resources Council (JRC) Briefing:o The PO is working on putting another briefing package together for the JRC.This package is to be completed by September 21.o The PO is to meet with the JRC sometime in October or November for a “go/nogo” decision on the IDSR program.• Simulators:o FAA 2 nd level engineering is confident they will have the interface simulatorssufficiently developed for the Air Traffic training lab at the FAAAC by August 20(in time for the Database Administrator (DBA) User Manual Review/Validation).Since “real” data will not be available until the system is operational, DBAs needsimulated data in order to build a system’s database.o Touch screen monitor drift:o WJHTC and 2 nd Level Engineering (OKC) both have noticed a “drift” issue withthe General Digital (GD) touch screen monitors. GD believes they have fixed theproblem. This issue will be retested as part of the full regression of DT ProblemTrouble Reports (PTRs).• NIDS Full Load Testing:o There was more discussion this week about “NIDS Full Load Testing”.o The Functional Performance Requirement (FPR) for NIDS requires a system tobe able to run 200 workstations at the same time. Normally the way this wouldbe tested would be to hook up 200 workstations and run all interfaces on them.Unfortunately, there are not 200 workstations assembled (and there is no plan toPage 10 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012assemble that many before an In Service Decision (ISD) is made by the FAAafterOT).o The PO and WJHTC are trying to determine how to run this test. Apparently, thisis a test that can be run at a later date.o WJHTC suggests perhaps running this test on the SCT system (which will be oneof the first ten systems deployed- and one of the largest NIDS systems). TheWJHTC could then use the data received from the Full Load Test at SCT toextrapolate whether a system of 200 workstations would pass.NEXTGEN: NATCA’s National NextGen Representative is Mel Davis (SCT). Mr. Davis’ reportfor this week is below;• Attended:o Unmanned Vehicle Systems evento NASA Advisory Committee meeting• Coordinated with:o FAA UAS Program Officeo FAA Flight Procedures Office on upcoming meetingo FAA NextGen Office on Segment Bravo planningo NASA on Terminal Meteringo NASA on Research Transition Teams (RTT)o ATCA on annual DC evento NATCA S&T on ESNAo NATCA S&T on Capture Teamso NATCA S&T on DoT IG PBN reporto New PASS representative to NextGen• Worked on:o Greener Skies Over Seattle projecto IFATCA TOC DocumentsNORMAL OPERATION SAFETY SURVEY (NOSS): The department coordinated with theFacReps at AUS and SAT to see how the selection of observers was progressing. NATCA hasalmost completed our commitments to the program at this stage. Training is tentativelyscheduled to begin on September 10 th at SAT.OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND SCHEDULING (OPAS): Jen McCoy (PHL) is the OPASArticle 48 Representative for NATCA. Ms. McCoy’s report for this week is below;• This week, the OPAS team continued to work through the issues/enhancements listoriginating from the three test facilities.o There have been over 200 feedback forms submitted from the test sites. Everymorning, the team reviews and prioritizes the suggestions. So far during the test,about 40 of these have been addressed through bug fixes or enhancements.o Program updates continue to be deployed weekly.• Also this week, training was provided to management at DCA, where OPAS continues torun as the primary scheduling tool.• On August 11 th , OPAS was turned on at SCT.Page 11 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o Controllers there will use it to make requests for pay period 20 and beyond, andwill transition to it as the primary scheduling program on September 9 th .OPPOSITE DIRECTION OPERATIONS: On August 6 th a meeting was held with the FAA todiscuss opposite direction operations. This meeting was a result of at least two operationalerrors during weather and operations requiring opposite direction takeoffs and landings. Unlessa facility has specific procedures for opposite direction operations the use of opposite directionoperations are suspended. NATCA will be participating in a working group to develop nationalprocedures. This group started meeting on August 7 th and NATCA is represented by thefollowing:• James Keith (D10)• Micah Maziar (TOL)• Scott Pressley (BHM)A national telcon was held on Friday, August 10 th hosted by NATCA EVP Trish Gilbert. ATO-Terminal VP Walter Cochran briefed the interim guidance and then opened the telcon forquestions. There were many questions but the telcon did get the information out and it easedsome of the fears several facilities had. ATO-Terminal and ATO-Safety hope to have theirNational Order completed within 30 days. Mack Alexander from ATO-Safety stressed howimportant is was for each facility to send their unique traffic situations via email to 9-AJI-HQ-ComplianceServiceGroup-ATOSafety/AWA/FAA. Once a facility has their opposite directionprocedures approved by ATO-Safety the facility is required to brief the controllers via a face-tofacebriefing.RNAV: Dennis Kelly (PHL) is NATCA’s Article 48 Representative to RNAV initiatives. Mr.Kelly’s report for this week is below;• ATL – RPTOR1 still in limited use and probably only 50% of the time on an Eastoperation.