ACSS celebrates a successful application for Supplemental Type Certification (STC) of its ADS-B In product SafeRoute+ by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The updated software will now be deployed across all 298 American Airlines (AAL) A321 aircraft.
This significant milestone is in support of the ongoing trial between the FAA, AAL and ACSS - a joint venture between L3Harris and Thales - demonstrating the benefits of utilizing enhanced surveillance tools to improve pilot situational awareness, operational efficiency and ultimately aviation safety.
Using SafeRoute+ as the underlying technology, the ADS-B In Retrofit Spacing (AIRS) project started in September 2017. Initially designed to evaluate operational effectiveness of Interval Management (IM) for flights operating throughout Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZAB ARTCC) airspace as well as CDTI-Assisted Visual Separation (CAVS) at all of American Airlines’ hubs, the scope was soon expanded to include CDTI-Assisted Separation (CAS) operations into Dallas Fort Worth (DFW).
During the trial period all AAL A321 aircraft were fitted with SafeRoute+ ADS-B In functionality, alongside the mandatory ADS-B Out, enabling pilots to receive and display ‘assigned spacing goal’ information, which in turn allows Air Traffic Control agents to maximize airspace capacity through better predictability and more accurate arrival spacing while also providing fuel efficiencies to airlines.
Results so far are promising with IM request acceptance rates at 90% among pilots taking part in the trial, prompting the FAA to extend the trial period for another year.
Alan Crawford, President, Commercial Aviation at L3Harris said: "The STC approval will further enhance the effectiveness of the ADSB-In system being evaluated under the trail." He went on to say, "it also demonstrates our ability as an organization to move fast in response to feedback provided during the initial phase of the trial."
ACSS is an industry leader in ADS-B In technologies and the AIRS project will provide valuable feedback on the design aspects of the technology and the human factors impacting Controllers and Pilots. ACSS is committed to leveraging feedback from the trial to continually enhance its product and is working with aircraft manufactures to support SafeRoute+ ADS-B In offerability on new aircraft deliveries.