A Tangled Web We Un-Weave

This is what a NASA aeronautics researcher often sees during simulations of new air traffic management tools that can someday make part of an aircraft's flight much more efficient. In this image, arrival operations at Phoenix Airport, including go-arounds and planned airport configuration changes, are being given a shakedown sim in advance of a more complex sim later this year that will use Phoenix as the test airport. That simulation will test technologies that can provide more efficient arrival solutions for aircraft from just prior to their top-of-descent points and continuing down to the runway. NASA is collaborating with the FAA and other industry partners to develop several advanced automation tools that provide air traffic controllers, pilots, and other airspace users with more accurate real-time information about the nation’s traffic flow, weather, and routing. The greater precision of this information is a key enabler of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. Ultimately, NASA's work in this area will be transferred to the FAA to help make aircraft arrivals more efficient, and reduce delays, fuel use, emissions and community noise.

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