The Next generation air transportation system: An Answer to solve airport efficiency?

234 Pages·2016·4.51 MB·English

by  Daniel Bourgeois

Rochester Institute of Technology
RIT Scholar Works
Theses Thesis/Dissertation Collections
8-1-2010
The Next generation air transportation system: An
Answer to solve airport efficiency?
Daniel Bourgeois
Follow this and additional works at:http://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses
Recommended Citation
Bourgeois, Daniel, "The Next generation air transportation system: An Answer to solve airport efficiency?" (2010). Thesis. Rochester
Institute of Technology. Accessed from
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Thesis/Dissertation Collections at RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion
in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please [email protected].
The Next Generation Air Transportation System:
An Answer to Solve Airport Efficiency?

by Daniel “Frenchy” Bourgeois

Masters of Science
Science, Technology and Public Policy
Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of the
Graduation Requirements for the

College of Liberal Arts/Public Policy Program at
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Rochester, New York

August 2010

Submitted by:

Daniel Bourgeois
Signature Date

Accepted by:

Dr. Franz Foltz/Thesis Advisor
Graduate Coordinator/STS/Public Policy Department Signature Date
College of Liberal Arts
Rochester Institute of Technology

Dr. Rene Piccarreto
College of Business Signature Date
Rochester Institute of Technology

M. Ann Howard, J.D./Senior Associate Dean
College of Liberal Arts Signature Date
Rochester Institute of Technology

Dr. Ray Dongryul Kim
Department of Political Science Signature Date
College of Liberal Arts
Rochester Institute of Technology

Dr. James Winebrake, Professor and Chair
Dept. of STS/Public Policy, College of Liberal Arts Signature Date
Rochester Institute of Technology

Page I
2010

The Next Generation Air Transportation System: An
Answer To Solve Airport Efficiency?
Daniel “Frenchy” Bourgeois
Rochester Institute of Technology
8/9/2010
Page II
Table Of Contents

Table Of Contents ............................................................................................................. III
Table Of Figures ............................................................................................................ VIII
Table Of Tables................................................................................................................. XI
Abstract: ......................................................................................................................... XIII
Chapter One ...................................................................................................................... 1
Research Question: ............................................................................................................. 1
History Of Aviation Regualtion Befor NextGen: ............................................................... 4
NextGen: ............................................................................................................................. 5
Public Policy Questions Surrounding NextGen:................................................................. 6
Road Map: ......................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter Two .................................................................................................................... 11
Literature Review: ............................................................................................................ 12
NextGen: ........................................................................................................................... 12
Current and NextGen Technologies: ................................................................................ 13
Technologies Prior to Takeoff: ..................................................................................... 13
Technologies After Takeoff: ......................................................................................... 14
Technologies of Oceanic Travel: .................................................................................. 14
Technologies in Approach: ........................................................................................... 15
Non Directional Beacon/Automatic Direction Finder systems: ............................... 16
Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range navigation system: .......................... 18
Instrument Landing Systems (ILS): .......................................................................... 20
Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System: .............................................................. 22
Page III
Regulation Mandate That Created NextGen: ................................................................ 23
NextGen and The Joint Planning and Direction Office Objectives: ............................. 25
NextGen Implementation Time Line: ........................................................................... 28
Conclusion from Senior Project: ............................................................................... 31
Questions Raised From Senior Project: ............................................................................ 36
Chapter Three ................................................................................................................. 40
Methodology: .................................................................................................................... 41
Case Reference: Aviation Industry Will Not Take Care Of Itself: ............................... 48
Externalities: ................................................................................................................. 53
Market Failure:.............................................................................................................. 55
Government Use of the National Aerospace System:................................................... 59
Extreme Cost:................................................................................................................ 69
Airlines Themselves Try to Recover Losses to Stay Competitive: .............................. 71
Standardization: ............................................................................................................ 72
Weather And Its Effects On Flying: ................................................................................. 74
Thunderstorms And Other Convective Weather: ......................................................... 76
Icing: ............................................................................................................................. 78
In Flight:.................................................................................................................... 78
Ground: ..................................................................................................................... 80
Turbulence: ................................................................................................................... 80
Ceiling And Visibility: .................................................................................................. 84
Volcanic Ash:................................................................................................................ 86
Chapter Four ................................................................................................................... 89
Case Studies: ..................................................................................................................... 90
Page IV
San Francisco International: ......................................................................................... 94
Minneapolis St. Paul International:............................................................................. 109
New York City Metroplex: ......................................................................................... 115
New York City Metroplex: ......................................................................................... 115
LaGuardia International Airport: ................................................................................ 123
Conclusion of Findings: .............................................................................................. 128
Chapter Five .................................................................................................................. 132
Conclusions & Policy Recommendations:...................................................................... 133
Recommendations For New Policies: ............................................................................. 141
Recommendation #1: .................................................................................................. 142
Recommendation #2: .................................................................................................. 143
Recommendation #3: .................................................................................................. 145
Recommendation #4: .................................................................................................. 146
Future Questions: ............................................................................................................ 147
Pilots Ability: .............................................................................................................. 147
How To Deal With General Aviation Aircraft: .......................................................... 149
Conclusions: .................................................................................................................... 151
Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 154
Appendix A: Glossary Of Abbreviations .................................................................... 155
A .................................................................................................................................. 155
B .................................................................................................................................. 156
C .................................................................................................................................. 156
D .................................................................................................................................. 157
E .................................................................................................................................. 158
Page V
F .................................................................................................................................. 158
G .................................................................................................................................. 158
H .................................................................................................................................. 159
I ................................................................................................................................... 159
J ................................................................................................................................... 159
K .................................................................................................................................. 160
L .................................................................................................................................. 160
M ................................................................................................................................. 160
N .................................................................................................................................. 161
O .................................................................................................................................. 162
P .................................................................................................................................. 162
R .................................................................................................................................. 162
S .................................................................................................................................. 163
T .................................................................................................................................. 164
U .................................................................................................................................. 165
V .................................................................................................................................. 165
W ................................................................................................................................. 165
Appendix B: Financial Section .................................................................................... 166
Appendix C: NextGen Opinion Survey 1.................................................................... 172
Appendix D: Opinion Survey After Correction From Beta Test ............................. 174
Appendix E: Results From NextGen Survey .............................................................. 177
Appendix F: Previous Research .................................................................................. 192
Participants:..................................................................................................................... 195
Instruments:..................................................................................................................... 196
Page VI
β Test: ............................................................................................................................. 197
Expectation of results:..................................................................................................... 201
Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 203

