onair issue 21
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This issue highlights some of the work Helios has been doing in software development,
technology assessments, cost-benefit analysis and communications support. The focus
of many of these projects has been on improving safety. This is hardly surprising given
the acknowledged need for new systems to support growing demand in all forms of travel.
Another subject close to our hearts is Galileo, the European satellite system (see
news on the Fidelity project in HOT AIR!). In a recent communication, the EC reinforced
Europe's need for Galileo, but also outlined the problems being faced across the
programme. Back in 2000, it was decided that a Public Private Partnership offered the
best means of financing full deployment based upon a number of key assumptions. It is
now apparent that many of these assumptions regarding design risk and liability have
not materialised. The EC now recommends that the public sector should finance all
capital costs, leaving a concessionaire responsible for long term operations. We wait to
see at the end of this month whether the European Parliament and Council will follow
this recommendation or not.
Finally, we are delighted to announce that ON AIR! is going electronic! Our regular
readers will soon see this issue appear in their inbox. If you would like to join them and
receive future copies by email, do get in touch at
News and Information
from Helios
CONTENTS
Anew interactive Safety Screening Tool developed by
Helios and NLR as part of the SESAR work package
“Safety Regulation” has been welcomed by users.
The tool aims to improve safety considerations in
early systems design. It does this by identifying those
changes that have the potential for major effects on
safety (positive or negative). It then prioritises these for
more detailed safety assessment studies.
The tool helps users screen projects based on 17
‘safety fundamentals’ drawn from three different
perspectives on safety:
1. System safety performance
2. Safety management aspects
3. Operational safety aspects
The screening method is able to generate rapid,
ATM SYSTEM SAFETY
Software success
IP FOR AVIATION
New solutions for 2020+
MARITIME AIS
New technology assessed
SAFETY NETS
STCA and ACAS
HOT AIR!
Our news section
OFF AIR!
Puzzle competition
S U M M E R 2 0 0 7
☞
Mike Shorthose, Managing Director
Spotlight on safety
high-level discussion of safety issues raised by ATM
system changes and is suitable for the concept planning
stage. Says EUROCONTROL project manager Oliver
Straeter: “It should help foster a proactive and shared
understanding of safety, and avoid cost-intensive
recovery or delays in project delivery.”
Helios was responsible for software development
and NLR for content and project management. Adds
Straeter: “This tool is currently in active use and has
been warmly received. It is user-friendly and robust. We
are delighted with the results, and are planning further
developments in 2007.”
ATM system safetySoftware success Features of the SESARSafety Screening Tool
● Built in Excel● Designed for ‘projection’ in a work-
shop environment● Incorporates a ‘Question Navigator’
enabling easy navigation and overview● Recording of answers● Graphical display of automatically
calculated results● Advanced question structure:
hierarchy, mapping and automatic
routing● All data stored in easy-to-understand
spreadsheets
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News and Informat ion from Hel ios
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Following earlier studies investigating the use of Internet
Protocols (IP) for future air-ground data link
applications, a new study led by Helios has identified two
previously unexplored solutions.
EUROCONTROL commissioned the study to assess the
feasibility of using IP to support the next generation of ATS
and AOC applications, focusing on technical and security
issues brought about by the mobility of aircraft and the
need to communicate with different ground stations and
networks.
ICAO studies had previously concluded positively on the
feasibility of IP for providing aeronautical air-ground
network connectivity for safety-related ATC services. As
well as exploring the existing mobility solutions identified
by ICAO, including the use of routing protocols and Mobile
IPv6, the Helios team identified two technically feasible
solutions that had not previously been considered: a
solution based on moving IPsec tunnels, and a so-called
Link Layer mobility solution. These have since been
accepted by ICAO as candidate solutions.
IP is already being used in several non safety-critical
ground-ground ATS applications. The aim of this work was
to build on the recommendations of the ICAO study and to
identify the technical solutions best suited to aviation. Says
Helios project manager Dr Andrew Ives: “The reason for
looking at IP for aviation is that it potentially allows
benefits from the latest developments in industry. But using
IP also presents a host of technical challenges related to
security and mobility - as well as avionics certification
issues - that need to be resolved.”
IP is being considered to support future, more advanced
ATC applications such as trajectory-based negotiation, and
is intended for operation over new air-ground data link
technologies expected to be deployed in 2020 or beyond. In
the meantime, the ATM community is implementing the
Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) for ATS
air-ground data link communications.
