What is an

Airspace Concept

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 Overview  

✈   Learning  Objec/ve:    
✈  Understand  the  Airspace  Concept  
 
✈  This  presenta/on  will  discuss  
✈  What  is  an  Airspace  Concept  

✈  Why  develop  an  Airspace  Concept  

✈  Who  develops  an  Airspace  Concept  

✈  What  is  needed  to  develop  an  Airspace  Concept  

✈  What  happens  a?er  the  Airspace  Concept  is  developed.  

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 PBN  enables  Airspace  Concepts    

Airspace  Concept  

COM   NAV   SUR   ATM  

NAVIGATION    
APPLICATION  

NAVIGATION    
PBN   NAVAID  
SPECIFICATION   INFRASTRUCTURE  

3  
  
Strategic  Goals  (Expected  Benefits)  
Safety?   Capacity?   Efficiency?   Environment?   Access?  

Airspace  Concept  

COM   NAV   SUR   ATM  

NAVIGATION    
APPLICATION  

NAVIGATION     PBN   NAVAID  

SPECIFICATION   INFRASTRUCTURE  

RNAV   RNP   4  
 What  is  an  Airspace  Concept?  
✈  A  master  plan  of  the  intended  airspace  design  and  its  opera/on  
✈ Describes  the  intended  opera/ons  within  an  airspace    
✈ Developed  to  sa/sfy  explicit  and  implicit  strategic  objec/ves  
(improved  safety,  increased  air  traffic  capacity,  improved  
efficiency,  mi/ga/on  of  environmental  impact)  
✈  A  fully  developed  Airspace  Concept:  
✈ Describes  in  detail  the  airspace  organiza/on  and  its  
opera/ons    
✈ Addresses  all  the  strategic  objec/ves  iden/fied  for  the  
project  
✈ Addresses  all  CNS/ATM  enablers    
✈ Iden/fies  all  opera/onal  and  technical  assump/ons  
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 Why  develop  an  Airspace  
Concept?  
✈ Airspace  Concept  development  provides  a  structured  
and  systema/c  way  of  determining  
✈ What  is  to  be  achieved  in  an  airspace,  and    
✈ How  it  will  be  achieved      
✈ The  development  process  helps  ensure    
ü Goals  (expected  benefits)  of  planned  airspace  structure  are  
clearly  stated;  
ü Objec/ves  of  the  airspace  change  are  met;  and  
ü The  means  to  achieve  these  goals  are  appropriate  and  
feasible  within  the  resources  available  to  the  airspace  system  

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 Who  develops  an  Airspace  
Concept?    
✈  A  team  effort  by  representa,ves  of  various  organiza,ons  and  technical  
special,es  
✈  Composi,on  of  the  team  depends  on  the  scale  and  nature  of  the  project  
✈  A  simple  airspace  concept  (e.g.  a  SID,  STAR  and  IAP)  would  have  experts  from  
✈  ANSP  (including  PANS  OPS  procedure  designer)  
✈  civil  avia,on  regulator  
✈  airport  operator    
✈  operators’  representa,ve    
✈  A  more  extensive  Airspace  Concept  (  e.g.  new  runway,  plan  for  terminal  and  enroute  
airspace)  could  also  include  
✈  safety  management  system  experts    
✈  simula,on  studies  experts  
✈  addi,onal  operator  representa,ves  
✈  environmental  personnel  
✈  Team  lead  -­‐  usually  an  airspace  planner  or  knowledgeable  ANSP  air  traffic  
manager-­‐  Not  a  hard  and  fast  rule.  The  fundamental  requirement  is  for  a  
knowledgeable,  proac,ve  and  dedicated  individual  with  a  sound  understanding  
of  air  traffic  management  and  airspace  organiza,on.  
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 Airspace  Concept    
Development  Team  
✈  Airspace Concept
development requires
the combined efforts of
✈  Air Navigation Service
Providers;
✈  Regulators; and
✈  System Users

To Do What?
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 Airspace  Concept    
Development  Team    
 
1.  Iden,fy  and  priori,se  strategic  OBJECTIVES  -­‐  WHY  
Safety?   Efficiency?   Capacity?   Environment?   Access?  

