Took a bit longer than promised, but here goes....
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Originally Posted by J81
Im not sure what to think of this. What happens when the system goes down or cameras malfunction? Will this be another reason for travellers end up getting shafted?
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Obviously there will need to be redundancies in place in order to make sure that doesn't happen. it's nothing NavCan can't deal with.
An IFR controller losing his radar feed is just as bad, if not worse. How often do you hear that happening? So this will be no different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by casper
On the west coast where we have fog and mist this just does not sound like a good idea.
Press release says Kingston will eventually be designed to control up to 20 airports.
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These cameras will bring immense benefits, especially at the smaller airports with no ground radar.
A 360 degree array of cameras and sensors will deliver high-definition views,
including infrared to controllers' screens. This means even if there is fog, controllers will be able to see right through it.
The system will be able to overlay aircraft identification,
track objects (including birds) and display real-time weather, increasing safety over human eyesight alone.
I'll give you a concrete example of a benefit at a pretty busy airport.
Right now, YEG airport doesn't have ground radar. What this means is that the minute an aircraft touches down on the runway and begins taxiing, the only way controllers in the tower can see that aircraft is by looking out their windows.
Now, what happens if today, YEG is covered in thick fog, and the controllers can't even see 20 feet past their windows?
The controllers will need to get position reports from every landing aircraft, in order to make sure they are clear of the runway, before the other aircraft can land. This will cause delays, as the spacing on final will need to increase in order to make the operation safe.
A set of infrared cameras will instantly solve that problem, providing the controllers with the information they need in order to keep the operation going at a higher rate.
Now, this was just an example, and I know YEG isn’t fog prone, but YHM is, and it doesn’t have ground radar either.
Another benefit is the potential elimination of blind spots. Right now, a lot of airports have blind spots, which are portions of taxiways or whole taxiways that aren't visible from the control tower.
The placement of these cameras might help reduce or eliminate the number of blind spots an airport control tower has.
YYJ is building a new control tower partly because of this.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/vancouv...ort-taxi-way-unusable-due-to-blind-spot/
Quote:
Originally Posted by nname
I remember during the US government shutdown, airport as big as BUR were remotely controlled at one point...
So the technology may eventually be applied to bigger and bigger airports...
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As I said, not the same thing.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/government-shutdown-air-traffic-control-1.7653032
BUR control tower was unmanned, and no one was controlling the runways and taxiways, meaning pilots had to broadcast their intentions on the ground and avoid other (VFR) aircraft on their own. Approach control service - TRACON - was still being provided, but that's it.
So IFR flights had to get a clearance from TRACON before departing. Once they had that clearance, only then could they get airborne. Since IFR flights have to be separated from other IFR flights, it was essentially a 1 in, 1 out type of operation. Very restrictive. 6-12 movements per hour, at most.
Controllers at a remote tower will be able to provide ATC service at that airport remotely, meaning they will be controlling the runways and taxiways, same as if they were at the control tower.
So it's two different things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dominion301
Heck, within the big 4, given YUL's curfew, couldn't the 4 slowest hours of the curfew overnight go remote when not much happens? It's quieter at YUL from 0100-0600 than at airports like YOW who typically handles 4-10 arrivals overnight during sun season + 24/7 for other traffic like air ambulance, and departures start at 0500, while doesn't YUL typically only handle the late night YYZ AC arrival/0500 departure?
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I highly doubt the top 8 will be touched.
As for YUL, it handles 2-4 medevacs every night between 2 and 6 am. People forget the airport is open 24/7 to anything that weighs 45 t or less, but also to medevacs, emergencies, etc.
And let's be honest. AC does as it pleases at YUL. One of their MCO flights (A321) landed well past 3 am on several occasions this week. The arrival curfew is at 1 am.
Propair has several medevac flights to/from YUY every night, plus the Quebec government runs their medevac challengers/Dash-8s to YUL several times a day as well, and almost every night between 2-6 am. So it's not as quiet as you make it out to be. In fact, having controlled YOW TCU for a number of years, i can say even during those hours, YUL is busier.
Besides all that, training a controller to be able to work busy airports only during midnight shifts is a non starter. There’s a safety issue because, as mentioned, it can get busy, plus the union will never go for it.
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