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- All Subjects: Air Traffic Control
- Creators: Denny, Casey
- Creators: Rojas, Jorge Alejandro
Description
My project analyzes the air traffic control tower (ATCT) system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to determine if a rebalancing of ATCT ownership and operation should occur. The government currently faces a problem of a tight financial budget and sequestration, which often times means mandatory budget cuts. This project provides one possible solution for the FAA to save money in their budget without adversely affecting safety. The FAA could establish appropriate criteria to compare all ATCTs. The FAA could then apply these criteria in a policy that would contract the operation of certain low-level ATCTs and conversely handle the operations at high-activity ATCTs. Additionally, the FAA could include a policy to transfer the ownership of certain low-activity towers, but transfer the ownership of high-activity towers to the FAA. The research was completed by studying various documents from the FAA, Department of Transportation (DOT), and industry groups. Most of the data analysis was conducted by creating tables, queries, and graphs from FAA data. The FAA data was found on their Air Traffic Activity Data System (ATADS). From my data analysis, I was able to identify sixty-nine ATCTs that are currently operated by the FAA that could become federal contract towers (FCT) and forty-six FCTs that could be operated by the FAA. Each FCT saves the FAA approximately $1.488 million, so the FAA could save $34.2 million per year by implementing my solutions. I have also established sample criteria for determining which ATCTs could be maintained by the FAA.
ContributorsJuri, William Joseph (Author) / Denny, Casey (Thesis director) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Airports are a vital part of the United States' transportation infrastructure. A variety of factors impact the amount of aircraft that an airport can handle per hour. One of these factors is the runway capacity. Strict rules regarding the amount of separation required between two aircraft landing at the same airport and lack of available land limit the ways that airport managers and planners can tackle this problem. Research was conducted at the Arizona State University's Simulator Building using the Adacel Tower Simulation System. Modifications to the airport were then made to simulate the high speed exit. Testing utilized aircraft in the large category, including Airbus A320s, which are regularly seen at the airport. Airport capacity dramatically increased as a result. The previous AAR was 33. With the research conducted, aircraft can exit the runway between 27 and 30 seconds with final approach speeds ranging from 130 knots to 150 knots. To allow for a margin for safety, a 35 second runway occupancy time is used. With that rate, assuming that other separation standards are changed to accommodate that traffic level, the runway AAR increases to approximately 100. To reach this potential, changes to the FAAs separation requirements for aircraft on the same final approach course must be made, to allow aircraft to be closer together.
ContributorsRojas, Jorge Alejandro (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis director) / Mandeville, Roger (Committee member) / Aviation Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12