I NTERCOM IWILLIAM I J. HUGHES I TECHNICAL I CENTER I

INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM INTERCOM








INTERCOMWILLIAM J. HUGHES TECHNICAL CENTER

MORTGAGE PAID IN FULL

Center Director AnneHarlan spoke to a largeaudience in the TechnicalBuilding Atrium, on March1, who gathered for theCenter's "mortgage burning"celebration. They witnessedthe symbolic payment of thelast dollar owed to theAtlantic CountyImprovement Authority(ACIA) on the TechnicalBuilding. More than twentyyears ago, ACIA secured a$50 Million mortgage for the516,000 square foot building,which opened for business in 1980. That mortgagenow is "Paid in Full."

Joining Anne in making the last payment toACIA Board Chairman Robert Renneisen wereDeputy Center Director Bruce M. Singer, Chairmanof the County Board of Chosen Freeholders Kirk W.Conover, County Executive Dennis Levinson, formerUS Ambassador William J. Hughes and NJAssemblyman Kenneth LeFevre. Chief of Staff RonEsposito served as Master of Ceremonies for the cel-ebration. U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg and U.S.Representative Frank A. LoBiondo could not attendbecause Congress was in session, but each sent a per-sonal representative to attend the celebration and toread a letter of congratulations to the assembly.

With color commentary provided by BruceSinger, the audience saw video footage from a num-ber of network TV news casts that ran on September20, 1978. That day, President Jimmy Carter traveledhere, to the National Aviation Facilities Experimental

Center (NAFEC), for theGroundbreaking Ceremonyfor the Technical Building.Joined by many employees,South Jersey residents andlocal, state, and FAA digni-taries, the President detonatedan explosion for the ground-breaking. The ceremony wasreported locally and national-ly, and was seen on ABCNews with Frank Reynolds,and The CBS Evening Newswith Walter Cronkite, amongothers.

The story of how thisedifice went from an idea to a reality exemplifies fed-eral-state-local and public-private cooperation at itsbest. Thirty years ago, a number of local executivesand friends of the National Aviation FacilitiesExperimental Center formed a "Save NAFEC"Committee, whose aim was to keep NAFEC in SouthJersey, even though the buildings and facilities atNAFEC were in dire need of improvement or replace-ment.

It took the efforts of many people, including sev-

Former Ambassador William J. Hughes (center) gives CenterDirector Dr. Anne Harlan a hand as she makes the final mort-gage payment on the main building to Dennis Levinson, CountyExecutive, Atlantic County, NJ.

Along withFAA employ-ees and local,state andnational digni-taries, thePresident deto-nated an explo-sion that brokeground for thebuilding.

Volume 3, Issue 3 J March 2000

2

MORTGAGE BURNING CONT.

eral U.S. Presidents, U.S. Senators, and Members ofCongress, a N.J. Governor, and a number of membersof the N.J. State legislature, the Atlantic CountyGovernment, the Atlantic County ImprovementAuthority, and even members of the NY StockExchange to create and finance this one-of-a-kindbuilding. Local radio and TV personality, Seymour'Pinky' Kravitz, spoke at the mortgage burning onhow N.J. State Senator Frank "Hap" Farley personallypleaded a case with President Dwight Eisenhower tomaintain a federal presence in Atlantic City after theNaval Air Station closed, following the end of WorldWar II. Kravitz was the Vice Chairman of ACIA

when the Technical Building became a reality.The Airways Modernization Board (AMB) estab-

lished NAFEC at this former air station, as aviation'spremier research and test facility, on July 1, 1958.The signing of the Federal Aviation Act by PresidentEisenhower the following month, on August 23,1958, dissolved the AMB and created an independentFederal Aviation Agency. That agency later becamethe Federal Aviation Administration of the U.S.Department of Transportation. NAFEC was renamedthe FAA Technical Center on May 29, 1980, conclud-ing the dedication of the Technical Building by VicePresident Walter Mondale.

On May 6, 1996, the Tech Center was rededicat-ed as the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center inhonor of former Ambassador Hughes, who represent-ed this district in Congress when the decision wasmade to construct the Technical Building. Hugheswas instrumental in keeping the Tech Center in SouthJersey, in making the Technical Building a reality, andin obtaining increasing levels of funding for FAA pro-grams and projects that were being conducted here.

At the conclusion of the formal ceremony, allCenter employees who worked at NAFEC in 1980,when the building was dedicated, were invited to bein a group photo. For the celebration, five exhibitswere on display in the Atrium, depicting variousaspects of the history of the Technical Building. Oneexhibit featured the Center's ceremonial shovel, whichwas used to break ground for six different NAFEC

and Tech Center buildings duringthe 20th century. The shovel wasretired as part of the mortgageburning celebration. After theceremony, cake and coffee wereserved, courtesy of the NAFECAssociation.

Joining Anne as she made the symbolic last payment, were (left toright) Deputy Center Director Bruce M. Singer, County FreeholderChairman Kirk W. Conover, County Executive Dennis Levinson, formerAmbassador William J. Hughes, Renneisen, and Assemblyman KennethLeFevre. Chief of Staff Ronald J. Esposito (top right) served as Masterof Ceremonies.

CLASS OF 198O: All Centeremployees who worked at theNational Aviation FacilitiesExperimental Center, when VicePresident Mondale dedicated theTechnical Building in 1980, wereinvited to have their photo taken afterthe "mortgage burning."

WJHTC INTERCOM MARCH 2000

IN MEMORIAM:STEVEN SUMNER

Steven G. Sumner (age 40),of the FAA William J. HughesTechnical Center (Atlantic City,NJ) died unexpectedly at home inHammonton, NJ, on January 12,2000. He was the team leader forthe AOS-260 MODE-S BeaconSystem.

