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Automated Flight Following

Automated Flight Following. A Technical Look….Past and Future. HAC 2006 - Quebec City, April 9th. Mike Russo – Technical Analyst Ministry of Forests and Range, Protection Branch Victoria BC, Canada. Automated Flight Following. History. What is it? How does it work?.

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Automated Flight Following

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  1. Automated Flight Following A Technical Look….Past and Future HAC 2006 - Quebec City, April 9th Mike Russo – Technical Analyst Ministry of Forests and Range, Protection Branch Victoria BC, Canada

  2. Automated Flight Following • History • What is it? How does it work? • AFF Specifications vs. Agency Requirements • Who approves AFF compliancy? • Tracking Equipment / Reporting Frequencies • Satellite Technology • Mapping Systems • Future? Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  3. A History… (In a Nutshell) • Regional Terrestrial Based “Pioneer System”.1993 / 02 • Avionics industry to manufacture satellite tracking “system”. 2000 / 01 • Terrestrial and Satellite based systems ran side by side. 2000 / 02 • USFS approached BCFS for mapping display to track aircraft. 2001 • BCFS portable systems for out of province aircraft. 2004 • BCFS went satellite based only. 2002 - Present • BCFS / USFS joint development in “AFF” standard. 2003 / 04 • DHC-8-Q400 flight from B.C. to Marseille, France. 2004 Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  4. What is AFF? “Automated Flight Following (AFF) is a system that automatically tracks the location, altitude, course and speed of an aircraft, providing this information in real time to dispatchers, aviation managers and other system users.” • Safety! • Resource Awareness! • Reduce radio traffic! • Reduce Check-in times! Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  5. How does it work? • Tracking unit receives GPS data. 2) Tracking unit transmits data over satellite carrier. 3) Satellite carrier ground station receives data from tracking unit. 4) Ground station sends data over internet to Vendor headquarters. 5) Agency (ie: BCFS) requests data from Vendor. 6) Vendor sends data to Agency’s headquarters. 7) Agency formats data for display on mapping system. Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  6. “AFF” Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  7. AFF vs. Agency Specifications AgencySpecifications AFF Specifications • One position transmitted every two minutes. • Lat and Long in decimal degrees. • Valid 3D positions will be used for tracking. • Speed will report in “Meters per Second”. • Data is secured between unit and AFF HQ. • Etc… • Device must have external antennas. • Device must have an STC / LSTC. • One position report every 7 minutes. • Device will run off aircraft’s internal power. • Device must support voice capabilities. • Etc… Look for a tracking device that is “flexible” Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  8. AFF Compliancy? Common Question #1: Can I guarantee the device and vendor are currentlyAFF Compliant? • Currently, no vendor or device is “certified” as AFF compliant. • Compliancy = “Performance Based” and “XML Data Standard”. • Compliancy will be an “on going” performance evaluation. • Performance is monitored and results displayed on a web site? • AFF Compliancy can change overtime. • Compliancy will be standard across North America. • Available before 2008? Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  9. Tracking Equipment Common Question #2: “Which Tracking Device Should I Buy?” • Which satellite carrier does it use? (Transmission Costs) • Can it meet the most demanding agency’s specifications? • Does it meet my business needs outside forestry work? • Are satellite voice capabilities important to me? • Does it already have an STC for my aircraft? • How much does it cost to purchase the hardware? • Does the tracking device meet the AFF specs? Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  10. Satellite Technology Common Question #3: “Which satellite carrier should I use?” • Satellite Coverage Area • Satellite Bandwidth Speed • Voice Quality over Satellite • Products / Hardware Available • Data and Voice Transmission Costs!! Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  11. Aircraft “History” Trail • Five minute transmissions. • Viewing two months of data. • Points indicate transmissions. • Web application. BCFS “Dispatch” Application Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  12. Future? • Eliminate 30 min safety check-ins? • Reduce / eliminate the use of radio repeater network? Satellite only? • Send digital information from aircraft to base near real time? • Billing flight hours to tracking device start / stop reports? • Send fuel levels and / or retardant levels to central Dispatch? • Send manifest details over satellite? • Record flight hours for maintenance tracking? • ???? Automated Flight Following (AFF)

  13. More Information • Web • http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/protect/AFF/ • https://www.aff.gov/ • Internet keyword search: • “Satellite tracking”, “AFF”, “Automated Flight Following”, etc.. Email: Mike.Russo@gov.bc.ca Ministry of Forests, Protection Branch Automated Flight Following (AFF)

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