Page VII
Table Of Figures

Figure 1 The En Route Technology Implementation Time Line ...................................... 30
Figure 2 Implementation Time Line Of Technologies That Will Increase Arrival And
Departure Times................................................................................................................ 31
Figure 3 The De Havilland Comet .................................................................................... 50
Figure 4 National Security Area ....................................................................................... 62
Figure 5 Military Operating Area ..................................................................................... 63
Figure 6 Alert Area ........................................................................................................... 63
Figure 7 Prohibited Areas around capitol buildings ......................................................... 64
Figure 8 Temporary Flight Restriction For Camp David ................................................. 65
Figure 9 Restricted (R-2908) And Warning (W-155A) Areas ......................................... 65
Figure 10 Special Federal Regulation Area For The Grand Canyon ................................ 66
Figure 11 Special Conservation Area For Iroquois .......................................................... 66
Figure 12 Military Training Route IR801 ......................................................................... 67
Figure 13 The Meteorological Conditions Which Govern Flight Rules........................... 75
Figure 14 Delay Hours In The NAS For January 2001 To July 2002. Delay Hours Peaked
At 50,000 Hours Per Month In August 2001, Declined To Less Than 15,000 Per Month
For The Months Following September 11, But Exceeded 30,000 Per Month In The
Summer Of 2002 ............................................................................................................... 76
Figure 15 Picture Showing How Ice Can Form On Wings .............................................. 79
Figure 16 Lenticular Cloud Formed Over Mt. Reiner In Washington ............................. 82
Figure 17 Photograph Of A Aircraft Missing An Engine Which Had Been Ripped Off By
Sever Thunderstorm Turbulence....................................................................................... 83
Page VIII
Figure 18 This Image Shows The Effected Areas From The Ash Cloud At Different
Flight Levels Over Europe And Western Russia On April 15 2010 At 1800z ................. 87
Figure 19 Airport Diagram Of San Francisco International Airport ................................ 94
Figure 20 Percentage Increase in Number Of Delays Per 1000 Operations For The 15
Most Delayed Airports In The US, 1997 – 2000 (Evans, 2002)....................................... 95
Figure 21 Percentage Of IFR Conditions In June 2000 (Evans, 2002) ............................ 96
Figure 22 Average Capacity Drop, In Percentage, Caused By Adverse Weather (Evans,
2002) ................................................................................................................................. 97
Figure 23 Impact Of Weather On The Airport - Product Of Percentage Capacity Drop
And Percentage Frequency Of Weather On Airports, Normalized Relative To The
Average, June 2000 ........................................................................................................... 98
Figure 24 The Independent Operations Of Closely Spaced Parallel Runways (Federal
Aviation Administration 2009) ....................................................................................... 101
Figure 25 ILS Localizer Overlap (Federal Aviation Administration 2009) ................... 101
Figure 26 The Area Of Operation For RNAV Approaches (Federal Aviation
Administration 2009) ...................................................................................................... 103
Figure 27 An Extreme Lateral Course Deviation for CSPR (Federal Aviation
Administration 2009) ...................................................................................................... 104
Figure 28 Picture Depicting Wake Turbulence (fearlessflight.com/turbulence-happens)
......................................................................................................................................... 105
Figure 29 Dependent Operations To CPSR .................................................................... 106
Figure 30 Aircraft Maintaining Visual Separation To Avoid Wake Turbulence (Federal
Aviation Administration 2009) ....................................................................................... 106
Figure 31 The Safe Zone Created By New NextGen Technology ................................. 107
Page IX