new process for “clean sheet” airspace design and · pdf file– airspace...

F063-B07-037 © 2007 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved.

New Process for “Clean Sheet” Airspace Design and Evaluation

Brian SimmonsThe MITRE Corporation

McLean, Virginia, USA

July 2007

F063-B07-037© 2007 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved.2

BackgroundTraditional Airspace Design in the U.S.

• Purpose:– Reconfigure route and sector geometry to

enhance the safe and expeditious flow of air traffic

• Methodology:– Airspace Management Handbook– Airspace design teams– Management and union leadership

• Features:– Local expertise

• Robust design• Subjective

– Stakeholder Involvement• Political buy-in• “Analysis Paralysis”

– Thorough • Mature design• Cost and configuration management


Clean Sheet Airspace Design ProcessOverview

• Purpose: – Make Conduct Airspace Study phase of

the Airspace Management Handbookmore efficient

• Methodology:1. Traffic and Airspace Environment

2. Airspace Partitioning

3. Workability Evaluation

4. Sector Audit and Remediation

• Features:– Balanced and benchmarked complexity

– Best practices of airspace design

– Unconstrained by current boundaries

– Objective

– Repeatable

– Transparent

– Efficient


Clean Sheet Airspace Design ProcessStep 2: Airspace Partitioning

• Purpose:– Determine number, size

and orientation of partitions

• Tool:– airspacePartitioner

• Features:– Complexity benchmarking

– Recursive k-means clustering

– Boundary smoothing

– Can partition around non-negotiable regions (e.g., SUA)

Traffic Demand Profiles

Partition region airspace with airspacePartitioner

Airspace Partitioning

Partitions with equal & benchmarked complexity



Traffic CountsProximity EventsTransitionsArrival Spacing

Complexity Map = A weighted combination of the four components


Complexity per Volume

3 Volumes of Airspace









Clean Sheet Airspace Design ProcessStep 3: Workability Assessment

• Purpose:– Determine where configuration of

flows and boundaries are incompatible with ATC services

• Tool:– airspaceAnalyzer

• Features:– Fast-time simulation– ATC modeled as linear program

• Aircraft to aircraft separation• Aircraft to airspace separation• MIT spacing• Return to course

– Records effort needed to service traffic flows

Traffic Demand Profiles

Partitions with equal & benchmarked complexity

Identify problem partitions using airspaceAnalyzer

Workability Evaluation

Airspace requiring boundary analysis


Clean Sheet Airspace Design ProcessStep 4: Sector Audit and Remediation

• Purpose:– Identify and rectify specific

airspace design problems

• Tool:– sectorEvaluator

• Features:– Knowledge-based system

– GIS implementation

– Computes key airspace design characteristics and compares against best practices

– Indicates design improvements

Airspace requiring boundary analysis

Refine partition boundaries using sectorEvaluator

Sector Audit

Final Design


ConclusionsSelected Applications

• Airspace Design Projects– Flow-Based Design Concept

– Mid-Term Facility Concept

– Florida Airspace Optimization

• En-Route Sector Validation– Jacksonville/Miami

– Chicago

– Indianapolis


ConclusionsLessons Learned

• Possible to capture and apply Principles of Airspace Design– Objective– Repeatable– Transparent

• Process is non-trivial– Efficient, but not a push button answer– Refinement during implementation– Human-centered design with computer assistance

• Particularly good for a regional airspace projects crossing facility boundaries– Unbiased– Provides a design to which

stakeholders can react – Focuses discussion on technical

(rather than political) issues

For information on the availability of these tools, contact:

Nancy KalinowskiDirector of System Operations Airspace & AIMFederal Aviation [email protected]

For information on the availability of these tools, contact:

Nancy KalinowskiDirector of System Operations Airspace & AIMFederal Aviation [email protected]

new process for “clean sheet” airspace design and · pdf file– airspace...

Documents