The six-month study was carried out by a consortium
comprising Ericsson, SITA, Sofréavia, LFV, Rockwell Collins
and DLR. For further information please contact Dr Andrew
Ives at [email protected]. Alternatively, visit
the EUROCONTROL website to access the study deliverables:
www.eurocontrol.int/communications/public/news/news_
141106.html.■
IP for aviation
New solutions for 2020+
The SESAR Safety Screening Tool was developed for
EUROCONTROL as a contribution to the SESAR Definition
Phase, which is a project of EUROCONTROL co-funded by the
EC TEN-T programme. For more details about the tool
contact Andrew Burrage at Helios (andrew.burrage@
helios-tech.co.uk) or Oliver Straeter at EUROCONTOL
([email protected]). Or visit
www.eurocontrol.int/safesky.■
Andrew Burrage
Andrew has been working at Helios since
February 2006 where he has worked on
numerous software and analysis projects. For
the SESAR Safety Screening Tool he was solely
responsible for the software development on
the tool. Previously Andrew worked on the
validation of the later stages of the CAPT surveillance software tool (see ON AIR! Autumn
2006). He is also the main developer on an
internal web-based account tracking package
and a key team member in Helios’ study into
mitigation of Interrogator Code (IC) conflict.
Options considered
Routing protocols – A translation of the existing ATN
approach into the IPS where routers throughout the
network distribute the required IP address.
Mobile IPv6 – A standard defined in IETF to enable
seamless roaming. All communication is routed through
one Home Agent as the aircraft travels.
IPsec tunnels – Involves the setting up of an IPsec
‘tunnel’ as a link between an aircraft and the desired
ground system. An aircraft moving to an area with a
different network sets up a new IPsec tunnel and then
dismantles the previous one.
Link Layer mobility – Based on 3GPP protocols as usedfor mobile phones. Provides seamless mobility within a
network and involves service providers exchanging IP
addresses at network boundaries.
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News and Informat ion from Hel ios
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Testing the wind? - Helios and NATS have recently
won a contract from the EUROCONTROL ExperimentalCentre to develop validation plans for Wake Turbulence
concepts such as Time Based Spacing and Crosswind Departures.
The work will comply with the European Operational Concept
Validation Methodology. This reflects the strengths of the
involved parties, and builds on Helios' operational concept
development expertise in areas such as Airborne Surveillance,
Continuous Descent Arrivals, and 4D trajectories.
Fragmentation explained, defragmentation
explored - This is the theme of our conference taking
place on 27-28 November 2007 in central London. Key industry
decision makers are speaking. This is THE topic on everyone’s
agenda today in driving forward ATM policy and system
evolution in Europe. Put the dates in your diaries now and if
you would like to pre-register, contact [email protected].
Fidelity news - The Fidelity project continues on track.
Helios is the project manager for a pan-European
consortium which is delivering the Time Service Provider (TSP)
for Galileo. The customer is the GNSS Supervisory Authority
(GSA). The development of this vital component of the
European GNSS is continuing right on schedule. In May Helios
ran the successful Development Key Point 1 (DKP 1) meeting.This looked at all aspects of the implementation of the TSP
facility and also the planning for future developments. The
GSA is very satisfied and Fidelity are now bang on target for
achieving the next major milestone at DKP 2 in July.
New arrivals - We welcome Dr Branka Subotic and
Nick Clyburn to the team. Branka is an expert in safety
and human factors in ATM and recently completed the final
stage of her PhD in controller recovery from equipment failures
in ATC. She joins the Operations and Safety team working on
safety cases and future concept development and adds Serbian
to the 9 other languages spoken by our multinational team!
Nick joins us from Strike Command, where he has been working
as an internal management consultant for the RAF. As well as
bringing new skills to the company, he also reinforces our
growing operations team with his background in air traffic
control.
Surveillance training success - Our June ’07 public
training courses focussing on secondary surveillance
technologies (Mode S, ADS-B and Multilateration) ‘sold out’
with record attendances. We are now planning a training week
on navigation technologies and another on communications
technologies – all for engineers and technicians. To register for
latest information contact [email protected].
Beaming buoysNew RF technologyassessed
Today mariners typically use radar to locate aids to
navigation, with traditional visual identification of
buoys and lighthouses as a fallback. Now a new radio
frequency broadcast technology is being assessed that has
the potential to provide more accurate position information,
positive identification of the aid to navigation and other
useful data such as sea conditions.
Called AIS (maritime Automatic Identification System),the technology is being evaluated by the General Lighthouse
Authorities whose role it is to provide Aids to Navigation
(AtoN) to mariners – and Helios has recently completed a
study for them which defined the AIS service availability
requirements and made system design recommendations.
The study was carried out in four steps:
1. Define the AIS AtoN service and propose a definition
for the service availability.
2. Identify the system architecture for the provision of
the AIS AtoN service.
3. Carry out a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)
to identify the different failure modes.
4. Carry out a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) using the FMEA
output to calculate the overall failure rate.
