Rockwell Collins completes flight tests for FAA programme

Rockwell Collins has successfully completed flight tests as part of the United States Federal Aviation Administration's Test and Evaluation Surveillance Information System (TESIS) programme. The tests of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) and Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) for surface operations were conducted at Memphis International Airport under the FAA's Safeflight 21 programme.

ADS-B and CDTI form a cornerstone of the next-generation air traffic management solution commonly referred to as "Free Flight." The FAA is evaluating the use of ADS-B as part of the National Airspace System (NAS) modernisation. The goals of the TESIS programme included evaluation of prototype moving maps for airport surface situational awareness as well as definition of product certification requirements.

TESIS is the third in a series of evaluations in which Rockwell Collins has played an active role. Data collected in these trials will aide in the development of certifiable hardware and applications that provide operators with enhanced situational awareness, including airborne and ground operation display of traffic information.

The TESIS program evaluated Rockwell Collins' TPR-901 Mode S transponder with the ADS-B transmit, or "squitter," function and 1090 MHz link to the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System receiver. ADS-B information from other aircraft as well as information from ground-based Traffic Information Surveillance-Broadcast (TIS-B) station was integrated with Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System sensor data and displayed on Rockwell Collins' five-inch liquid crystal multifunction display installed in the cockpit of an FAA test aircraft. TIS-B uses multilateration sensors and surface radar to identify positions of aircraft.

Rockwell Collins was an active participant in the FAA's Operational Evaluations held in co-operation with the Cargo Airline Association. These evaluations, completed in Wilmington, Ohio and Louisville, in 1999 and 2000, respectively, laid the groundwork for the TESIS program.

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