The (air traffic) towers vanish

[Hvr]

So now ATCs get to play video games to land our planes.


http://www.economist.com/news/scien...ace-airfield-edifices-airports-switch-virtual

Remote towers are planned in a number of other countries. In 2019 NATS, Britain’s air-traffic management company, will replace the control tower at London City Airport with a remote service operating at NATS’s air-traffic control centre 145km away. Saab, meanwhile, has been testing the idea in several places outside Sweden.

One is Australia, where video from the airport at Alice Springs, in the middle of the country, has been transmitted to air-traffic controllers in Adelaide, 1,500km away on the south coast.

Along with the engineer in the coughpit, smoking in the cabin, courteous attendants and plenty of legroom, the control tower looks like becoming a relic of aviation’s past.

An interesting article about the future of ATC. Especially given the problems British Airways had with their computer system last week.

 

[jb747]

Computer systems never break down.....

 

[oz_mark]

Computer systems never break down.....

We have got the nbn. It'll be alright

 

[clazman]

We have got the nbn. It'll be alright

Some of us dream of NBN

 

[jb747]

Some of us dream of NBN

When I supposedly got NBN, I was dreaming of ADSL1....!

 

[straitman]

Computer systems never break down.....

The way the systems are computer controlled these days it probably doesn't matter a lot where the controller is. I suppose if he is colocated he can watch it all go wrong rather than just wonder :!:

 

[JohnK]

We have got the nbn. It'll be alright

What the nbn?

 

[Limewood]

Unlike most Mrs Lime & self have been in the HKG tower as an Aussie friend of ours was a flight control manager there for two plus decades, he sought and was granted special permission for us to visit, we were searched throughly twice and went across the tarmac on a small bus to the tower, once there it was an awesome experience to see, yet most of air traffic control is half way up the tower with no windows!, he sat in middle of the room with 3 exits from his curved desk, his monitors had hundreds of aircraft going in all directions. The top of the tower controlled landings and take offs plus on ground movement, the view was sensational I must say and at the time a plane landed or took of about every two minutes.

 

[KVK]

vimeo.com/211251290
Not sure if i have posted the correct link(it is "Sydney Harbour Control Tower on Vimeo) but it is the demolition of the Sydney Harbour control tower for shipping, now all operated from a dark room in Botany bay with cameras everywhere in Sydney.