• CLT – This telcon is to discuss the reestablishing use of the KELLS2 OPD for USAiraircraft only. A LOP was drafted as to how the procedure will be handled betweenZDC/ZTL/CLT. Basically, CLT and ZTL will decide when it will be in use, TMA will beinstituted, ZDC will sequence as they normally do to MAJIK/MAYOS with a crossingrestriction and switch to ZTL in time for them to issue the descend via clearance. Thisprocedure could be terminated by either side when deemed necessary. What thismeans is that initially, as with all new OPDs, more spacing will have to be added forcompression and safety issues and later tweaked closer to be more efficient, especiallyhere for CLT, for they are mixing a good amount of non-participators. This means initialdelays to be pushed from ZTL to ZDC to ZNY. As usual there will be squawking ofunnecessary delays and possible loss of throughput but that’s what needs to be done ifOPDs are to be successful. Some initial loss of efficiency to get the greater gain in thelong run. This slated to be run in early October with the new published public procedurein January 2013.• DEN – Still having telcons on this quickly approaching project in November and January.At least 35 telcons that Mr. Kelly knows about in the last year and a half and they are stilltweaking some proceduresPage 12 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012• HOU OAPM – IAD/I90 adds 3 RNAV SIDs, 4 Conventional STARs, 6 RNPs and 9 ILStransitions to an already massive project.• PCT/ZDC - Bennie Hutto (PCT) and Dan Glancey report the new OPDs are workingextremely well. There have been some normal phraseology and misunderstandings butall in all they are pleased so far.• PWM – from Fac Rep Derek Weaver who was reporting on some issues with new RNAVSIDs.o “General comments I've heard from users and controllers: The NUBLE1departure on a RY11 configuration is a lot of extra flying miles since it involvesturning away from the first fix. Nobody is comfortable withdeparting aircraftmaking turns on their own, especially with the aforementioned built in conflictswith the procedures”. Why the first part of this is significant is that at airportswithout very high volume, the RNAV SID structure is not always the most efficientand can actually be more inefficient for both sides. A recent international studyshowed that there is only about a 10% expected gain in fuel savings through theuse of continuous climb procedures because we are already very efficient atgetting aircraft off, up and out of our hair. Airlines are becoming moreincreasingly aware of this and at many airports would rather stay as is.Examples are PHL, CLT, MCO and many more. They have the capability to pullPDARs data and can show longer routes post to pre RNAV routes. Please beaware of this.• NAPT notes – A lot of procedures were moved from their original pub dates for variousreasons from not meeting deadline dates to ATC/PBN request and because they arenow associated with OAPM. They include DCA, ROA, CRW, PDX, MCO, and OKC. Acopy of the latest notes were provided to the department.• Current OPDs in use at : ATL, ANC, BOS, BWI, DCA, IAD ,MEM, PHX. There areothers that are either limited use or lateral only due to issues. If Mr. Kelly missedanyone, please let him know.• Phraseology – The new Climb Via, and Speed phraseology, which applies to descendvia as well, will be in effect August 15 th . Mr. Kelly has had some inquiries as to what todo if this or that is said or will the pilot comply or someone doesn’t necessarily agree withthe new phraseology. While there are normal glitches that will come out with a bigchange, Mr. Kelly thinks the focus should be on knowing and abiding by the phraseologyas written and not to come up with your own take on how things should be said. Certainpilots groups are squawking about how this or that should be changed but this is not thetime for that. The emphasis should be on understanding the rules and using themproperly. Any effort to change things now is fruitless. This phraseology has been in theworks for years, has been fully vetted in the DCP process and all sorts of groups,including NATCA, have had their chance to give input. Any new ideas will have to behandled through the normal channels which are cumbersome and surely the processshould be streamlined but there is a reason for that in that you don’t want kneejerkreactions and possibly make a situation worse. Of course, if there are situations thatcome up that the new phraseology does not cover or there are unforeseencircumstances, then let us know.Page 13 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012RUNWAY SAFETY: Ric Loewen (DFW) is NATCA’s Runway Safety Action Team (RSAT) andRunway Status Lights (RWSL) representative. Mr. Loewen’s activities for the past week arebelow;• Mr. Loewen began the week with another RWSL meeting. As mentioned before, theProgram Office (PO) is planning for an In Service Decision (ISD) in a couple of months.Mr. Loewen has yet to see any resolution of any of the issues raised by the InitialOperational Assessment (IOA) (copy provided to the department) although he knowsthey are being worked at various levels.