GM3 ATCO.D.060(c)  Unit endorsement course

TRAINING FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS PROVIDING REMOTE AERODROME AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES

The unit endorsement course should enable air traffic controllers providing aerodrome control service from a ‘remote tower’ (defined in the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2) to acquire knowledge of the concept of remote aerodrome air traffic services and of the characteristics of the operating environment, to appreciate the necessity to consider the specific human factors influence on the remote aerodrome air traffic services, as well as to recognise specific abnormal situations and to manage their impact.

This could be achieved by addressing the following items:

—             Introduction to remote aerodrome air traffic services

—             Concept of remote aerodrome air traffic services (described in Chapters 3 and 4 of the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2);

—              ‘Remote tower modules’ (RTMs) (defined in the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’— Issue 2);

—             ‘Remote tower centre’ (RTC) (defined in the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2);

—              Technical enablers used for remote aerodrome air traffic services (described in Section 3.5 and Chapter 5 of the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2); and

—              Operational applications (described in Chapters 3 and 4 of the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2).

—             Operating environment

—             Configuration of the RTM and RTC (if applicable) and modes of operation

—             ‘Visual presentation’ (defined and described in Chapter 2 and Section 5.2 of the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2) at the RTM, for example:

—            layout and orientation;

—            technical capabilities and limitations of a ‘visual surveillance system’ (defined in the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2), including among others:

—             impact of weather conditions on site the aerodrome;

—             end-to-end delay;

—             frame rate,

—             any differences in light conditions between the aerodrome and the visual presentation;

—             ‘dead’ pixels;

—             any overlaid information and any site-specific equipment/functions such as sun filters; and

—             seasonal settings.

—             Set-up and characteristics of the local equipment at the aerodrome, e.g. location of cameras, signalling lamp, etc.

—             Familiarisation with the physical aerodrome(s) environment and the different local stakeholders via study visit(s)

—             Local weather characteristics

—             Human factors aspects

—             Human factors influence on remote aerodrome air traffic services

Factors that can generate fatigue in a ‘remote tower’ environment (defined in the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2), for example:

—            eye strain caused by the performance of the visual presentation or by contrast in lighting against the background;

—            artificial light and/or lack of daylight in the RTM); and

—            preventing and mitigating strategies on fatigue.

—             Procedures for degraded modes, for example:

—             Complete or partial loss of the visual presentation

—             Corrupt, delayed or frozen image

—             Loss or degradation of the ‘binocular functionality’ (described in Section 5.2 of the EASA ‘Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services’ — Issue 2).