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Aircraft Datalink SolutionsVHF coverage is now extended with a combined effort from Satcom Direct, TAG Farnborough Airport and SITA, who have based their new VHF ground station equipment in Hangar 2.

The new equipment and subsequent VHF coverage will enable the airport to provide enhanced services to operators and aircraft owners with the addition of the aircraft datalink services.

CPDLC is a growing requirement in the aviation industry, with mandatory regulations for Europe coming into play at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. Although business and private jets are exempt from the ruling, it is only a matter of time.

CPDLC (Controller Pilot Data Link Communications) give greater flexibility in the cockpit and on the ground and eliminate many previous problems that are encountered during communications. The mandates will open up better opportunities for flight operations as the airwaves become less congested. Streamlining communications with aircraft datalink is not only more efficient, but also globally recognised, without interruption, given provision from a reliable and reputable supplier.

Companies such as SITA and ARINC have global ground stations to aid the facilitation of aircraft datalink messaging.

Controller Pilot Data Link (CPDLC) Airtraffic Controllers Association of Ghana (ACAG) held an open day in Accra last week to showcase Controller Pilot Data Link (CPDLC) capabilities amongst its other activities to the public.

The open day was held in the Control Tower Building at Kokota International Airport (KIA) which opened its doors to the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School, Journalists and St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School as well as members of the public.

It is hoped that the open day will generate interest in air traffic control as a specialist career and encourage students to follow a path in aviation.

Air traffic control is a varied and interesting career, requiring specialist knowledge and ability in order to apply separation rules to maintain safe flying distances between aircraft in their assigned airspace as well as on the ground.

Mr William Amoako, an Airtraffic controller with GCAA, conducted the tour of the facility and stressed the importance of the role that the sector plays in the safety and efficiency of flying time.

Controller Pilot Data Link (CPDLC) is gradually replacing radio communications and is the future of air traffic management.  CPDLC helps to reduce pilot workload in the cockpit by automating many routine tasks and reduces radio congestion.

Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers all over the European Union today welcome the Parliamentarian decision to vote positively on the new Occurrence Reporting Regulation.

The agreement about improvements to current procedures for the reporting of incidents regarding aviation safety is supported by the European Parliament Transport Committee and sets the scene for a new framework to strengthen air safety across Europe.

The Transport Committee wanted to ensure that pilots and air traffic controllers are protected when reporting mistakes and that the information they provide is not misused or misrepresented.

“Europe’s airline pilots and air traffic controllers warmly welcome the adoption of this report”, said Nico Voorbach, President of the ECA“The pro-safety stance developed by the EP rapporteur Mrs de Veyrac – and vigorously supported by her colleagues within the Transport Committee is remarkable. A true safety culture is one that recognizes that it can always improve. MEP’s have understood this and introduced valuable improvements to an already good proposal by the EU Commission.”

SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines plan to completely revamp its entire fleet of Boeing 737 with the Rockwell Collins Link 2000+ starting later this year.

The retrofitting will allow for compliance with Eurocontrol’s new CPDLC mandate that states that by 2015, all flights operating above 28,000 feet in European airspace must have CPDLC capability.  The mandate is currently under review for private aircraft, but will move forward in improving air traffic management and capacity throughout Europe under the supervision of Eurocontrol.

Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) is clearly the future of cockpit efficiency, reducing the workload for pilots and allowing for greater air traffic management as the skies grow busier and traditional voice radio communications in congested airwaves makes controller-pilot communication more difficult.

CPDLC providers are preparing for the ultimate changeover and many, such as ARINC, offer an advisory service to airlines concerned with refitting or retrofitting aircraft with a range of solutions, enabling them to be CPDLC ready when the time comes.

Aero Icarus / Foter / CC BY-SA

CPDLCThis year, at the ATC Global Exhibition and Conference in Amsterdam, advanced training solutions for ATC simulations were showcased in the shape of Adacel’s Aurora ATM system.

Elements of their Unified Training Solution (UTS) demonstrated the growing need for technological advancement, aiming to ‘Create the appropriate mix of tools to prevent bottlenecks that break the training continuum,’ and tailoring these solutions to meet the specific needs of the customer.

Adacel realise that high-definition ATC simulators are not enough to meet the expanding demands upon ATC training requirements and recognise that students need the appropriate tools at each specific stage of training, to ensure competency in every area, from terminology and communications through to advanced ATC skills required to become a competent controller with a firm and broad knowledge of complex technological advances in the industry.

Technology impresses upon the student the need for competency in ATM functionality for the effective control of air traffic in the areas of mixed and non-surveillance airspace.

Adacel’s Aurora ATM system demonstrates the latest technology, including automated conflict detection, 4D profile protection, dynamic airspace airspace allocation and controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC).

Award-winning training applications for operational ATM, speech recognition and advanced ATC simulations required for students today, to make them the competent operators of tomorrow.

UK and Irish airspace will shortly have a seamless data link service as a result of UK NATS and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) working together with SITA to deliver Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) services to the British and Irish area control centers.

The SITA service and systems support long haul and short haul versions of CPDLC. Long haul aircraft use a Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) version already implemented over the Atlantic Ocean. Aircraft with FANS systems will now use the SITA network and gateway to communicate with CPDLC systems in the UK and Ireland domestic centers.

Other providers of CPDLC have also hit the headlines recently, including ARINC who now offer a compliance service for airlines.