• Then, it was off to DC for the ALPA safety forum where Mr. Loewen was a panelistdiscussing a variety of runway safety related issues. And, sporadic contact with variousERC members regarding tail wind operations, supplemented wind information on ATISs,and procedures at APA.• Next week begins with an Labor Relations meeting in Chicago, an RWSL briefing at CLT(by phone), and an RWSL briefing at DFW.TERMINAL AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION REPLACEMENT (TAMR): Mitch Herrickrepresents NATCA on the TAMR initiative. Mr. Herrick and his team’s report follows;• Weekly Program Leadership Meeting. - Mr. Herrick participated in the weekly programleadership review. Each week the managers of the various branches of TAMR,Software, Testing and Deployment meet to discuss the coming week’s activities andinitiatives. These discussions involve software for existing STARS facilities currentlyworking/testing R25 and R25A as well as the TAMR build software currently known asE-1. The E-1 software includes the CARTS functionality being included into STARS aswell as all new STARS software functionality such as fusion and ATPA. Eventually theTAMR/E-1 software will become just STARS software and all facilities will have thesame functionality. This will include DOD as well as ARTS IIE facilities.• TAMR Video. Last week Mr. Herrick traveled to the FAA Technical Center where heparticipated with TAMR Program Manager Jeff Yarnell in the filming of a TAMR publicrelations video that deals with the differences in STARS and CARTS, what the STARSfacilities will see after software convergence and what CARTS facilities can expect tosee in the new system (STARS) that will be in their facility soon.• Tech Center Relationship. While at the Tech Center Mr. Herrick met with TerminalFacilities Operational Support (TFOS) Manager Joan Somogy to discuss NATCAactivities at the Tech Center. Ms. Somogy indicated that she is very pleased with thelevel of involvement of our members and their professionalism as well as insight whileconducting testing activities there. Mr. Herrick again reiterated that President Rinaldihas charged us all with being part of the solution and helping the Agency be successful.He committed to her once again to continue using motivated and quality testers to helpidentify problems with software and equipment.• NATCA Members at the Tech Center and Key Sites. We have an very large numberof folks that have been traveling to the Tech Center on a very regular basis to work onboth CARTS and STARS software as well as CARTS in STARS (CIS) testing. Ourtesters work extremely long hours and put everything they have into helping the Agencyand the results are really impressive. Thank you to everyone doing the testing andanyone volunteering to get involved in the future. This is an extremely important part ofPage 14 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012developing a quality product and Mr. Herrick believes that along with the testing activitiesand the key sit activities currently going on at SDF, SCT, I90, PHL, MSY ourmembership is really making a difference. Thank you to all of you.• Keyboard Issues. We continue to work on solutions with Industry, Vendors and the siteat D10 to work through what can only be described as some "surprising" issues withkeyboards. At the heart of the matter is the STARS keyboards failing and behaving in apeculiar manner. Clearing themselves, enter button being activated inadvertently, Keycovers popping off with little or no effort are some of the issues. At the heart of thematter is the manufacturer Orbit has recently increased their production significantly andit appears that they have a quality control problem. They have also changed somebonding materials. We continue to have telcons every other day. This issue has theattention of the upper management in the FAA, Raytheon and Orbit and every effort andresource is being used to fix this issue. This issue could not have been foreseen andhas really put pressure on many of our activities and milestones.• Human Factors work on Datablocks. Along with Dan Ellenberger (A80) Mr. Herrickattended a day-long meeting on the development of a board that will be charged withmanaging the incorporation of new program information into the automation system andhow it will be displayed on the radar screen. This was a preliminary meeting and theyattempted to identify various stakeholders with interests in this issue as well as possibleprograms they may eventually want "a piece of the data block." They received a briefingfrom some ERAM folks and discussed the ERAM CHI group methodology and how touse and improve that process within terminal. The group plans to reach out to theidentified groups and programs and schedule a meeting to further identify the scope andideas of this initiative.• NATCA TAMR Reps Telcon. Once again the TAMR SME's from around the countrymet via telcon to discuss a requirement and a gap in the way the CARTS systems andSTARS systems work that will need to be managed. TAMR3 Segment 1 Leader DougPeterson (D10) conducted the telcon and the members discussed the Full Data Blockand Limited Data Block intensities and sizes and the way they are adjusted in the twosystems. It was decided that the current way that STARS accomplishes this will besatisfactory for the first two sites (D10 and NCT) however we will eventually need to addsome additional functionality to STARS to mirror the CARTS functions prior totransitioning A80 and beyond. Eventually all facilities will have this functionality.