Steven and his wife, Dianegrew up in Medford, NJ. Bothgraduated from Shawnee HighSchool. Steven served in the U.S.Navy from April 1980 untilDecember 1987; trained as an elec-tronics technician in air traffic con-trol procedures, miniature compo-nent repair, and maintenance andrepair of radar. He worked onequipment such as the TACANAN/SRN-6 family, the AN/FRC-156 System, and the AN/FPN-63Precision Approach Radar.

His tours of duty included theNaval Technical TrainingCommand (Great Lakes, IL); theNaval Support Force (Antarctica);the Naval Communications (WestPacific, Guam); the Naval AirTechnical Training Command(Millington, TN) and the AirTraffic Control Division (NASPoint Mugu, CA).

Upon discharge from theNavy, Steve worked briefly forRCA Aerospace, where he alignedsatellite microwave transceivers.Then he worked for SysconCorporation, where he providedoversight for the testing of theAEGIS system.

He began working for theFAA in August, 1988, assigned to

the Long-RangeRadar Site(Trevose, PA).Steven per-formed preven-tive and correc-tive mainte-nance, andinstalled modifi-cations.

He wasdetailed to theTech Center fora 60-day periodin April 1994,and became apermanentemployee of the Center in August1994.

The devoted husband ofDiane, Steve gave himself fullyand made sacrifices for the love ofhis family. He was the father ofColleen (age 20), Carrie (age 18),Timothy (age 10), and Matthew(age 3); the son of Thomas andRuth Sumner; son-in-law of Mr.and Mrs. Ed Holland; and thefather-in-law of Brian Wells.

Steven came to know the Lordas his personal Savior in 1980. Heloved life and cared about others.He had a joyful spirit and touchedthe lives of the people around him.Part of his ministry was workingwith youth in his church, where hewas a Deacon, an Elder, and aSunday School Teacher. Steve andhis wife also opened their homefor Bible study and prayer.

Steve loved his job and the

people he worked with. Hebrought joy and energy whereverhe went, and his desire was toshow God's love and share God'struth . . . to be real with people.Steven will be greatly missed, buthe will live in our hearts and in ourmemories.

Steven and Diane desired thattheir children have a Christianupbringing and education. Colleenis a freshman at Liberty University(Lynchburg, VA). Carrie andTimothy attend the VictoryChristian School (Williamstown,NJ). Donations can be made forthe children's education throughthe AFGE Union Office (AOS), orto Tim McKinley/Doyle Bordelonc/o AOS-260. An account hasbeen set up under the names ofDoyle Bordelon and TimMcKinley.

Diane and Steve

3


Recently, two ACT organization worked together,taking another pro-active step towards full accommo-dation in the workplace for the hearing impaired.ACT-9 and ACT-73 participated in arranging for thefirst videotape in ACT-73's library to be closed-cap-tioned.

The closed-captioning is the result of a sugges-tion by Richard Newman, manager of the CivilRights Office, to Robert Marks, manager of theImaging Technology Branch, that the excellent videoproduction, "Building on the Legacy (NuestraHerencia)," would be a good candidate for the closed-caption process. The two managers made arrange-ments to have the video processed to have the narra-tive print at the bottom of the screen added. Theresulting product can also be duplicated with theclosed-captions intact for even more impact in theworld of handicapped accommodation.

The Imaging Branch has been called upon in thepast to modify productions for wider dissemination.Narration has been overdubbed in Chinese, French,German, and Spanish as well as altering the videotapeformat to match the countries in question. But this isthe first time the video element of closed-captioninghas been added. Both ACT-9 and -73 hope thatmany more of the Center's video library selectionscan be processed in this manner.

The Office of Civil Rights, in conjunction withCenter management and the Safety Office, has a longhistory of looking for ways to make the workplacebetter, fairer, and more accessible to all employees.Now the closed-captioning of “Nuestra Herencia” canbe added to their list of innovations.

The closed-captioned videotape (Tape#MST645.01) can be accessed by contacting theACT-73 Video Library at x4058.

The Imaging Technology Branch (ACT-73) hasbeen selected as the recipient of two Telly Awards for2000. The winning video productions are the“Technical Center Overview Program” and the “FAAY2K Program.”

Now in its 21st year, the Telly Awards havebecome a well-known, highly respected national com-petition for people who create non-broadcast videoand film productions. The Telly has become one ofthe most sought-after awards in the TV, commercial,and video industry. The awards committee receivedover 12,000 entries this year.

The Center overview video production details themany important research and development programsconducted at the Center to meet the FAA's mission ofsafety, security, and system efficiency. The “FAAY2K Program” video addresses the agency's exhaus-tive efforts to ensure the nation's air transportationsystem's continued safe operation at the millennialrollover.

During the extensive Y2K testing, which tookplace last year at the Center, employees created avideo that captured the challenges, teamwork, deci-sionmaking, technology, and dedication involved inthis successful and exhaustive testing process. The15-minute video features over 200 Federal and con-tract employees, the mission critical equipment undertest conditions with air traffic controllers from facili-ties in the Western Pacific Region, interviews withthe airline traveling public, and an explanation of thetest procedures and outcomes understandable to ageneral audience.

Other than the regular salaries of the employeesinvolved, the total cost of the Y2K video was only$376.00. The names of every employee who workedon the End-to-End Testing process from theOperational Demonstration to the Denver field sitetest are included in the credits at the end. AdamGreco, Manager, NAS Simulation Branch (ACT-510)wrote and directed the video. Dale Dingler,Television Producer-Director (ACT-73) edited thevideo. The video production crew consisted of RonMeilicke, Ann Kertz, Verna Artis and FrankMerlock, Television Production Specialists in the

4

ACCOMMODATING THE

HEARING IMPAIREDTWO CENTER VIDEOS WIN

PRESTIGIOUS TELLY AWARDS


Imaging Technology Branch.The Television Facility alsoreceived a Telly Award in 1999for its work the video produc-tion, "Aeronautical Data Link,The Key to the Future." Another Television Facilityproduction, "Controller-PilotData Link Communications: ANew Technology for BusinessAviation" recently received theprestigious CommunicatorAward. This is a nationalawards competition founded 5years ago by communication

professionals to recognize individuals and companiesin the communications field.

