One of our most popular Luncheon Speakers, Mr. Jack Kies, rejoined us in 2010 to walk us through the most complex remake to date of America's National Air traffic System. This rendition is being called "Nextgen", and Jack knows it better than almost anyone else because he helped parent it.
We first met Jack when he was head of the FAA's universal system command Center. Now he is TOPGUN at Metro Corporation and lives in the crosshairs of the National Airspace System everyday. In this writer's humble opinion, no one is better suited for the job.
What Is NextGen?
FAA literature describes NextGen as an umbrella term for the ongoing, wide-ranging transformation of the United States’ national airspace system (NAS).
At its most basic level, NextGen represents an evolution from a ground-based system of air traffic control to a satellite-based system of air traffic management. This evolution is vital to meeting future demand, and avoid to gridlock in the sky and at our nation’s airports.
NextGen opens America’s skies to continued growth and increased safety while reducing aviation’s environmental impact.
These goals will be realized through the development of aviation-specific applications for existing, widely-used technologies such as Global Positioning Satellite (GPS). They will also be realized through the fostering of technological innovation in areas such as weather forecasting, data networking, and digital communications. Hand in hand with state-of-the-art technology will be new airport infrastructure and new procedures, including the shifting of certain decision-making responsibility from the ground to the cockpit.
When fully implemented, NextGen will safely allow more aircraft to fly more closely together on more direct routes, reducing delays, and providing unprecedented benefits for the environment and the economy through reductions in carbon emissions, fuel consumption, and noise.
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Posted By Ron David to Silver Wings Over Washington at 3/08/2010 17:23:00 PM
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