The MITRE Corporation Center for Advanced
Aviation System Development is researching
a prototype application for the use
of mobile devices for IFR clearance delivery and release
as part of the MITRE Innovation Program.
The prototype consists of three components,
the pilot app seen, the air traffic controller
situation display, and the backend server.
The air traffic controller situation display
provides controllers with a list of aircraft
that have filed flight plans, airport diagrams,
a clock indicating the current time, and satellite map.
When pilots are actively using
the mobile IFR clearance delivery app,
the position of the aircraft will be displayed
on the situation display for the air traffic controller.
As seen here, a pilot has filed a flight plan using
the callsign November, seven, seven, one, one, Mike.
The pilot can request their departure clearance
via the mobile app by entering the callsign,
departure airport, and arrival airport,
then pressing the Request Departure Clearance button.
Now that the pilot is actively using the app,
the position of the aircraft is displayed
for the air traffic controller.
The pilot mobile app has retrieved
the departure clearance information
from the server and displays it to the pilot.
To confirm the clearance similar to a verbal readback,
the pilot must acknowledge each part
of the clearance by tapping the letters.
Now that all parts of the clearance
have been acknowledged, the pilot may confirm
the clearance by tapping the Confirm Receipt button.
The pilot is presented with an acknowledgement
that the clearance has been confirmed
and the ATC situation display notes this as well
by changing the status of the aircraft
in the flight list as well as in
the aircraft data block on the map.
At any point during the process,
the pilot can press the FP button
in the toolbar to view the ATC-issued
flight plan information such as the cleared route
of flight and assigned altitude.
The spoken route of flight, "Cleared to Gainesville Airport
"via direct CART, direct FREEZE,
"direct FOOTHILLS, direct," contains three fix names.
If the pilot is unfamiliar with the actual spelling
of the fixes, they will need to ask the controller
to spell out each fix phonetically.
This takes additional time to ensure accuracy.
With the mobile IFR clearance delivery app,
the pilot receives a text-based version
of the clearance with the fix names already spelled out.
When ready for departure, the pilot can then
request IFR release through the app.
To request the release, the pilot
must provide the departure runway
and an estimated time of departure.
The runway picker developed during this project
assists the pilot in selecting the correct departure runway.
In this example, the pilot will be departing
runway three four right 15 minutes from now.
The pilot then requests the release
by pressing the OK button.
Now that a release request has been made,
the app waits until ATC provides the release information.
As shown on the ATC situation display,
the status of this flight in the flight list
is now depicted as Awaiting Release as are
the airplane icon and data block on the map.
The air traffic controller can see
more information about the flight
by tapping the flight in the list.
In the expanded view, the air traffic controller
is provided with a departure clearance
and the countdown until the scheduled
departure time for the flight.
Once a release is granted by the air traffic controller,
this information will be displayed here as well.
When the flight is expanded in the list,
the associated icon on the map
is centered and highlighted with a halo.
By tapping the Awaiting Release status
in the flight list, the air traffic controller
is presented a window providing them
with the information submitted by the pilot
and a mechanism for providing release
instructions back to the pilot.
The air traffic controller needs to provide a release time,
a release void time, and can opt out
to include additional instructions.
When done, the air traffic controller
presses Approve Release.
Note that the status on the situation display has changed.
In addition, the pilot mobile app
is updated indicating that a release
has been granted and provides the pilot
with the information entered by the controller.
At any point in the process, the pilot may
call the facility if they are unclear
about the flight plan or the release instructions.
Additionally, at any point, the controller can
cancel the use of the app and have the pilot
call the facility for more information.
To mimic the verbal readback required
during current day operations, the pilot must
confirm receipt of the release information.
The pilot can do that by pressing Confirm Receipt.
Now that the release has been confirmed,
the pilot is presented again with the release information
and a countdown indicating how much time
is left until the release is void.
On the ATC situation display, the status has been updated.
Because location information is available
on the mobile device, air traffic control
will be able to detect when the aircraft lands
at an airport and prompt the pilot
to cancel or close their flight plan.
When they do so, the situation display
is updated to reflect this cancellation
and the pilot mobile app resets,
ready for the pilot's next flight.
The technology demonstrated in
this video is still under development.
The project team is currently working
with stakeholders to conduct a limited test
with the technology with end users
in an operational environment.