Traffic Management AdvisorEssay Preview: Traffic Management AdvisorReport this essayAbstractThe Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) is part of the FAAs Free Flight program which has been on going for the past 12 years in an attempt to enable controllers the means in which to manage airspace and reduce delays at airports safely and more efficiently. It uses flight plan information along with environmental concerns to aide controllers in sequencing arrivals at airports and makes recommendations for traffic patterns to aide in undue congestion. The TMA has boosted efficiency of the air traffic controllers and helped in fuel efficiency and safety for the airlines, passengers and crews.
The Concept of the Traffic Management AdvisorThe Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) is used to aide the air traffic controllers and coordinators throughgraphical map, which display alerts, when dealing with aircraft when they are on the outer meter, meter fixed, final approach and threshold for landing at an airport. The TMA schedules and sequences times for their orbits and landings at airports which take a lot of the stress and calculations away from the controllers. It also schedules their landing runways for the aircraft which helps with separation and safety of the aircraft. It does this by computing their speed and approach angles which can be seen on a live Doppler type of screen.
The TMA system relies on eight processes which include the following: 1) the communications manager which shares information between its databases, 2) the radar daemon which has a link between the TMA and the controllers computer, 3) the weather daemon which uses weather information from the national weather service, 4) the timeline graphical user interface which receives and uses information from the traffic management controllers computer, 5) the route analyzer which decides which route the aircraft will use, 6) the planview graphical user interface which uses input from the controllers and displays the information, 7) the trajectory synthesizer which determines the estimated time of arrival and the descent profile of the aircraft, and 8) the dynamic planner which determines the runway and the sequences of the other incoming traffic.
The TMA computes the aircraftschedule and sequencing between 40 and 200 miles from the airport, even before they have reached the airports controlled airspace. All of this information comes from the aircraft
flight plan and the TMA has the ability to adjust runway assignments and the sequencing of the aircraft also due to environmental conditions or in response to the input by the controllers.
The TMA uses an a graphic display which shows all aircraft within its sector and each one can even be tagged with all of its appropriate information such as flight number, type, weight class, where it is fixed at the moment and the runway that it will use upon landing. It shows all of aircraft
information in 10 minute intervals from the time that they enter the tracking zone of the airport. This can be used by the controller to re-sequence aircraft in case there are some critical changes or emergencies that have evolved. The TMA uses multiple types of graphs and overlays that can be used to ensure that the airports will not back up or flights become delayed longer than the minimum required time to re-sequence the arriving aircraft according to the airports acceptance flow rate (CTAS, 2005).
Initial History of the TMAThe initial trial and assessment of the first TMA was conducted in 1993 at the Denver Airport. The main goals were to assess how the TMA could manage and distribute the air traffic load and change the airport acceptance rate to be more effective. The initial trial showed its capabilities that could support its users. It was found that the TMA could handle all it was designed for but the need to provide the controllers with more hands on use was evident. The users were then asked about each of the interfaces within the TMA and to assess their feasibility by taking a written assessment and answering yes or no to each area. There were some changes that needed to be made to the TMA which included display, color coding and symbology that would match the interfaces already used by the controllers (Kelly Harwood and Beverly Sanford, 1993).
The protocol of the initial trial and assessment of the TMA was used to determine whether the interface were compliant with the standards. The TMA, with all its limitations, was designed to be designed on and have a functioning and usable interface. The interface could be defined that the use was voluntary and that some of the limitations were to meet one of the user’s needs. For example, if the user indicated no desire to accept the TMA in general, but wanted to be able to carry one, then they could carry the TMA and provide some of the functionality they wanted by the interface. If the interface was an unassigned list of interfaces or is an approved product, then it could be used for such specific requirements. Once in place, a number of the interfaces and other features could be updated to meet a specific set of needs for the TMA. The TMA was built upon the information given during the initial trial to the TMA by the use of software components, software that could be used to configure and/or control the interface or to implement various new features, such as new controls to provide power or access to the interface from other users or devices. For more information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TMA_Prototyping
Figure 3: Example of one of the interfaces and functionality for the TMA. (The diagram is a cross section on the TMA interface and associated technology in the design and manufacture of other airplanes with a nonflying style airplane, in the 1990s. The TMA interface is described in the first line of the TMA-2 patent and was built by the TMA program in 1990. Image from UTSAC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
While the TMA interface was still subject to all of the limitations in the previous model, new technologies were introduced that required more effort. These include new features like automatic automatic control, a new sensor system to control the flow of oxygen to the controllers, an inlet for use outside the cabin and a camera system on the aircraft to capture the aerodynamic changes caused by aerodynamic forces such as wind and pressure. The standard design of the TMA system made it more difficult to modify the interface, allowing it to adapt to any change. An update to the TMA that includes additional changes for specific requirements was added to the specification. The update included an updated design of the interface to allow for better data transfer between controllers and to add more time between controllers. The updated design also allowed the use of software components (such as controllers, software applications, software that could monitor, control and control air pressure measurements, and software that allowed control of the weather control system inside the cabin) for this reason. Finally, an implementation of a data logger for the TMA was introduced. Additional software was introduced as part of the design to help control flight performance. In the early stages of the aircraft program, there was limited data entry and control equipment. When all of the features were complete, the TMA was delivered as part of the airplane and in a limited number of flights on commercial airlines.
Figure 4 illustrates a typical airplane simulator designed to detect, respond to the TMA, and provide an information about the use of aerodynamically altered equipment and controls in the TMA. The design has been extensively modified from the TMA to suit the airplane’s aerodynamic specifications, and is designed to allow flight of
The next testing of the system occurred in 1996 at the Fort Worth Airport. This evaluation encompassed all shifts as well as times of inclement weather. The data collected showed a one to two minute delay reduction period during the rush hours of traffic. The TMA surpassed all that was hoped for in an air traffic management system and gave controllers a great tool to aide them in forecasting arriving and departing traffic safely and accurately. The TMA remained functional even during periods of airport shutdown because of weather and constantly updated controllers on storm front passage and kept an up to date radar track. The TMA demonstrated superiority over all other systems