Copies of all the videos mentioned are availablefrom the Imaging Technology Branch (ACT-73).

Headlights & Headlines(In Plain Language)

Beep, Beep the sound echoes through your headas you recall the moment when you saw the amberglow of headlights so very, very near. It was one ofthose times that a split second sooner and you

would've been scot free with nothing more than abead of sweat across your brow from the adrenalinerush. But timing is everything, and unfortunatelyyour timing stinks. You were caught in the head-lights, and now everyone is reading the headlines thattell of your misfortunate and untimely demise. Inplain language, they are reading the headlines in thelocal paper that explains your death!

What we have here is a failure at the very basiclevel of driving consciousness to prepare in an eventof an accident to survive an accident. The failure wasthat you were not using the restraining device that islocated just above your left ear when you're in thedriver's seat. In plain language, you failed to wearyour seat belt.

Since its inception, the seat belt has a long histo-ry of saving lives. Yet, so many people forget or neg-lect to use it. The result often is serious injury ordeath. Just pick up the paper or turn on the news andyou'll hear on a daily basis about a fatal car accidentdue to the person or persons not wearing their seatbelt. Case in point is the recent death of DerrickThomas, a professional football player from KansasCity, who died as a result of complications stemmingfrom an automobile accident.

It doesn't matter how physically strong you are,or how much fame and fortune you have, if you neg-lect to wear your seatbelt your chances of survivingan accident are drastically reduced. Pain, suffering,and death do not have preferences, they will inflictupon anyone regardless of one's background or posi-tion in society. For this reason we submit a simpleplea for all Center employees to buckle up.

In plain language our plea is titled "The Center'sSeatbelt Program" and it is currently under way at theTech Center. The Safety Office encourages allemployees to participate in this program by usingyour seatbelt, and encouraging your friends and co-workers to buckle up as well. We have placed buckleup signs and posters throughout the Center. Thesigns are telling you to Buckle Up and DriveCarefully! We're confident that if you do then wecan publish a new article titled "Seatbelts Working onCenter." Now that's some plain language we can livewith!

Have A Safe Day!

5

TELLY AWARDS CONT.

A SAFETY MINUTE

THE SAFETY OFFICE, ENVIRONMENTAL

BRANCH, ACT-640


VOLUNTARY LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM (VLT)What does the VLTP mean?

A Federal employee in theexcepted service may donate annu-al leave in 1-hour increments to aleave recipient (excluding anemployee's supervisor) who isabsent from duty for a prolongedperiod of time due to a certifiedmedical condition causing a sub-stantial loss of income. Allemployees at the Tech Center may(while keeping a sick leave bal-ance of 240 hours) donate sickleave (SL) to another FAAemployee. An employee may notdirectly or indirectly intimidate,threaten, or coerce anotheremployee in donating, receiving,or using any of this leave. Also,please keep in mind that annualleave is donated as annual, andsick leave is donated as sick. Theymay not be switched.

Who is eligible to bea leave recipient?

A leave recipient is a Federalemployee with either a full-time,part-time, or uncommon tour ofduty and a certified medical emer-gency resulting in a substantial orprojected loss of income withagency approval to receive donatedleave for his/her own illness or thatof a family member. Beforebecoming approved to be a leaverecipient, he/she must haveexhausted all of his or her ownleave (annual and sick).

What is a medical emergency?

A medical emergency is a

medical condition of a Federalemployee or family member thatcauses the employee to have a pro-longed absence from work result-ing in a substantial loss of incomebecause of the unavailability ofpaid leave. A medical emergencyrequires certification by a physi-cian or appropriate expert. Electiveor cosmetic surgery is not covered.

What is a substantial lossof income?

A substantial loss of incomefor a full-time employee on (orexpected to be on) leave withoutpay (LWOP) excluding advancedleave is 24 hours or more. For apart-time employee or one with anuncommon tour of duty, it is theaverage number of work hours inhis/her biweekly scheduled tour ofduty.

Who is a family member?

A family member is a spouse(and their parents); children(including adopted children, andtheir spouses), parents; brothersand sisters, (including their spous-es); and any individual related byblood or affinity whose close asso-ciation with the employee is theequivalent of a family relationship.

Who is a leave donor?

A leave donor is a Federalemployee who has either a full-time, part-time or uncommon tourof duty with approval from ouragency to donate leave.

When does the use of donatedleave start?

After all earned leave is used,an employee may use the donatedleave. However, if the leave recip-ient has a negative leave balance,the donated leave will first beapplied against the negative bal-ance. Once the negative balance isliquidated, any more donated leavemay then be used.

Can an employee accrue leavewhile on the VLTP?

Yes, an employee does earnleave based on the paid leave in apay period as long as they are in apay status (which includes usingdonated AL or SL). In addition toany donated leave the employeereceives, a full-time employee mayaccrue up to 40 hours of AL and40 hours of SL. A part-timeemployee or one with an uncom-mon tour of duty accrues the aver-age number of work hours inhis/her weekly scheduled tour ofduty.

When does the medicalemergency end?

The medical emergency endswhen an employee returns tohis/her regular tour of duty. Anyunused donated leave will bereturned to the leave donors on apro-rated basis. Please keep inmind that employees may onlyaccrue up to 40 hours of their ownleave. Upon leaving the programany leave over the maximum of 40hours will be returned to the leave

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VLT PROGRAM CONT.donors.

What if a leave recipient returnsto work for part of his/her

regular tour of duty?