This process enabled the General Lighthouse Authorities
to identify the critical areas of the system architecture and
service provision that may need to be addressed prior to
implementation. Furthermore, the FTA will enable them to
specify performance requirements on separate parts of the
AIS AtoN system to ensure that a target level of availability
is achieved. For more information on this project, contact
FTA and FMEA explained
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree
Analysis (FTA) are two common techniques used for
carrying out safety assessments.
FMEA is a systematic method of identifying the
failure modes of a system and determining the effects on
the next higher level of the design.
FTA is a “top-down” system evaluation procedure in
which a model for a particular undesired event is formed
and then evaluated.
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News and Informat ion from Hel ios
Recent aviation accidents have highlighted the need to
strengthen ATC safety nets and Helios has been
supporting EUROCONTROL’ s Safety Nets team in analysing
the issues and communicating the actions.
In 2004 and 2005 EUROCONTROL undertook
comprehensive surveys to assess the status of current
practices in ground based safety nets. The next step was to
develop specifications and
guidance materials to support
standardisation, with a specificpriority for STCA (Short Term
Conflict Alert). During 2006 Helios
assessed the economic impact of
standardising STCA throughout
Europe. Helios also developed a
spreadsheet model that enabled
individual Air Navigation Service Providers to assess the
cost for their organisation to obtain standardised STCA.
While this was going on, other members of Helios worked
with the Safety Nets team to raise the profile of theactivities, developing presentations, posters, graphics and
helping prepare stakeholder workshops.
Now in 2007 Helios is just starting working with the
team on their next challenge: to raise the levels of
awareness and understanding between controllers, pilots,
safety and management staff about safety nets, and how
they interact with each other.
Says EUROCONTROL’s Ben Bakker: “The average pilot
doesn’t know much about STCA and may believe or assume
that STCA and ACAS are coordinated. They are not. This is
part of our work to raise awareness and understanding of
the issues involved across the aviation community.”
STCA and ACAS interaction will be the focus of further
studies during 2007-2010. The subject was addressed in
some detail at a workshop held by EUROCONTROL and the
Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport,
Energy and Communication (DETEC), which was attended
Safety nets for ATCSpotlight on STCA
and ACAS
by 36 renowned experts in this area of safety. The workshop
report, more information on safety nets and the work done
by EUROCONTROL in this area can be found at
www.eurocontrol.int/safety-nets. Or contact
For further information, contact Mike Shorthose by email:
[email protected], telephone: +44 1276 452811 or visit
our website www.helios-tech.co.uk.This newsletter has been written for the interest of our clients and colleagues.
We believe the facts are correct at the time of printing, but cannot be held
responsible for any errors or omissions. Please send change-of-address details
to [email protected]. Helios Technology Limited, Chamberlain House,
High Street, Bagshot, Surrey, GU19 5AE, UK.
Helios is a technical and business consultancy working in airports, air
traffic management and navigation markets. We help our customers solve
problems and implement technical and operational solutions that willimprove corporate performance. Our team has a range of expertise
covering research, planning, simulations, feasibility studies, cost benefit
analysis, procurement support and safety studies. Our knowledge covers all
of the technologies that support air traffic management, as well as satellite
navigation and advanced communication systems.
The lost buoy!Two motorboats leave a pier simultaneously,
the HMS Tinker downstream and HMS Bell
upstream, with the same motive force. As
they leave, a life buoy falls off HMS
Tinker and floats downstream. An hour
later both ships are ordered to reverse
course. Which boat arrives at the buoyfirst or do they arrive at the same time? Please provide a
brief explanation with your answer.
The answer will be published in the next edition of ON AIR!.
Please send your solutions to laurette.royer@helios-
tech.co.uk. All entries must be received by 30 September
2007. As usual, we will give a bottle of champagne to the
first correct answer drawn at random after this date. Good
luck to everyone!
And the winner is …
The correct answer to the puzzle in the Spring edition of ON
AIR! was 8:25am. The car was scheduled to reach the
station at 8:30am. When it met the engineer, it saved 10
minutes (5 to get to the station and 5 to come back to the
meeting point). Therefore the engineer met the car at
8:25am. Well done to Nigel Eite of the UK CAA who wins the
champagne.
Safety nets in briefSTCA and ACAS are well-established safety nets that both
exclusively serve the purpose of preventing collisions
between aircraft during airborne phases of flight.
STCA (Short Term Conflict Alert) alerts the air traffic
controller who then immediately assesses the situation,
determines the best course of action and gives appropriate
instructions to the pilots concerned.
ACAS (Automatic Collision Avoidance System) on the other
hand provides Resolution Advisories directly to the pilotsconcerned when the risk of collision becomes imminent.