Flight Testing of an Airport Surface Guidance, Navigation, and Control System

This document describes operations associated with a set of flight experiments and demonstrations using a Boeing757-200 (B-757) research aircraft as part of low visibility landing and surface operations (LVLASO) research activities. To support this experiment, the B-757 performed flight and taxi operations at the HartsfieldAtlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, GA. The B-757 was equipped with experimental displays that were designed to provide flight crews with sufficient information to enable safe, expedient surface operations in any weather condition down to a runway visual range (RVR) of 300 feet. In addition to flight deck displays and supporting equipment onboard the B-757, there was also a ground-based component of the system that provided for ground controller inputs and surveillance of airport surface movements. The integrated ground and airborne components resulted in a system that has the potential to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of airport surface movements particularly as weather conditions deteriorate. Several advanced technologies were employed to show the validity of the operational concept at a major airport facility, to validate flight simulation findings, and to assess each of the individual technologies’ performance in an airport environment. Results show that while the maturity of some of the technologies does not permit immediate implementation, the operational concept is valid and the performance is more than adequate in many areas.