 
2.  Define  the  SCOPE  –  WHAT  
CNS/ATM  

3.  Define  the  TIMELINE  -­‐  WHEN  

Scope & Timescales
Project Team setup

(Concept) (Concept)
Project Objectives

DESIGN PANS-OPS Preparation

Project Steering

VALIDATION Plus Publication

Group Work

IMPLEMENTATION
CONCEPT ASSESSMENT
NB: AIRAC cycle interval
+
Preparation

Preparation

Qualitative
FTS

RTS

Analysis Update ATC Unit Instructions

Plus ATC Training
REVIEW
Week No: 1 3 4 7 8 11 14 18 21 28
Safety Assessment

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 Objec/ves  Ü  Implementa/on  
Example  
Safety   Capacity   Efficiency   Environment   Access  

Reduce   Increase   Reduce    delays  

Controlled   number  of  air   that  result   Improve  
Flight  Into   traffic  routes  to   from  excessive   airport  and  
Reduce  noise  
Terrain  via   reduce   “levelling  off”   airspace  access  
over  sensi/ve  
lateral  &   conges/on;   flight  profiles   in  all  weather  
area  
ver/cal  course   accommodate   by   condi/ons  
 
guidance  to   projected   implemen/ng  
runway   growth       CCO/CDO  
   
 
RNP  approach     RNAV-­‐1  SID   Use  of  RF  in  
Parallel     intermediate  
(LNAV/VNAV)   that  allows   RNP  approach    
RNAV-­‐2  ATS   or  missed  
to  replace   con/nuous   allowing  
routes   approach    
circling   climb  to   lower  minima  
between  ci/es   segment  
approach   enroute  
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 What  is  needed  to  develop  an  
Airspace  Concept?    
✈  TIME  –  to  explore  the  needs  of  the  various  stakeholders,  reach  
agreement  on  goals,  iden,fy  current  ground  and  airborne  
equipment  limita,ons,  conduct  traffic  flow  analyses,  etc  
✈  RESOURCES  –  Costs  may  include  (but  are  not  limited  to)    
✈ educa,on  and  training  (regulators,  operators,  ATC,  
procedure  designers,  etc),    
✈ establishment  and  sustainment  of  robust  airworthiness,  
opera,ons  approvals,  data  quality  techniques,    
✈ changes  to  ATC  automa,on,  flight  valida,on,  possibly  new  
NAVAIDS  (DMEs),  etc  
✈  TOOLS  -­‐  design  and  modeling  tools  to  support  the  design,  
valida,on  and  assessment  of  the  present  (“reference  
scenario”)  and  planned  Airspace  Concept  
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 What  does  it  look  like?  

✈ An  Airspace  Concept  

can  be  in  any  
document  format  

✈ Maintain  
configura/on  control!  

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 What  is  the  most  cri/cal  point  in  
developing  an  Airspace  Concept?    

Se+ng  the  appropriate  objec8ves  and  scope    

✈  Enables  the  project  team  to  remain  focused  and  the  budget  to  
be  managed  within  the  set  /me    
✈  Most  projects  which  fail  to  meet  the  intended  goal  do  so  
because  of  poorly  defined  scope  and  objec/ves.  
✈  Beware  of  project  creep!  

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 Once  the  Airspace  Concept  is  
developed,  what’s  next?    

✈  Lay  out  a  detailed  program  plan  for  the  specific  

implementa/on(s)  in  the  Airspace  Concept    
✈  ICAO  sample  ac/on  plans  (domain-­‐specific  and  
comprehensive)  
✈  Consider  just  as  a  star/ng  point    
✈  Adapt  as  needed  to  the  specific  circumstances  of  a  project    
✈  Steps  not  always  conducted  in  strict  sequence  
✈  Certain  steps  may  be  conducted  on  a  recurring  basis  as  the  project  
progresses  
✈  Steps  and  the  sequence  in  which  they  are  performed  in  the  project  
should  be  evaluated  by  the  implementa/on  team  on  the  basis  of  
experience  and  judgment  

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Ques/ons??  

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