If a recipient returns to workfor part of his/her regular tour ofduty and earns more leave than theabove maximum hours, he/sheuses the additional AL or SLbefore the donated leave. If alldonated leave is exhausted duringthe medical emergency, he/shemay use the accrued AL or SL(i.e., up to 40 hours for full-timeemployee).

When a medical emergencyends, must the employee give

written notification to thesupervisor?

Yes, a supervisor needs a writ-ten statement. The remainingaccrued AL or SL is returned tothe employee's leave account. Thedonated leave gets pro-rated backto the leave donors.

Can you retroactively substitutedonated leave for LWOP?

A leave recipient may write tohis/her supervisor to retroactivelysubstitute donated leave for LWOPor to liquidate advanced AL or SLfor the approved medical emer-gency.

Is a maternity situationcovered under the VLTP?

Yes, maternity is like anyother incapacitating medical condi-tion of similar duration.

What is the responsibility of thesupervisor of the leave recipient?

The first-level supervisorsigns, dates, and recommendsapproval or disapproval of theleave recipient's application.He/she sends the completed leaverecipient form with the certifiedmedical documents to the approv-ing official (Human Resources) forsignature. If the leave recipient isapproved, the first-level supervisorshould designate a point of contact(POC).

The POC is responsible fornotifying other employees that theindividual is an approved leaverecipient (e.g., cc:mail, CenterNews, etc.). The medical condi-tion of a leave recipient should beconsidered personal and privateinformation. Only informationthat the leave recipient authorizesto be released about his/her med-ical condition should be sharedwith potential leave donors.

The first-level supervisor veri-fies the status of the medical emer-gency if the recipient's situationhas changed. When the medicalemergency ends, the employeenotifies the first line supervisor inwriting. The supervisor ensuresthat the recipient's participation inthe VLTP ends by sending thewritten response to HR.

What is the responsibilityof the HR Office?

Human Resources collects theleave donor forms and tracks theamount of donated leave. A copyof the leave donor form must be

sent to the recipient's and thedonor's receiving payroll offices. Ifthe same payroll office services thedonor and recipient, only one copyof the leave donor form needs tobe sent.

May I deduct donated leave onfederal income tax?

The Internal Revenue Servicedoes not allow you to deductdonated leave.

Can I use donated leavefor a vacation?

Donated leave cannot be usedfor a vacation. It can only be usedfor the medical emergency.

Can an employee receiveleave after the medical

emergency ends?

An employee has up to oneyear after a medical emergencyends to become a leave recipientand to use donated leave to liqui-date a negative AL and/or SL bal-ance.

Does FAA have a leave bank?

No. After a collaborative deci-sion from the LOB's, the VLTPwas selected.

For information or any addi-tional questions, please contactKelley Drewes (ACT-10) exten-sion 56613, or DeborahKrumaker (ACT-10), extension55291.

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RICHMOND CONTROLLERS SEE THE FUTURE AT THE AFTIL

Air Traffic Controllers from RichmondInternational Airport visited the AFTIL on February29, 2000, to see their future. Richmond Airport mod-ernization plans include construction of a new towerat one of four potential locations, a concourse exten-sion to the present terminal building, and extensionsto a taxiway and a runway.

The controllers needed to see an operational viewfrom all four tower locations. The AFTIL providedout-the-window photorealistic displays for their eval-uation. The simulation of air traffic controlled fromeach of the tower locations enhanced the operationalrealism of the views.

Additionally, the Richmond Airport Authority isexpanding the current concourse and needs to know ifthis expansion will interfere with current tower opera-tions. The AFTIL constructed an out-the-windowview from the current control tower with the newconcourse in place. Watching the out-the-windowoperational simulation from the present tower loca-tion, the controllers were able to visually determinethe adverse impact of the new construction on theircurrent operations.

As a new capability, the AFTIL also completed acomprehensive 3-dimensional (3D) model of theRichmond Airport and displayed this model on the240-degree display area. The 3D capability allowedthe controllers to move in real time from one tower

location to another and to raise and lower the towereye-level height as they viewed the airport from eachlocation.

In addition, the instrument flight paths and localtraffic patterns to each of the runways were superim-posed on the 3D display. This enabled the controllersto view the proximity of arriving and departing air-craft to the tower at each proposed location. Thecombination of the out-the-window photorealisticsimulation and the 3D displays allowed the con-trollers to determine the best potential tower site.Capitalizing on the capability to change the eye-pointin real time using the 3D model, they decided a high-er tower height was necessary for their preferred loca-tion.

The Richmond controllers were extremely grate-ful that they were able to view all four sites, and thenew concourse from the present tower. In effect, theywere able to "see their future" in a few hours at theAFTIL tower simulation lab. The Richmond (Acting)Tower Manager, Al Snedaker, added his appreciationsaying: "We at Richmond consider the simulationessential in our site selection process and it had a sig-nificant impact on our position for (choosing) site 2."

8


CENTER PERSONNEL PROVIDE TIMELYASSISTANCE TO NAV CANADA

9

On March 3,Raytheon and NAVCANADA conducteda demonstration of theWide AreaAugmentation System(WAAS) forCongressionalstaffers, members ofthe press and usergroup officials.

The participantsboarded a NAVCANADA Challengerat Washington’sReagan National(DCA) and success-fully flew WAASapproaches at AtlanticCity InternationalAirport (ACY). A total of fourseparate missions were conductedfrom DCA. Press personnelincluded representatives fromBusiness and CommercialAviation, Flight International,Professional Pilot, GovernmentComputer News, Inside the FAA,and USA Today. Dennis Roberts,senior vice president of AOPA,also participated.