• BiWeekly TAMR Risk Board. Attended this biweekly event where all potential risks arediscussed and reviewed. These can be hardware, software, personnel, training,schedule, vendor, testing, timelines and anything else identified as a possible risk to theprogram.• TAMR3 Segment 1 (Submitted by Segment 1 Lead Doug Peterson (D10))o NATCA sent three SMEs, Steven Harsoe (T75), Steve Kelley (PCT), and BrianReddy (D01), to Atlantic City for the final scrub of the E1 drop 4 softwaredelivery. The team wrote a number of Discrepancy Reports covering EFSL andkeyboard malfunctionso Segment 1 SMEs met on a telephone conference to discuss CARTS to STARSgap #391, Control of Owned FDB intensity. We forwarded our position to theagency for discussion at the next Requirements meeting.Page 15 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o Coordinated for two NATCA SMEs to visit Raytheon Aug 22-23 to preview thenew STARS functions for Remote Pilot Operator training workstation and theDisplay of Point-Out Count.o Coordinated with CARTS Article 48 rep Dan Ellenberger concerning NATCA'sposition on display of Radar Only target symbology in fusion mode.o Dialed into two of the D10/keyboard failure telcons. Installation of TAMR CARTS-In-STARS keyboards and displays into the Dallas Fort Worth TRACON has beenrescheduled three times now due to keyboard malfunctions. The new proposedinstallation date is undetermined and indefinitely postponed until we can either fixthe somewhat ambiguous problems in the existing keyboards, or sourcekeyboards from another source. After a resolution is established we will need aminimum of three weeks of testing in the ETG environment before attemptingoperational deployment.• TAMR3 Segment 2 (Submitted by Segment 2 Lead Mark Griffin (BOI))o Team members are looking at a good way to disseminate information andcommunicate with facilities in the future. There have been many questionsposed that we are unable to answer at this time, such as where a particularfacility is on the replacement schedule (Waterfall). Once the FID happens,expect to hear more about this exciting project as we move forward. Regardlessof what you may have heard at your facility, the ARTS IIE facilities will receive aSTARS product as replacement automation equipment - this is a reality!o Team members have participated in more telcons to consider risk, and arelooking forward to FID (Final Investment Decision) later this month. At that timewe will know which of the options below will be used. One for One replacement with an entire 4 rack STARS system One for One replacement with STARS Elite which is essentially the sameas number 1 except that it is 2 rack system 512nm Plane Front Room/Back Room where there would be a series offacilities that act as "Host TRACONs" and process the data that would besent to "Satellite TRACONS" that have only the radar displays but noprocessors. Training continues to be looked at - site surveys have been sent to eachfacility to determine their needs when it comes time to train on the newequipment.TOWER FLIGHT DATA MANAGEMENT (TFDM): Robert Utley (IAD) is the union’srepresentative to the TFDM project. Mr. Utley forwarded the information below for this week’supdate;• Attended site visit of RDU Tower and TRACON (RDU) on August 8th and 9th.o Attendees: Karl Kaufman – HSI Incorporated; TFDM CHI Support Michael McNeill - Metron Aviation; TFDM System Eng. Support Robert Utley – FAA; NATCA National TFDM Representative Kimberly Brooks – FAA; Terminal Strategic Planning and Performance(AJT-32)o Purpose:Page 16 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o Details:To observe the use of the AEFS system, with a focus on the interaction ofelectronic flight strips between CD/FD, Ground Control, Local Control andthe Tracon.We were greeted by Jim Rary, FAA Training Specialist and ATCS EdSanabi, the RDU AEFS Point of Contact (POC). The meeting began withan overview of the AEFS local training program developed by Mr. Raryand Mr. Sanabi followed by a move to the TRACON to observeinteraction between the Tower and Departure controller. The group thenascended to the Tower Cab to observe the AEFS system in action. Theteam was able to observe and interact with the controllers. The groupasked questions and took notes on what the controller likes/dislikes andexpectations were of the system. The system is very well received by thecontrollers. They stated on numerous occasions that they would not wantto go back to the old paper system. They were very impressed by theability to move flight data between positions with much less coordinationthan before. The information that was available to any position at any timeproved that this system can do no less than enhance efficiency andsituational awareness. The team was able to take numerous screen shotsof the system for assistance in the storyboarding effort.The data collected from this visit will be invaluable to the TFDMprogram to help refine the TFDM storyboarding process scheduled forSeptember, October and November of this year. It will also be very helpfulto refine requirements for use of electronic flight data in an operationalenvironment.TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ADVISOR (TMA): Chuck McAleavy (ZAU) serves as NATCA’sRepresentative to TMA. Mr. McAleavy’s report for the membership is below;• v3.14, Display Window Manager (DWM); issues that were identified in early-looks andKey-Site in ZMA are being worked. Pending successful fixes the next release should beavailable in October.