THE HIDDEN POTENTIAL WITHIN A MODERN AIRPORT,
SYMPOSIUM, MADRID 1998

In May 1998, Wavionix sponsored a symposium in Madrid focusing on the "Hidden Potential within the Modern Airport". The symposium was opened by the Director General of Airports Council International, Jonathan Howe.

"The Hidden Potential within a Modern Airport"

“How to rationalise capacity and improve profits without
sacrificing safety”

From left to right: Patrick Aisher, CEO, Wavionix Software; José Rodea, Air Navigation Systems Division, DGACE and Angel Tomas Bueno, Corporate Planning, AENA.

Summary of
proceedings...
The Symposium commenced at 09.45 with an introduction by Patrick M. Aisher (Chief Executive Officer, Wavionix Software Limited)
Who welcomed the delegates, and thanked the various members of AENA, ACI, ISDEFE, and SEPLA for their assistance in organising the conference. In the introductory speech, Aisher referred to the results recently published by the Airborne Architecture Project Reference Group (made up of professionals from SAS, Lufthansa, United Airlines, UPS, Fedex, Eurocontrol, DFS, Luftfartsverket, GosnIIAS, and the FAA), which concluded that the greatest limitations of today's Air Traffic System were apparent in: “Airspace & Runways, problems with separation standards and lack of transparency in ATC; lack of taxiway guidance on the ground; effects of the weather, and how these are dealt with, or not, as the case may be; the uncertainties over terrain and the unacceptable rate of aircraft losses due to Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)”.

	Jose Hesse Martin, (formerly Transport Systems Manager ISDEFE and now Managing Director, Madrid Barajas Airport; Leticia Rebolla, Air Europa and Juan Rossello, Aeronautical Engineer, Air Europa

According to Aisher the problems facing the industry today are surmountable, and the structure already exists for tackling these major issues. “The European Air Traffic Management System (EATMS) Concept document, published by Eurocontrol, combined with the multiple advantages of implementing R-NAV and GPS/GNSS, and maximising the use of new technology, show that there is a structured way forward”, said Aisher. The key, said Aisher, is to engineer sufficient discussion between the various industry stakeholders.

• Jonathan Howe (Director General, Airports Council International)
  Explained how ACI, representing 1200 airports in more than 150 countries, can provide the focus for Airport Operators, through its observer status with the United Nations, ICAO, IATA, and other International Organisations. In his keynote address, Howe detailed ACI's commitment to protecting and enhancing the role of the Airport Operators internationally, through it's legal and financial expertise, publications, conferences, and such instruments as the ACI fund for developing nations.
  
• Patrice Bouëdo
  Gave a succinct demonstration of the benefits of graphically representing airport infrastructure data in a three-dimensional format, through the Wavionix Airport Surfaces Planner (WASP) for ICAO Annex 14. Bouëdo demonstrated how the award-winning WASP software can calculate and construct the ICAO Annex 14 Aerodrome Obstacle Protection Surfaces in a visual three dimensional format, while enabling the viewing of any shaped/sized obstacles, terrain, or building in the immediate area, and how this can benefit the operator in the planning of new infrastructure.
  
• Nils Lundström M.Sc. (Project Manager, Simtra AeroTech AB)
  Presented a detailed description of the advantages of calculating risk analysis in ground surface movement. “The majority of aircraft damage occurs on the taxiway through bad planning and human error”, said Lundström. “Calculating the turn radials of aircraft as they approach or pull back from the gate is all too often left until the last minute”, he continued. Utilising three-dimensional graphics and basic simulation, Lundström used his experience as an armed forces software programmer, to develop a practical software application to cope with this major issue, which he demonstrated to the delegates.
  
• Jaime Torrecilla Puebla (Systems Engineer, ISDEFE)
  Provided the delegates with a detailed overview of the difficulties of designing Standard Instrument Departures in an integrated manner, with specific emphasis on the problems facing procedural experts in the Madrid terminal area. Torrecilla stressed the importance of a precise and modern database, in a WGS-84 format, and the need for considering aircraft category and environmental concerns.
  
  Torrecilla stated that “the SID Design has become an exercise in integrating all possible solutions, not all of which are compatible, frequently resulting in a compromise which best suits all parties”. In conclusion, he stressed that the departure design should take into account the views of procedure specialists, controllers, pilots, airlines, airports, and specifically the land usage in the airport environment. In this way, Torrecilla claimed, “the land usage can be developed in harmony with the airport to utilise airport capacity to the maximum”.
  
  

• From left to right: Juan Carlos Lazaro, Head Technical Spokesperson, SEPLA; Villaroel Claver, Commander, SEPLA and Jaime Torrecilla Puebla, Systems Engineer, ISDEFE.

  Juan Carlos Lázaro (Head Spokesman on Technical Issues, Union of Spanish Air Line Pilots)
  Presented a lively, if somewhat controversial paper, on the same theme, from the pilot's point of view. Lázaro commenced by detailing the social, political, economic, and technical perspectives that can affect the instrument departure procedure design. “Noise pollution and community opinion, combined with inadequate norms and lack of consistency between local and national government, are frequently to blame”, he stated. Nevertheless, Lázaro continued, “ the economic growth, population boom, and capital gain in land prices within the airport environment, are powerful arguments for consistently improving the instrument departures”.
  
  Lázaro went on to explain the various critical issues of operational importance to pilots, citing the need for further participation from all interest groups in the development of the procedures, and the critical necessity for flight trials prior to publication. “Madrid Airport has changed the departure procedure four times in the last two years” stated Lázaro. In conclusion, he stated that the procedures should be above all safe, simple, economical, and fluid, so that “they can reduce flying time and create fuel saving whilst increasing the number of movements per hour without ignoring the environmental issues”.
  
• Angel Tomas Bueno (Directorate of Corporate Planning, AENA)
  Chaired a debate on the morning's discussions, which received many questions to both Mr. Torrecilla, and Mr. Lázaro. Specific contributions were made by Mr. Jesus Chinarro (Head of Pilots, Iberia Airlines of Spain), and Mr. Julian Torres (Directorate of Air Navigation Planning and Airspace Design), both of whom wished to expand the views of their representative organisations. Chinarro stressed the importance of procedures being kept simple and flyable, while Torres emphasised the difficulties facing procedural and airspace specialists when trying to unite all the interested parties requirements into one design. The debate was halted for lunch.
  
• Ian Whitworth
  Presented a graphic demonstration of the advantages of designing approach and departure procedures in an automated fashion, using the Wavionix Procedures Designer Version 4.0. Whitworth explained the merits of analysing airspace, routing structures, procedures, and AIP charts, in a computer environment.
  
• Patrick Aisher (Chief Executive Officer, Wavionix Software Limited)
  Brought the symposium to an end by wrapping up the day's proceedings, and thanking both the speakers and the delegates for their attention. Aisher then announced the launching of Wavionix's new joint-venture WISI Inc. in the United States, which would be officially presented at the International Civil Aviation Organisation Conference on CNS/ATM in Rio de Janeiro the following week. “The purpose of WISI Inc.” explained Aisher, “is to provide up to the minute software for the design of GPS Procedures according to the FAA Criteria, thus bringing the advantages of GPS closer towards the advances of modern computer technology, for the benefit of all air navigation service providers”.