the majesty of a jetliner gliding across the sky how magnificent is the sight
how breathtaking is the technology and the ingenuity that transformed a simple invention
into a lifestyle we know today as air travel and not just a lifestyle
but a powerful engine that propels our economy forward.
aviation generated 1.3 trillion dollars in travel and tourism
38.8 billion dollars for general aviation
10.5 million American jobs, 237.3 billion dollars from
international travel
and carries approximately forty percent of the value of all world goods.
aviation demand is expected to grow tripling by some estimates
and our skies and airports are already crowded with different types of
aircraft and airspace users the aviation industry and government collaboratively
strive to meet society's
changing needs for aviation and national security
how do we accommodate this growth while safeguarding our already high levels of
safety
at the same time achieving our commitments to diminish noise
and environmental impacts how will we meet the public's need for safer more
efficient and reliable air transportation
how do we address the high costs of fuel with oil prices that now hover
around one hundred dollars per barrel
and how do we reduce environmental impacts and our carbon footprints
how do we make technology work for us and how does it solve our problems
the solutions provided by NextGen allow us to address these questions and begin
to solve these challenges
NextGen is modernization the movement to smart efficient technology
and procedures let's start by looking at some of our nation's airports
each with unique operational challenges and specific needs based on location
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the world
with multiple parallel runways a mix of aircraft types and operators
and high traffic volumes compare that to New York's LaGuardia Airport
with crossing runways very busy airspace
and limited taxiways to maneuver, with limitations for expansion constrained by
water and development Chicago's Midway Airport is an operational hub
driven by short and closely spaced runways and noise-sensitive communities
it also has complex and shared airspace interactions with
Chicago's other major airport O'Hare Seattle represents an airport with
growing operations and interest
a new runway and associated procedure needs and challenges due to terrain
weather interactions with the adjacent knowing airport operations
these are just some of our airport airspace and environmental challenges
and there's no one universal answer to solve them
one of the most important safety and efficiency achievements to date
is improving the way that aircraft can navigate one fundamental initiative
of NextGen
is to provide precise predictable and repeatable satellite navigation
referred to as performance-based navigation
or PBN there are two key components of PBN
the first is area navigation or RNAV and the second
is required navigation performance or RNP
prior to PBN aircraft had to zig zag from one ground navigation station to another
air traffic controllers needed to block large areas of air space around the
aircraft
to compensate for the variations in flight
with RNAV aircraft fly more direct and optimized paths
and air traffic controllers can block smaller amounts of airspace
we get even more precise with RMP the aircraft is contained within a narrow
corridor
and the procedures can be designed with pinpoint predictable curve paths
that provide even greater operational opportunities with PBN and procedures
and repeatable curved paths we can improve flight efficiencies
in all phases of flight let's explore how this NextGen initiative is helping
to address the challenges of our congested skies
and environmental concerns from departure
through the on route to arrival and finally to the landing
or approach phase the departure phase
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport where 10,000
RNAV flights now depart every week because aircraft no longer are
restricted to fly over the ground systems
and navigation precision is greatly increased we can create more departure
exits or on ramps to fly into the on-route airspace
this expedites aircraft away from our airports into the overhead streams efficiently
for the airspace users the traveling public and the surrounding airport communities
this translates into departure efficiencies which helps to reduce fuel time
and emissions aircraft to part with minimal controller voice instructions
greatly reducing the complexity and communications between the pilots and
controllers so now we have the ability to create
more on-ramps
so how do we improve the use of our runways to allow the planes up in the air
faster
options are limited for adding more departure paths and runways
the FAA is addressing this challenge by implementing new spacing standards based
on the use of PBN
for aircraft departing an airport today controllers launch successive aircraft on
different courses or headings
this is limiting and uses large portions of airspace
the FAA's new standard in use today in Atlanta
is called equivalent lateral spacing operations
or ELSO and here's how it works using PBN
procedures can be designed that use less airspace providing for additional
departure paths from the runway ends
that were otherwise not possible the added paths increase runway efficiency
without putting the plane's
any closer together at Atlanta this enables the controllers to handle the
same traffic demand on two runways
versus three NextGen is now seeking to expand this capability to other airports
by developing a national standard the one thing about
the ELSO initiative that
stands out is of all the PBM procedures we've implemented
at Atlanta
this is bar none been the best one that we've done because
everybody likes it the tower likes it because they get higher throughput
the tray-con on likes it because we get to stay in RNAV all the time
the airlines like it because they get higher throughput they get to stay on
RNAV all the time
It has no adverse impact on the center and it has not had adverse impact on the
surrounding community as far as noise complaints go so
it is bar none been the most successful PBN implementation we've ever
had
now let's look at the on route phase where aircraft are transitioning to and
from our airports
because we are free from the ground-based systems we can plan fly more
direct
and with optimize paths and better address restricted use airspace
in some areas we need to expand the limited on-route road system
into a highway system by adding routes where needed and otherwise not possible
PBN enables us to fly optimized direct routes
or multi-lane highways to serve multiple airports
and connect high-volume metroplexes in the arrival phase
as flights near their destinations we need to efficiently exit them from the
on route
or highway system as more exits or on-ramps are enabled for the departures
likewise more exits or off-ramps are enabled for increased
arrival efficiency PBN arrival procedures can be designed to allow the aircraft to
descend efficiently by reducing
or eliminating the need for level flight this design is called an optimized
profile descent or OPD
OPD's improve how the aircraft flies from higher altitudes down
to the runway
reducing engine noise saving gallons of fuel for aircraft
and reducing carbon emissions so it helps to save fuel
it helps have a smoother descent path and also is
a quieter arrival for the neighbors we fly over
it benefits the corporation from a cost perspective it benefits the community
from the noise perspective
And it benefits the environment missions
in the approach phase our flight is coming in for a landing
with more precise navigation for accurate incurred path approaches can be
replace were needed in limited air space
improving access and providing greater options to avoid challenging terrain
or noise sensitive areas when possible the FAA and industry are working collaboratively
on advanced RNP concepts that take advantage of the curve path
and narrow containment to eliminate mileage costs impacts
and improve access RNP also help to de-conflict adjacent airport traffic
Interactions that
cause flight disruptions in many metropolitan areas
arrival and departure paths at nearby airports can interfere with each other
this means that aircraft at one airport may be stopped on the ground
or held in the air while aircraft at a nearby airport are landing or departing
at Chicago O'Hare and Midway airports flight paths share the same
airspace which result in costly delays cancellations
and passenger disruptions a curved path RNP approach to Midway
is designed to untangle the interaction at the two airports
enabling uninterrupted operations
the FAA has stepped up implementation of PBN across the National Airspace
this is being achieved through collaborative industry airport and
government teams
for defining procedures and are high-volume and complex Metroplex airports
with high projection benefits while abating environmental impact
in order to measure progress in this effort the FAA is currently developing
and testing a new PBN and analysis capability that uses
sophisticated analysis methods
to assess airport specific equipage report on procedure use in all phases of flight
and to measure and report on the benefits of these new procedures
by using improved reporting capabilities the FAA can better track usage of RNAV and
RNP procedures
and with this capability we can better evaluate where these changes are having impact
and to make informed decisions for needed changes PBN is opening up new opportunities
and solutions
across the US and around the world thousands of procedures have been implemented
to date
advancing our aviation goals and our commitments for better in the global environment
and the surrounding communities at our airports this is an exciting time for PBN
and NextGen
using innovative procedures that capitalize on current investments in technology
along with developing new means to measure and monitor progress
the FAA is building a performance-based navigational system
to more safely and efficiently maximize this limited resource we call the National
Airspace System