Secretary’s Team Award Goes to DRVSM

By Dr. Anne Harlan

Dr. Anne Harlan and Brian Colamosca admire the award that was presented to the Center by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey for helping to implement DRVSM on January 20, 2005.

Congratulations to our Technical Center recipients of the Secretary's 38th Annual Awards. The awards ceremony was held on November 10 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC.

The Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (DRVSM) Team was selected for the Secretary's Team Award for their outstanding support for the safe and seamless transition to DRVSM. The team included many individuals from the Systems Analysis Division, the Laboratory Division, Weather/Surveillance Division, Air Traffic Automation Division, and the En Route Operational Systems Division as well as many folks from Washington Headquarters and across the country. In addition to the Secretary’s Award, the DRVSM team also recently received the Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (ATCA) Chairman's Citation of Merit Award at the recent ATCA Annual Conference.

DRVSM TEAM: The members of this Center team recently were honored for innovative research that helped the FAA reduce the minimum requirements for vertical separation of aircraft. They also drive a lot of miles to get to work from all over the Delaware Valley. Shown, left to right are: Dale Livingston (Cherry Hill), Mark Schoenthal (Northfield), Scott Doucett (Mays Landing), Scott Cramer (Mays Landing), Eugene Fortunato (Mays Landing), Lauren Martin (Mays Landing), Jose Perez (Egg Harbor Township), Vincent Lasewicz, Jr. (Egg Harbor Township), (then)Technical Center Director Anne Harlan, Christine Gerhardt (Linwood), Manuel Gonzalez (Egg Harbor Township), Richard Soper (Atlantic City), Min-Ju Chang (Egg Harbor Township), Wayne Smoot (Stratford), Anthony Strazzeri (Egg Harbor Township), Joseph DiLuzio (Somers Point), Juan Gonzalez (Galloway Township), Louis Delemarre (Galloway Township), Paul Biagi (Vineland), Steve Souder (Cape May), Brian Colamosca (Newtown Square, PA) and Stan Pszczolkowski (Ocean City). Missing from the photo are: Scott Ellis (Sea Isle City), Jerry Hadley (Mays Landing), Walter Abilla (Galloway Township), Hilda DiMeo (Absecon), William Monsour (Margate) and Dan Warburton (Absecon).

In addition, Kathryn Ciaramella of the Research and Technology Division was selected for the Secretary's Meritorious Award for improving the safety of the NAS through stress analysis confirming the need for and specifying the limitations of a proposed change to the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System algorithm.

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Chinese Visitors Participate in DRVSM Celebration

By Stan Ciurczak

DRVSM CEREMONY: FAA employees around the country celebrated the six-month anniversary of DRVSM on July 20, 2005. The celebration at the Tech Center included air traffic management employees from the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC). Their visit was arranged as part of the FAA-CAAC cooperation agreement that was signed by Administrator Marion Blakey.

The FAA’s long and cordial relationship with the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) began in l986 with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement. This led to the establishment by the FAA of a senior representative office in Beijing. Then, in February 2004, FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey visited China and signed a record of discussion with the CAAC that set forth a number of areas of cooperation between the FAA and the CAAC that will serve to enhance the safety and capacity of China's aviation system. The FAA and CAAC have planned more than 70 cooperative exchange activities in 2005 in all fields of aviation safety.

The FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) fully supports the U.S.-China Air Traffic Cooperation Program, which seeks to improve China’s aviation safety, capacity and efficiency, and to promote global cooperation in building a seamless operational environment. Under this program, China sent a team to the Tech Center in July 2005 to receive assistance in the matters necessary to implement the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM). On July 20, 2005 when FAA employees around the country celebrated the six-month anniversary of Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum, the celebration at the Tech Center included guests from the Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) of the CAAC.

Technical Center Director Anne Harlan presented awards to the members of the team during the ceremony. “The exceptional talent and expertise of this team played an integral role in DRVSM implementation,” Harlan said. “Their work will make the airspace system more efficient and expand our options in managing air traffic.”

Center testing was pivotal in the FAA’s ability to implement domestic reduced vertical separation minima. Center researchers designed, ran and analyzed simulations and assessed the results for the safety implications of a switch to RVSM. The Center continues to monitor the system, and it operates the Regional Monitoring Agency for North America, an arm of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization.

China plans to implement the RVSM within the next few years, but the date is not yet set. Our Chinese visitors took home a deeper understanding of the U.S. air traffic control system and RVSM. The ATO and the ATMB will continue to cooperate in promoting global seamless operations in order to achieve mutual benefits.