Current terminal operations consist largely of vectoring of aircraft
by controllers from the terminal radar approach control (TRACON) boundary
to the final approach. The nature of vectoring causes large variations
in the flight times and paths of aircraft in the terminal area. En route
metering functions include planned terminal flight paths. These large
variations make it more difficult to meter aircraft efficiently from
the en route to the terminal airspace, which often results in aircraft
flying extended paths in the terminal area, costing time and fuel. The
large variations in flight times also result in poor schedule predictability
for users, which can lead to poor on-time performance, disrupted bank
schedules, and passenger delays. Defining arrival and departure routes
in the terminal airspace can mitigate many of these problems.
MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (MITRE/CAASD)
has been working to develop and assess various near-term terminal area
navigation (RNAV) procedures for Philadelphia International Airport
(PHL) and Newark International Airport (EWR). These procedures, when
implemented, will improve service, reduce required air/ground communications,
enhance schedule reliability, improve operational efficiency, awareness
for controllers and pilots. A key component to the RNAV procedure development
is the collaborative development of the procedure involving the stakeholders.
A repeatable implementation process has been defined for developing
RNAV terminal procedures based upon overlays of current flight operations.
The process identifies stakeholders, data, steps, and schedules to take
a procedure from design to public implementation. To support procedure
development, CAASD developed the Terminal Area Route Generation, Evaluation,
Traffic Simulation (TARGETS) tool. TARGETS allows procedure designers
to use current operations as the starting point for designing an overlay
route, to visualize the route, and to evaluate operational aspects of
the route.
Controllers use the traffic simulation capability to assess impact
on current air traffic control (ATC) operations, especially mixed equipage
issues. In the paper, we discuss the RNAV procedure implementation process
and the tools developed to support the process. Results of applying
the process to RNAV procedures at PHL and EWR are presented. Lessons
learned are reported and preliminary results on benefits obtained from
implementing the routes are also reported.
