Radar surveillance to mountain airports

Citation

(2007), "Radar surveillance to mountain airports", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 79 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2007.12779fab.015

Radar surveillance to mountain airports

Radar surveillance to mountain airports

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will soon provide radar-like surveillance to mountain airports supporting Colorado's high-country tourism. The project is formally called the Colorado Air Traffic Control Beacon Interrogator Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast System for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification into the National Air Space System. Sensis Corporation has been selected to implement the first phase of the $15-million total project.

During each winter season, high- country airports experience a dramatic increase in activity when visitors to Colorado travel via commercial and general aviation aircraft to many mountain communities. Peak travel periods such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's produce an even greater amount of ski travel, creating a “traffic jam” in the skies over Colorado. This situation becomes increasingly difficult during periods of inclement weather. Such an increase in air traffic, especially during high- country snow storms can result in diversions, delays and denied service for aircraft en route to mountain airports that lack radar coverage.

In 2005, CDOT's Division of Aeronautics began looking for ways to address this growing problem. The cost of utilizing existing, so-called traditional or “legacy” radars to provide the necessary coverage in the mountains was prohibitively expensive, as a single “legacy” radar costs in excess of $7 million, not including operation and maintenance. Working with the FAA, CDOT developed a solution based on a combination of existing and next- generation technologies to provide the desired radar coverage without the need for costly legacy radars.

“This project represents a dynamic step forward and will greatly improve the aviation system as well as the overall efficiency of the transportation system for visitors to our mountain communities,” said Harold Patton, Chairman of the Colorado Aeronautical Board.

The Colorado Surveillance Project is based on a system of distributed sensors, each about the size of a small refrigerator, that utilize existing aircraft transponders to determine an aircraft's position and report it to the FAA Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center, located in Longmont. The term “surveillance” is used to distinguish the system from the legacy radars. Air traffic information will be displayed as a standard radar target on screens in the Denver Center facility, which provides radar separation for all air traffic in portions of nine western states.

The project will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will provide coverage to airports in Hayden, Rifle, Steamboat Springs and Craig. Phase I is being funded by CDOT and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, as well as local participation by Routt and Garfield counties. It will cost $4.7 million and be operational by the 2008 ski season. Coverage volume and project definitions for Phase II will be finalized in the fall of 2007. However, it is expected to include airport coverage in Montrose, Telluride, Gunnison, Cortez, Durango and Alamosa and is estimated to cost approximately $10 million.

The new system would keep aircraft flying to the 10 airports in these areas on the radar at all times, with as minimal as a 5 mile separation, making landing patterns safer and increasing air space efficiency.

Once complete, the FAA will assume ownership, including operations and maintenance costs of the system throughout its 15-20 year life. It will also provide for its certification into the National Air Space System.