In an announcement made
at the North Pole, Santa Claus declared that his reindeer sled has
been equipped with new, emerging avionics technology intended to
safely speed delivery of gifts this Christmas season. Indicating
his elves had been busy working on this project since last summer,
Santa announced that the team successfully equipped their new
state-of-the-art sled with the emerging technology Automatic
Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B broadcasts
"own-sled" position, as well as other message set elements, and is
intended to reduce the likelihood of both airborne and surface
collisions.
"We had no choice but
to equip. With the revitalization of air travel this past year, and
the increasing number of near-misses we've encountered in recent
years, this move to new technology was necessary to protect Santa
and his precious cargo. With ADS-B Sled Display of Traffic
Information (SDTI), Santa, as well as his helpers back at North
Pole Dispatch can now "see" potentially conflicting air traffic,
vastly enhancing situational awareness. The associated Flight
Monitoring Application will also allow Dispatch to monitor Santa's
progress and react more quickly to any unforeseen difficulties. "It
really will make a difference as to how we can self-separate our
reindeer and sled from private, commercial, and airline traffic,"
said Santa during today's press conference.
Mrs. (Karen) Claus, also a Boeing 747 management pilot for a
major airline, was quite positive. She said, "Can you imagine what
might happen in bad weather, when we deliver all those gifts and
land on the roofs of apartment houses? With our new onboard
multifunction SDTI displays, we can significantly reduce the
likelihood of both roof-incursions as well as Controlled Flight
Into Rooftop (CFIR) accidents, the latter being a collision between
the sled and one of many obstructions in this obstacle-rich
environment. The avionics incorporates terrain, architecture, and
obstacle databases…those old television antennas on a Cape
Cod style roof can be treacherous. Also, high television antenna
concentrations are especially prevalent around large apartment
complexes."
Roof incursions and
CFIR accidents, although rare, have dramatically increased in
recent years with the building of these large apartment and
condominium complexes, especially in and around large cities,
according to Mrs. Claus. "Our new ADS-B and SDTI equipment will
help us safely make multiple sled deliveries in highly populated,
downtown, city centers," said Mrs. Claus.
Meanwhile, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials
announced in Washington, DC that a limited number of Ground
Broadcast Transceivers (GBTs) to support this technology will be
deployed to provide updated traffic, weather and aeronautical data
to Santa's sled. Santa had been cooperating with the FAA's Safe
Flight 21 Program and the Alaska Capstone Program to evaluate this
technology in Alaska. Santa said that initial flight tests were
conducted in the vicinity of Bethel and Juneau, Alaska, using
production GBTs produced by Sensis Corporation, and with avionics
manufactured by GARMIN AT. Bethel is just a few short "hops" by
reindeer from Santa's headquarters at the North Pole.
"We participated in the Bethel tests because we saw immediate
benefits to our operations. My Dispatch office can now use ADS-B to
track my progress; thereby helping my elves to provide more
efficient ramp management and inventory control for my frequent
returns to reload my sled," said Santa. "We can receive up-linked
traffic from traditional radar sites as well as real time weather
data, and we've agreed to participate in flight monitoring testing,
so FAA can track me as I head south".
In a separate development, the FAA is expected to announce that
it will be expanding ADS-B radar-like services within the Anchorage
Air Route Traffic Control Center (ANC ARTCC) as soon as these new
ADS-B ground stations are fully certified. Additionally, the FAA's
Safe Flight 21 Program is cooperating with academic institutions
such as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) to deploy a
limited ADS-B network in the "lower 48 states." "An Initial
Operational Capability NOTAM announcing expanded services to
aircraft may be possible as early as this coming spring", commented
one senior FAA Official, who wished to remain anonymous.
As part of an
innovative installation approach to conserve weight, Santa's elves
have devised a way to use the reindeer's antlers to mount the two
ADS-B antenna, vastly reducing the time (and cost) required for
installation of the overall ADS-B avionics system.
While some FAA officials said that they initially had some
serious certification issues and "heartburn" with this approach,
FAA's concerns were addressed as part of a dedicated flight test
program. "The Applicant showed us an equivalent level of safety to
other aircraft as well as reindeer operations," said a FAA
spokesperson in Seattle. "We had no reason to delay the
installation."
Upon hearing the news that this new equipment would be available
for use this Christmas, Rudolf, the lead reindeer with his nose so
red, exhibited good pilot judgment when he said, "I'll drink to
that -- but not on Christmas Eve when I'm on duty!"
Santa Claus operates the world's largest one-day-only small
package delivery system. Santa delivers more packages to more
households on Christmas than does all the other small package
delivery services combined. The FAA's Safe Flight 21 and Capstone
Programs are very real, and hold promise in 2005 for providing
significant safety, capacity, and efficiency benefits to all
airspace users.