Flight 2000 Should Mean Safer Skies, Fewer Delays
                    Air-Traffic Upgrade Takes Off
      If all goes well, the Flight 2000 concept will be extended to
 the entire United States by 2005
 Under the FAA's Flight 2000 plan, new information systems, including
 enhanced GPS, will pinpoint exactly where other aircraft are located
 to make flights safer.
     It's such a common experience that it's become a cliche: stuck
 in an airport, waiting for a plane that's been delayed, nothing to
 do but drink expensive coffee and peruse the gift shop for a Tom
 Clancy novel you haven't read yet. Not a good experience.
     It's no comfort, of course, but a big part of the reason your
 plane might be delayed is that the skies are getting awfully crowd-
 ed. The National Airspace System - the controllers, radar, tracking
 systems, towers and such that the FAA uses to monitor and direct
 traffic - is getting overloaded. According to Les Dorr, a Federal
 Aviation Administration spokesman, "there are about 169,000 opera-
 tions (take-offs and landings) every day in the United States."
     How is it possible to eliminate the burden on the system while
 maintaining safety and keeping costs down? Experts have been puzzl-
 ing that question for years. Things finally began to change in 1996
 when a White House commission recommended a new approach. Pushed by
 Vice President Al Gore, the Federal Aviation Administration embraced
 the program that has come to be called Flight 2000. It is nothing
 short of a complete overhaul of the nation's air traffic control
 system.
                             New Approach
     The FAA plan, which will first be tested in Hawaii and Alaska
 starting in September 2000, fills volumes, but one of its corner-
 stones is a set of new digital technologies.
     According to Don Eddy, deputy director of Flight 2000, "there's
 already a lot of information out there - traffic, weather, airport
 data - but it's not automated or quickly available to a controller
 or flight crew." One of the goals of Flight 2000 is to put a lot
 more of that data in easy-to-understand form right in the cockpit
 with the pilot.
     The cockpit will begin to resemble a computer workstation where
 the pilot receives real time data on weather, air traffic and ter-
 rain in the form of maps, graphics and text messages.  Reducing the
 time it now takes to communicate all that information from tower to
 pilot should allow the airspace system to handle more traffic.
                           GPS Key to System
     A major piece of the program relies on the Global Positioning
 System (GPS), a network of 24 satellites whose navigational signals
 are picked up by a receiver and converted into an exact location on
 Earth (or above it). The satellites were first launched for the
 military more than 10 years ago, back when the idea of guiding a B1
 bomber to a target was of great interest to the Pentagon.
     For Flight 2000, the GPS signals are enhanced with ground-based
 reference stations. This tweak allows pilots to locate their air-
 craft even more precisely. Tie that information into an improved
 radar system and pilots and ground controllers have a good idea
 where everyone is. Then display those details along with data on
 weather and terrain, and share that information among the planes in
 a given area, and you have greatly decreased the chance of
 collisions.
     Flight 2000 also includes what are called "probes," software
 designed to anticipate routes. "With an en route probe, the system
 can look at where a plane started and who else might be planning
 on occupying the same airspace," says Eddy. "If it looks like it's
 a problem, the controllers notify the aircraft and make a change."
     One benefit that will directly affect travelers is in aircraft
 separations. Right now, there's a strict limit for how far apart
 airport runways must be in order for two planes to land or take off
 at the same time. Under Flight 2000, that limit might be reduced,
 which means that the number of departures and arrivals could double
 at some airports.
                         Safer, Lower Cost
     Safety will not be compromised by these looser restrictions,
 and the NAS system will be able to handle more traffic. That should
 help keep airline costs down, particularly by reducing the amount
 of fuel burned while aircraft are stuck in holding patterns.
     Flight 2000 is projected to save between $2.6 billion and $6.6
 billion in taxes and other costs to the public, against a price tag
 of about $398 million.
     The FAA will test the system for two years and refine the equip-
 ment and procedures. If all goes well, the concept will be extended
 to the entire United States by 2005 for a cost of approximately
 $5 billion.
     Maybe by then you won't need that Clancy book after all.
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