Air Traffic Operational Evaluation Plan of the Automated Surface Observing System(ASOS) Displays

摘要

The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) is a weather collection and displaysystem that will be installed in airport traffic control towers (ATCT). The system is being procured, installed, operated, and maintained by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This plan outlines the FAA's evaluation of the limited production ASOS system, which is being produced by SMI Corporation. The FAA will conduct the evaluation of the limited production ASOS at seven air traffic field sites. They are Will Rogers World Airport, OK., Wiley Post Airport, OK., Tulsa International Airport, OK., Lincoln Municipal Airport, NE., Johnson County Airport, KS., St. Joseph Airport, MO., and Grand Island Airport, NE. Four of the named sites will be commissioned and the controller will be expected to use only that weather information generated by the ASOS and have the capability of inputting tower observed visibility when it falls below 4 miles. The remaining three sites will be noncommissioned sites where the controllers will undergo training and then evaluate the ASOS as they familiarize themselves with the system. Two of the three sites are also Limited Aviation Weather Reporting Station (LAWRS) which will permit the controller to augment the weather. Data will be collected via questionnaires completed by the air traffic control specialist (ATCS) at the seven sites and analyzed by FAA Technical Center personnel. The results of the evaluation will be used for consideration in making changes to the ASOS system prior to full production.