US Airways' A330s Slated to Test ADS-B
Jan 25, 2009
By Adrian Schofield
US Airways plans to use its long-haul Airbus A330 fleet in a new FAA trial that is expected to bring the benefits of satellite-based navigation links to congested Northeast airspace and transatlantic routes.
The US Airways project - which also includes manufacturer Aviation Communications and Surveillance Systems (ACSS) - is the most ambitious step yet in a wider FAA initiative to fund avionics upgrades in selected airline fleets. These early deployments are geared toward demonstrating the effectiveness of systems vital to the FAA's NextGen modernization effort, and providing operational data needed by the agency.
In the latest trial, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) will be used in up to 20 Airbus A330s, initially at the US Airways hub at Philadelphia International Airport and then at Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International. Cargo carrier UPS will also be involved at Philadelphia, as it has already been working on ADS-B projects with the FAA at its Louisville, Ky., base. UPS has equipped many of its Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft with the necessary upgrades.
US Airways will retrofit the nine A330-300s it has in its fleet for ADS-B, and the A330-200s it has on order will be equipped as they arrive. This work is scheduled to begin in May, and US Airways expects to have 20 aircraft participating in the program by 2010. The A330s are considered ideal because they are predominantly used on transatlantic flights and depart from the same airport at around the same time.
Under an agreement signed at FAA headquarters Jan. 13, the agency will provide more than $6 million for the carrier and avionics provider ACSS to purchase the necessary equipment for the A330s. Meetings between the FAA and the two companies will be held to cement the finance arrangements and set goals. US Airways will likely bear some cost for the equipage, according to the airline's senior vice president of flight operations, Ed Bular.
The A330s will use both "ADS-B In" and "ADS-B Out," meaning they will have the ability to transmit their own position as well as to receive information from other aircraft. This requires upgrading avionics such as transponders and traffic alert and collision avoidance systems for ADS-B signals, as well as installing a display capable of showing ADS-B information.
ADS-B will give controllers and pilots a much more accurate picture of traffic in terminal airspace. Combined with certain ACSS products that are included in the trial, this could allow more precise merging and spacing, and even reduced in-trail separation in non-radar en route and oceanic sectors. US Airways expects this to improve efficiency in terminal airspace, and also on the transatlantic tracks. "It's a huge opportunity to make Philadelphia more efficient," Bular says.
Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell says the US Airways agreement is significant because it involves three parties, and brings an ADS-B trial to the congested Northeast airspace. ADS-B is scheduled to be operational in Philadelphia's air traffic control facility by February 2010.
Sturgell says the $6 million was appropriated by Congress for this purpose, which is one of many efforts the FAA has initiated to provide early benefits of its NextýýGen modernization program. The agency is working with other airlines on projects such as RNP approaches and airport moving map displays, as well as ADS-B.
The FAA has already invested millions of dollars with other airlines to install electronic flight bags and alerting systems for use in runway safety trials. The agency has contracted with US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Atlas Air, SkyWest and some smaller carriers. The main goal is to give pilots a moving map display of the airport surface. Equipage should be completed by September - with the FAA providing about $600,000 per carrier - and the program is slated to run for two years.
A separate effort with fractional ownership company NetJets will see it using the wide area augmentation system (WAAS), required navigation performance, area navigation (RNAV), and ADS-B. And Honeywell will receive $3 million to test ADS-B at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Paine Field. The company will use its own aircraft flown by pilots from JetBlue and Alaska Airlines.
Through partnerships like these, FAA can get improvements into the system as fast as possible, Sturgell says. "It's not a question of whether it's the right thing to do, but how to do it to bring benefits quickly," he emphasizes.
The agency would like to establish more NextGen-related partnerships with airlines, if appropriate funding is secured, says Victoria Cox, FAA's senior vice president for NextGen and Operations Planning. "It's an excellent way to demonstrate the benefits [of NextGen technology] in a focused way."
Sturgell notes that increasing equipage levels of RNAV and ADS-B allows the FAA to introduce airspace improvements. With RNAV in particular, "if we can get equipage levels up, we can do a lot of things at some of these tough airports."