The demonstration proved agreat success. WAAS performedflawlessly, and the participantsviewed a real-time display of air-craft position while on finalapproach to ACY. This graphical-ly demonstrated WAAS's excep-tional accuracy as a navigationsystem - the aircraft was consis-tently well within the allowableboundaries of a Category Iapproach (7.6 meters) despite

stomach-churning turbulence.Center personnel played a key

role in the success of this demon-stration. Jim D'Ottavi (ACT-360)and Mike Magrogan (ACT-360)provided assistance in equipmentinstallation and avionics integra-tion. Joan Grelis (ACT-360)developed software for the real-time aircraft position display.Major Tom Mazaika, PaulDemko, and Fred Karl (all ACT-360) provided operational assis-tance including the approach platesfor ACY and Morgantown, WV,the original demo airport.

Because of adverse weatherconditions at Morgantown onMarch 2, the demonstration loca-tion was changed to ACY whilethe Challenger was about to departfrom Ottawa. The doors wereclosed and the crew had to refile

their flight plan. They then con-tacted us with the change - Fred,Karl, and Jim were called back,they were on the ramp about todepart for Morgantown to assistNAV CANADA.

Tom Grygotis (ACT-370)quickly obtained customs servicefor NAV CANADA upon theirarrival at ACY. Center personnelalso provided ramp service andoperational support. Jim D'Ottaviassisted in system verification atACY and the operation of theground tracking system that pro-vided the corrections for the real-time aircraft position display.

This demo is just another rou-tine part of our close, cooperativeand mutually beneficial relation-ship with Canada in satellite navi-gation.


ACT-310 Product Team engi-neers (Ed Mancus - Project Lead,Chris Perone, Ken Blahut, JimDavis, Chuck Greenlow, andGeorge Montgomery, under theprogram management of RayAlimenti) have performed thedesign, development, and testingof the first beacon (or monopulse)Aircraft Capacity and EnvironmentSimulator (ACES). A major fea-ture of the system is its ability toaddress current and futuremonopulse surveillance require-ments by simulating traffic densi-ties up to 2000 aircraft targets(Mode S & ATCRBS at a range ofup to 255 N-miles) under interfer-ence conditions (of ATCRBS,50K/Sec. and Mode S, 1K/Sec.fruit), and employing the latestsurveillance data formats (e.g.,ASTERIX from Eurocontrol).

Current ( Mode S) and future(ASR-11 and ATCBI-6) Mono-pulse Secondary SurveillanceRadars (MSSRs) employ mono-pulse receiving techniques. For the year 2000 and beyond, all thenew ATCBI and ASR productionradars will be monopulse systems,

capable of working with bothATCRBS and Mode S transpon-ders.

The FAA current capacitysimulator in use today is limited inchip technology, system architec-ture, and the adaptability needed tosupport the production test require-ments of current and future genera-tion, state-of-the-art, monopulseradar systems. ACES is requiredto validate performance duringacceptance, installation, opera-tional, and production testing ofcurrent and future majormonopulse radar systems.

ACES is automated and linkedto the radars via RF interfaces, andresponds to radar uplink interroga-tions with variable Mode S andATCRBS range, azimuth, and mes-sage content replies, realisticallysimulating up to 2,000 actual bea-con aircraft. It also provides digi-tized primary radar reports; andpseudo-random fruit interferenceup to radar specified interferenceimmunity levels if desired.Everything is programmable,allowing much flexibility in defin-ing performance test cases or sim-ulating actual field activity, ifdesired. Final efforts by ProductTeam engineers will result in thedelivery of ACES systems to FAAmajor program test teams for fac-tory acceptance, production line,and field site validations.

On March 6, Richard L.Dunklee, Jr. (ACT-330) conclud-ed a 5-day workshop focusing on

airborne radio frequency interfer-ence (RFI) that included instruc-tion in the new Navigational AidsSignal Evaluator (NASE)/RFI sys-tem that the Aviation SystemStandards Program Office (AVN)will deploy to all FAA regions. Italso provided operations briefings,RFI resolution procedures, andflight demonstrations using AVN’sNASE/RFI equipped King Air.Mr. Dunklee provided technicalassistance on 10 of those 13 famil-iarization flights.

The NASE/RFI system con-sists of a cubic communicationsdirection finding receiver/proces-sor and direction finding antennasystem, Garmin GPS receiver, lap-top computer, and a cassette re-corder. The regional FrequencyManagement Officers (FMOs) willuse it to locate and resolve RFIaffecting the National AirspaceSystem. Dunklee and DaleRhoads and Gary Baird (AVN-300) accomplished the NASE/RFIsystem engineering.

Two representatives from eachFAA region, one FMO from theAeronautical Center and the TechCenter, plus five representativesfrom AVN and ASR-100 attendedthe workshop, which proved agreat success. Each FMO can nowoperate the NASE/ RFI systemindependently. Dunklee andRichard Morton (ACT-330),Spectrum Engineering, ACT-370’sFlight Line Maint-enance, AVN-311’s Line Maint-enance Station,AVN-220/230’s Flight InspectionsOperations, L.C. Lowman andBarbara Rising from AVN-250’sFlight Inspection CentralScheduling Office, and ACT-10’sPatty Dollin and Sue Cefaretti,designed the workshop.

AIRCRAFT CAPACITY AND

ENVIRONMENT SIMULATOR (ACES)

10

SOLVING THE PROBLEM


The national School-to-Work Office joined Gen. Colin Powell's volun-teer organization, America's Promise, as well as Junior Achievement, theNational Employer Leadership Council, and the American Society ofAssociation Executives in hosting the 3rd National Groundhog Job ShadowDay. The goal of this special day was to provide one million school-agedkids across America with job shadowing experiences. It also introducesstudents to the requirements of professions and industries to help them pre-pare to join the workforce of the 21st Century.

The Communications Management Division’s (ACT-70) AviationEducation Program and theVisitors Program teamed up to

offer approximately 60 school-aged children an opportunity tocome and spend the day at the Center. The groundhog saw hisshadow along with these kids at the Center.

