When the United States Air Force (USAF)
planned to start operations of the Global Hawk
Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) at Beale Air
Force Base (AFB) they turned to the MITRE
Corporation for an analysis of nearby air traffic that
fly in the vicinity of Beale where a portion of the
planned Global Hawk mission would occur. Using
several data sources, MITRE analyzed flight paths
of both transponding and non-transponding aircraft
to characterize the air traffic patterns in the vicinity
of Beale AFB. In addition to examining aircraft
with beacon transponders, which represented flights
under air traffic control and some uncontrolled
flights, it was critical to examine operations of nontransponding
flyers such as hang gliders, hot air balloons, and some general aviation aircraft. These
airspace users may either not be equipped with
transponders or may not be using them; they rely on
their eyes to "see-and-avoid" other traffic.
Global Hawk's cruise altitude is well above
most other aircraft so the key flight phases to
investigate were early in climb and late in descent,
when the likelihood of encounters with low altitude,
non-controlled and non-transponding
aircraft is greatest. Specifically, interest was in
those operating in the altitude range from the
ceiling of Class C airspace above Beale AFB (4100
feet) up to positive control airspace (Class A
airspace with a floor of 18,000 feet).
The results offer insight into the air traffic
around Beale AFB by quantifying hourly and day-of-the-week patterns, showing an altitude
distribution of the traffic, providing a breakdown of
users by air carrier and general aviation operations
and by class of aircraft flown, and by tabulating
nearby origin/destination airports used. The Air
Force used this information in requesting FAA
permission to operate Global Hawk out of Beale
AFB.
» Download Paper [PDF, 356KB]
