Test for remote air-traffic control system set to begin at NoCo airport
LOVELAND — The Federal Aviation Administration has selected Canada-based Searidge Technologies to install, test and certify a remote air-traffic control system at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland.
This is the first step toward implementing a test site for next generation air-traffic control technology designed to improve efficiency and safety.
The project will integrate video and radar to provide a view of the airport surface and Class D airspace to air-traffic controllers working in a remote facility. Class D airspace ranges from the ground to an altitude of 2,500 feet with a radius of about 4.5 miles.
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The FAA, Northern Colorado Regional Airport and the Colorado Division of Aeronautics are collaborating on the project.
Jason Licon, director of the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, said for this test, cameras and sensors will be located throughout the airport’s grounds and feed into a facility set up in the airport’s terminal. The airport currently does not have a control tower.
Moving forward, a permanent “remote tower” will be less expensive to build, operate and staff than a traditional air-traffic control tower, according to a statement issued by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The project is being funded with $8.8 million from the Colorado Division of Aeronautics and approved by the Colorado Aeronautical Board. The Colorado Division of Aeronautics is supported solely by aviation fuel sales tax and excise taxes.
Searidge Technologies, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, specializes in airport surface management using technology. It was the first company to have an operational video surveillance system in an air-traffic control tower, and now has video-based airport surface-management technology implemented at 30 airports located in 16 countries.
The Northern Colorado Regional Airport was chosen as the test facility for this project based on several factors including the availability of commercial air service, traffic volume and the wide mix of aircraft types operating at the airport.
Timeline for the project:
Site survey: summer 2017.
Install equipment: fall/winter 2017.
Site acceptance test: winter 2017.
Passive testing: spring/summer 2018.
Active testing: fall 2018 – spring 2019.
Initial operating capability: fall/winter 2019.