One letter of thanks was received from Danny Sims (ACT-320), who wanted to thank the personnel who took the time toexplain and demonstrate their jobs: "It was quite eye-opening tomy sons and allowed them a glimpse of possible career opportuni-

ties."Many people made this

day extremely educational andI'd like to thank first the shad-owcasters for taking the time out of their busy day, the Coast Guard's Lt.Durr, AST Mike Stallard, PO Amy Spaw, PO Chris Kluyber, PO JohnMcGowan, ACT-370's pilots, KeithBehl, TheosMcKinney, Larry

VanHoy, ACT-200's Airway Facilities Tower IntegrationLab (AFTIL), Chinita Roundtree-Coleman, JohnAschenbach, Bill Vaughn, Dan Leary, Bernie

Garbowski , RogerBawgus , Joan Carpenter,John Wilks, Les Hancock,Ben Gottlieb, Dan Delaney,Rod Bourne, and ACT-70'sCarolyn Pokres, LanaHaug, Ginger Cairnes, Karen Cicatiello, and Carleen Genna-Stoltzfus.

Everyone who participated helped to broadened the minds of the students whowere a part of this event -- you made a difference!

11


GROUND HOG SHADOW DAY A MAJOR SUCCESS

FAA Moves to Enhance RunwaySafety. On March 14, Admin-istrator Garvey announced new ini-tiatives to enhance runway safety.

These actions are aimed atreducing incidents when aircraftcome too close either to each otheror to ground vehicles at airports. The initiatives include a series ofworkshops that will be held aroundthe country to produce regionaland local plans to reduce runwayincursions. These workshops willbe followed by a national summitthis summer. The FAA is also ini-tiating a program for pilotsinvolved in such incidents that willhelp determine the root causes ofsuch events.

The new initiatives include:·A series of regional meetingsaround the country in the next 3 months. Under the auspices ofthe FAA, these meetings will bring together airlines, airports, organizations in the general aviation community, pilots and air traffic controllers to develop additional ways to reduce runway incidents at airports in the region.·A national summit in June to share results of the regional ses-sions and to review current efforts in human factors and newtechnologies.·A one-year program to encour-age pilots who have been involved in runway incursions todiscuss the incidents with FAA safety inspectors. In return, the FAA, under most circumstances,would take only administrative action against the pilot when

necessary.These initiatives will support

efforts already underway. Lastsummer, Garvey elevated the run-way safety program in the agencyto give it more visibility andauthority to work with variousoffices in the FAA and the entireaviation community. JohnMayrhofer, director, RunwaySafety Program Office, is mount-ing a multi-faceted effort to reducerunway incursions. Peter Challan, the deputy associate administratorfor Air Traffic Services, overseesthe program at the executive level.

This expanded runway safetyeffort includes developing newprocedures and heightening theawareness of pilots, controllers andairport vehicle drivers throughincreased education and training.The FAA also continues to developand deploy airport surface radars,computer enhancements to them,and other technologies that willreduce incursions, prevent acci-dents and improve aviation safety.

The FAA is encouraged thatmembers of the aviation communi-ty are working together to makeprogress in reducing the threat ofrunway incursions. While it is toosoon to discern a long-term trend,some favorable trends are alreadybeginning to emerge. In the last 7months, there has been a 17 per-cent reduction in runway incur-sions compared with the sameperiod the previous year.

President Unveils SevereWeather Plan andLaunches NewAir Traffic Information Website.President Clinton, along with U.S.

Secretary Rodney E. Slater andAdministrator Garvey, haveannounced that the FAA and theaviation industry have launched anew effort to improve the flow ofair traffic during severe weather,once again supporting his "peoplefirst" agenda. This severe-weatherplan, which begins March 12 andwill be fully phased in April 1,will maximize the use of availableairspace, improve communicationsbetween FAA and the airlineindustry, and expand the use ofnew technology to help reducedelays.

"One of the biggest air trafficcontrol challenges we face is warmweather thunderstorms that snarlair traffic and pile up delays,"President Clinton said. "With thecoming of spring, we have toremember that last summer'sstorms were some of the worst onrecord -- and our air traffic controlsystem couldn't respond fastenough. That's not good for trav-elers and it's not good for oureconomy. Of course, when itcomes to air travel, safety is thebottom line. In severe weather,flights will be canceled or delayedand passengers wouldn't want itany other way. But as we work tokeep air travel as safe as it can be,we should also take every opportu-nity to make it as efficient as it canbe.

The FAA and the airlinesbegan working together in the fallof 1999 to develop a new approachto managing operations duringsevere weather conditions. Withbetter technology, streamlined procedures and quicker decision-

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HEADQUARTERS HEADLINES


making, the FAA foresees main-taining the highest measure ofsafety while at the same timeworking to reduce cancellationsand delays.

Air traffic control systeminformation will be available at anew FAA web address. The site isunder construction and should beoperational April 3. It will beaccessible to travelers, commercialtravel web sites and news organi-zations. For specific flight infor-mation, travelers should contacttheir airline.

Last year, air traffic delayswere up 22.2 percent over the yearbefore, in part because of severeweather. A review of the specialweather notices broadcast by airtraffic facilities shows five timesmore activity in 1999 than the pre-vious 5-year average. Of the near-ly 165 million operations handledlast year, 374,116 experienceddelays. Some 68.8 percent of thedelays were attributable to weath-er. Some 11.8 percent of thedelays were due to traffic volume,4.7 percent to runway closures forconstruction or emergencies, 2.1percent to problems with FAA equipment, and 12.7 percent toother causes.

Organizations participating inthe severe weather initiative, inaddition to the DOT's FAA and theNational Air Traffic ControllersAssociation, include the Air LinePilots Association, the Air Transport Association representingmajor airlines, the AirlineDispatchers Federation, theDefense Department, the NationalBusiness Aviation Association, the

Regional Airline Association, theAir Force, and the Navy.