• IDAC (Integrated Departure Arrival Capability); no meeting this week, the week ofAugust 13 th our Tower and En-Route SMEs will attend demonstrations at LockheedMartin.• Delay Countdown Timer (DCT); the Ops Team met with NASA representatives andTMA/TBFM Program Office Representative this week and expressed concern in the lackof progress in correcting DCT behavior. The TMA/TBFM Program Office has promisedsupport in correcting trajectory issues identified by the Field and NASA. There will be ameeting next Thursday to discuss intentions and implementation of fixes identified.• Terminal Spacing and Sequencing (TSS); Mr. McAleavy attended a demonstrationand meeting this week at NASA AMES on a prototype scheduling and support tool forTerminal Controllers. A report will be provided to the NATCA NextGen representatives.• Mr. McAleavy will be in ACY for IDAC the week of August 13 th .• Carryover Itemso National TMA Training Group; No updates on the next step for “Training” wereprovided this week.Page 17 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012o DTW Metering; no updateUNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAV): NATCA attended the Association of UnmannedVehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Conference in Las Vegas this week. Dale Wright andChris Stephenson from the S&T Department were joined by NATCA’s NextGen RepresentativeMelvin Davis (SCT). The conference was very informative and meetings were held with theFAA along with some industry groups to discuss air traffic controller involvement in UAS for bothdomestic and international operations. A full report will be posted to the Safety and TechnologyWebpage.• An article on the event is available at this link - http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fidrone-expo-20120809,0,4213725.storyVOICE SWITCH (NVS): Gini Briggs (SGF) is the union’s representative on the NAS VoiceSwitch (NVS). Ms. Briggs’ report for this week is below;• The NVS contract award announcement was supposed to have taken place this week,but it has been pushed to next week.• Ms. Briggs continued researching the RDVS voice switch system problems at D10. Thefacility has apparently taken all the necessary steps to ask for help with the issues, butsomewhere between there and headquarters is a disconnect. Ms. Briggs will continue togather whatever information she can to try and help them get this problem resolved.One of the biggest issues (besides the ever-present and obvious one of budget) is thatthere is only one voice switch system currently in production and still under a contract,and that system wasn't meant to provide service to a facility the size of D10.• The headset splitter issue seemed to have stalled out, with everyone apparently waitingfor "someone" to do something and, consequently, no one has done anything. With thehelp of NATCA engineer Don Smith, we are doing our best to get things rolling and keepthis issue from stagnating. As it happens, one of Mr. Smith’s major roles is handling theengineering issues with all of the headsets and handsets throughout the NAS, so hisexpertise is invaluable.• Ms. Briggs attended a Comparative Safety Assessment Workgroup meeting on Tuesdayand Wednesday. The purpose of this workgroup is to address an issue first raised byAOV in 2008 about radar identification of aircraft on departure. Since 2008, AOV hasrepeatedly been violating facilities during audits for using auto-acquisition of radartargets on departure as the sole method of radar identification. They contend that doingso violates FAAO 7110.65, Paragraph 5-3-2. Terminal Operations disagrees with AOV'sinterpretation so a comparative safety assessment was mandated in order to determineif there are any safety-related hazards that pertain to the use of auto-acquisition as amethod of radar identification compared to notification by use of physical strips,electronic strips, rolling or boundary calls, or departure release coordination.o The final results of the workgroup will be published later, but the bottom line wasthat the group agrees with Terminal Operations' interpretation but feels that rewordingthe applicable paragraphs of the 7110.65 would clarify and resolve thisdispute. The group worked on writing up the suggested changes to the verbiageof the .65 so they could be included in our final report.Page 18 of 19

Safety and Technology UpdateWeek ending August 10, 2012• Ms. Briggs will be out of the office for the next two weeks, returning on August 27th. Shewill have access to email and will check it at least daily.Dale WrightDirector, Safety and TechnologyPage 19 of 19