Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) - Joint Planning and ...

Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO)
Study Team Report
CATM represents improvements that can occur without avionics investments. However, improvements
in flight planning, definition of the flight object, and building the connectivity between the operators
and the ANSP should be based on net-centric operations. Airlines are coming off of years of losses and
lack of investment in planning tools. With capacity reduced, every flight’s performance becomes more
critical. As the economy improves, airlines will begin to reinvest to attain shared common situational
awareness. The ANSP needs to be prepared to conclude tool development and join in a joint effort to
improve flight planning. This is one of the reasons the TBO Study Team has recommended expanding
flight planning in the ConOps.
TBO has some challenges ahead that can be mitigated by TOps. Among these are resolving the intent
message format and determining how ADS-B Out could be used to aid in intent and in providing more
accurate wind information. Under TOps, early implementation of conformance monitoring will help to
transform to TBO. Conformance monitoring provides a means of measuring flight progress based on
surveillance and intent.
20.0 Conclusion
The TBO Study Team has provided just a glimpse into the world of TBO. TBO is a very significant
and transforming change on the path to NextGen. The approach has been to expand the value of flight
planning, recognize that the traffic volume will exceed what the air traffic controller can handle today,
and rely on automation to perform separation based on a combination of present aircraft position and a
future position in time. There is conformance monitoring both in the cockpit and with the ANSP, and
conformance to a negotiated and agreed-upon trajectory forms a contract between the operator/user and
the ANSP.
The separation automation must always work. Airborne and ground elements of automation must be
certified to provide separation assurance. While separation represents a significant shift, increased
collaboration through network-centric operations to improve common situational awareness will
provide significant improvements in efficiency and capacity. It is important to emphasize that TBO is
about choices. Once received, choices are negotiated, accepted, and then executed with precision. The
higher the airspace traffic density, the greater will be the need for precision performance. But TBO can
operate at any level of precision. It is the execution of the agreement that assures separation.
Strategically, automation must provide choices to the operator/user that resolve downstream conflicts
and address flows. Weather is integrated into the decisions that must be made both strategically and
tactically. As the number of strategic decisions rise, the number of tactical interventions will diminish,
balancing workload both in the air and on the ground.
At this point in the discussion of TBO, the level of precision requires research. While the RNP values
used in this report are likely to be very close to what is needed, it is because RNP is maturing at a fast
pace. The same cannot be said for separation distances. While the targeted goal is three miles
everywhere in domestic airspace, we will not see it until the surveillance data network is providing
fused information and the population of ADS-B equipped aircraft has been reached to support it.
Likewise, the TBO Study Team has used notional time performance under the concept of RTP that
requires development.
Joint Planning and Development Office
111