FAA Breaks Ground forRegional Air Traffic ControlFacility. On March 6, the FAA held a ground-breaking ceremonytoday for a regional air traffic con-trol facility to serve the entireBaltimore-Washington area.Located at Vint Hill in FauquierCounty, Virginia, the new facilitywill improve both the safety andefficiency of air travel in theregion.

Called the Potomac TRA-CON, the facility will consolidateterminal radar control facilities atfour airports - Baltimore-Washington International, DullesInternational, Reagan WashingtonNational and Andrews Air ForceBase - into one. The new Tracon(Terminal Radar ApproachControl) will guide aircraft withinabout a 75-mile radius ofWashington, DC. Each of the fourairports will continue to be servedby its existing control tower.

The Potomac TRACON isplanned to be fully operational inMay of 2002. About 250 air traf-fic controllers and technicians willwork in the new building.

The new facility will be a95,000-square-foot building on a33-acre site. Total cost of thePotomac TRACON is an estimated$93 million. In December 1999,the FAA awarded a $24.6-millioncontract to Manhattan ConstructionCo. of Fairfax, VA, to build thefacility.

Anne Harlan recently pre-sented Bill Sheehan (ACT-7) avery special letter from Admini-strator Jane Garvey. In the letter,the Administrator expressed herappreciation for Bill's fine worksupporting the FAA's Office ofDispute Resolution for Acqui-sition. Garvey noted that theoffice had established a reputationwithin the procurement communityfor creativity in employingAlternate Dispute Resolution prac-tices to settle a majority of itscases and for fairly and efficientlyadjudicating disputes that couldnot be settled. Bill works in thelegal office at the Center where heenjoys a can-do reputation. Inaddition to his procurement expert-ise, he handles a variety of issues,including personnel matters, grantquestions, and general litigationissues. In his spare time he is theoffice's answer to Bob Vila and"This Old House." He always hasat least two home improvementprojects in progress and has recent-ly completed a course on welding.Bill lives with his spouse and threechildren in Wenonoh, NJ.

On January 30, Eric Katzjoined AAR-500 on a 180-day

HEADQUARTERS HEADLINES CONT.

13

NEWS FROM AROUND

THE CENTER


detail. He is working as an engi-neer in both the Aircraft Hardeningand Air Cargo Security Programs.Before arriving at AAR-500, Ericworked in the Airport and AircraftSafety Research and DevelopmentDivision (AAR-400). He receivedhis B.S. in Civil Engineering fromUnion College in 1984, and is alicensed Commercial Pilot andCertified Flight Instructor.

On February 22, DianeWilson joined AAR-510 as aComputer Scientist. Diane hasbeen working in AOS-520 as aComputer Specialist on the VoiceSwitching & Control System. Shehas been associated with the VSCSproject for past seven years as testengineer, program analyst, and inoperational field support. She hasalso been the training coordinatorfor the project. She is a memberof the International Test & Eval-uation Association and holds aSubstitute Teaching certificate inthe State of NJ. She has a B.S. inComputer Science from RichardStockton College. She is presentlyenrolled in a Masters program withEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical Uni-versity for AviationAdministration.

On February 14, JudyHuggard-Gallagher joined AAR-500’s Aircraft Hardening Program.Judy has just returned to workfrom maternity leave. Judy previ-ously worked with the GrantsProgram and the TechnologyTransfer Program.

On January 7, RaymondPopdan, Loan DepartmentSupervisor for the Tech CenterFederal Credit Union, was induct-ed into the New Jersey Youth

Soccer league Hall of Fame.Ray’s interest in the sport began asa young boy while attendingGirard College in Philadelphia.While at the school he earned theposition of team captain. Duringhis playing years, Ray playedagainst numerous Philadelphia areahigh school teams as well as suchprestigious schools as the U.S.Naval Academy and the U.S.Military Academy at West Point.More recently, Ray coached youthsoccer and was a member of theBoard of Directors of the MonroeTownship Youth Soccer League inWilliamstown, NJ. He also servedas President of the GloucesterCounty Soccer League, and wasthe league representative to theNew Jersey Soccer League.During his tenure with the StateLeague, he served on numerouscommittees, including the Budgetand Grievance Committees. Hecontinues to serve as the County'sRepresentative to the State League.

Ray is a Registered U.S. FIFAYouth and High School Refereeand is very active in this endeavor.He is also a Referee Assignor anda Licensed Referee Instructor. In1999 he served as the StateAssignor responsible for refereeassignments for all State Cupgames. One of hismany accomplish-ments includedfounding and imple-menting GloucesterCounty's YouthReferee MentoringProgram. He is stillvery involved in thatprogram.Congratulations Ray

on your many achievements inadvancing the sport of soccer inNew Jersey.

At the Ninth Annual Studentof the Year Awards ceremony, theDepartment of Transportation(DOT) honored the most outstand-ing students from participatingUniversity Transportation Centersfor their achievements and promisefor future contributions to thetransportation field. SecretaryRodney Slater, joined by Researchand Special Programs Administra-tion (RSPA) Administrator KellyCoyner and Deputy SecretaryMortimer Downey, presentedawards to 29 students from variousuniversities throughout the coun-try. Traditionally, all awardeeshave been affiliated with the DOTUniversity Transportation Centersprogram, administered by RSPA.This year, in the spirit of "OneDOT," the Department honored astudent from a FAA AirTransportation Centers of Excel-lence (COE), William D. Hall,Ph.D. Hall is from MIT, a coremember of the Center ofExcellence for Operations Re-search. The ageny’s COE progamis managed by the Airport andAircraft Safety Research andDevelopment Division (AAR-400).

CENTER NEWS CONT.


14

In December of 1997, theSouth Jersey TransportationAuthority (SJTA) and the FAAexecuted a Memorandum ofAgreement (MOA). This agree-ment was a major step forward forthe SJTA in its development of theAtlantic City International Airport.Part of that development called forthe construction of a new parkinggarage facility on the airport prop-erty. This step would also bringchange to the radar installationslocated here at the Tech Center.

Building 269 radar installa-tions would not be able to remainin place once SJTA completedconstruction of the garage. Tomaintain the usability of the radarunits, and to provide for the safetyof the airport passengers, the radarunits would have to be relocated.

A new site, Building 270, wasselected as the new home for theseinstallations, and soon preparationsfor the move were underway.Jerry Deibel, Tom Bratton, andthe ACT-410 team, were responsi-ble for the relocation of all theradar systems, and Ken Turner,Ralph Stover, and the ACT-600team, were responsible for therehabilitation (both the design andconstruction management) of theinterior spaces of Building 270.

The move would not be aneasy task. The Building 269 sitealready supported several radarsystems. The ASR-9 radar andMODE-S beacon system, withtheir respective antennas mountedon top of a 47-foot tall tower, pro-

vided significant support to AOSfield operations. An ASR-7 radarsystem, with its antenna mountedon a 17-foot tall tower, also locat-ed in the building and scheduled tobecome non-operational, needed tobe moved.

In addition to these radar sys-tems and towers, Building 269 alsohoused the subsystems needed tosupport the operation of the radarunits. All of this, the towers, theantennas, radar systems, the sub-systems, and the ACT-410 andAOS-260/270 employees whoresided in the building would haveto be relocated to Building 270.

It is now over 2 years sincethe execution of the original MOAand the daunting task of relocationis nearing the end. The relocationof all the radar systems beganJanuary 13, 2000, and is expectedto be completed by the end of

March 2000. Under the surveillance of

ACT-410 personnel, the ASR-9radar and MODE-S beacon sys-tems have now been relocated toBuilding 270, and their respectiveantennas have been mounted on anewly erected 57-foot tall tower.

This tower has a story of itsown to tell. This is not the oldBuilding 269 tower. It is, in fact, a47-foot tower relocated fromAustin, Texas, and subsequentlyerected and extended on site toaccommodate the ASR-9 unit.Raytheon had the responsibility torelocate the tower.

The old 47-foot tower fromBuilding 269 has also beenbrought to the Building 270 siteand erected on the site. For thetime being, this second tower willremain idle, but will become oper-ational again in the future as soonas another ASR-9 and MODE-Sbecome available.

Along with the equipment,space was established for theACT-410 radar technicians to sup-port their mission of radar mainte-nance and operation. A portion ofBuilding 270 was also reconfig-ured to house a number of AOSpersonnel -- the 21 AOS employ-ees previously housed in Building269 as well as AOS-260 and AOS-270 employees, permitting the co-location of approximately 53 AOSpersonnel in this newly rehabilitat-ed office space.

15

THE BIG MOVE


The Distributed Accountingand Resource Tracking System(DARTS) is the product thatresulted from the findings and rec-ommendations of the FinancialApplications Review Report thataddressed redundant agency finan-cial systems. DARTS combinesthe functionality of theTechCenter's Budget DAFIS DownloadSystem (BDDS) with that of theAeronautical Center's Facts andFigures Quick (FAFQ), andHeadquarters DocFims Systems.

DARTS is a web-enabledregionally distributed database sys-tem that provides several reportingand querying capabilities using thenationally distributed Departmen-tal Accounting and FinancialSystem (DAFIS) transactions. This system is implemented on theFAA's Financial System's Intranet.DARTS can be accessed throughInternet Explorer or Netscape webbrowsers. DARTS provides quickand easy access using regionallydistributed DAFIS MIR data. Thisdata is updated daily with all suc-cessfully processed transactionsfrom DAFIS the previous day.

DARTS was designed anddeveloped at the Tech Center forthe FAA Headquarter’s Office ofFinancial Management's FinancialPolicy, Systems and ReportsDivision (AFM-300). TheNational Program Manager isMarty Finkelstein (AFM-300), thetechnical development team con-sists of employees from theFinancial Management Division(ACT-30), the InformationTechnology and Services Branch(ACT-550), and the ApplicationSystems Division, AMI-200. The

team members include NationalProject Manager Cari Eisele(ACT-30), Rob Gross (ACT-30),Susan Lake (ACT-550), DebraLevey (KENROB - ACT-550),Ernst Seider (ACT-550), JodieGriffin (AMI-200), Jimmy Ipock(AMI-200), and Lee Overstreet(AMI-200).

DARTS is currently opera-tional at four regions/centers:Headquarters, Tech Center, EasternRegion, and New England Region.The FAA plans to have theremaining eight regions/centersoperational by the end of May.

Minimum WorkstationRequirements for DARTS:

Hardware80486 PC8Mb MemoryFAA Intranet Network

Connectivity

SoftwareInternet Explorer or Netscape

Development Platform

Microsoft's Active Server Technologies (Active Server Pages

Active Messaging, Active Data Objects, and Active Directory Services)

Microsoft's NT Operating System

Microsoft's SQL Server

Microsoft's Visual Interdev

Visual Basic 5.0

Please try to get Intercomsubmissions (article, photos,

ideas) to Terry Kraus viaemail by the second

Tuesday of every month.

16

EXPLAINING DARTS

William J. HughesTechnical Center

Intercom

Editor:Terry Kraus

Contributors:Therese Brennan

Dot BuckaninJoan CarpenterStan CiurczakBill Dawson

Genia EmbreyRon Esposito

Kathleen FlemmingCarleen Genna-Stoltzfus

Nancy GosnerAnnette Harrell

David HessPaul Lawrence

Pat LuiAl Mancini

Carol MartinErnie PappasLee Pearson

Robert WarnerPat Watts

Thomas WoodJoe Yannone

Laurie Zaleski

For any questions,comments, or ideas,

please contactIntercom’s editor at

(202) 267-3854

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