Cranfield to go digital/remote tower
 

https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/press/ne...-control-tower

I guess the remote facility will still be on site, as the article suggests they want to harness the research/academic side to it :cool:

The link doesn't work for me.

Link's ok for me Bren .....

I would have thought that radar would have been a more appropriate addition to the ATC facilities at Cranfield!

OK Eric - it's working now....99% my fault! Yonks ago Cranfield used to use Bedford radar with a suite for Cranfield. But that was long ago!

In the latter days of RAE/DRA Bedford, they even had SSR piped in from Debden; handed traffic over to them many times. 2nm SRAs were possible using Bedford's radar.
I suppose they'll now insist all Cranfield based traffic plus visitors carry ADS-B now and use an SBS or something to monitor them.
Whatever happened to the system marketed by the Stormscope people back in the '90s which used SSR Mode A/C to give a traffic display?

'Currently there are no operational digital control towers at UK airports'
True I suppose but how long before London City's comes on line? How long will the CAA insist on 'evaluating' them before they issue licences?

When Farnborough wanted to instal a TLS as a cheaper option to ILS, the CAA intitially said they would 'rubber stamp' it as it was approved for operations by the FAA in the US, but when it was being trialled, they suddenly decided they would need 'up to' 5 years to evaluate it as it was such a new concept. Might the same not apply to digital towers?

Who in their right minds is going to commit to all that expense then find the CAA won't approve it?

CAA will approve it, the trial period just allows them time to decide how many noughts go after the number for the license fee.

That's what they said about the TLS

A radar is coming as well.

I'm having trouble taking all this in. Where will the remote digital tower be located? Swanwick?

Nah Upper Heyford.

I would imagine it would be located at Cranfield, as it appears to be intended as a research facility for the university, as well as an operational digital tower.

CAA have been involved in the EASA Rule Making Group for digital/remote towers. No reason to think they would not accept a facility that conformed to those rules.

You would think that they might mention that!

2 s

They did! The SAAB provided virtual tower is the first bit of the wider £65 million DARTeC project announced a few months ago which will include a "next-generation radar" to create "radar enabled research airspace".

here

Thanks, Daysleeper - different page!

2 s

To do all that, they're gonna need controllers with APS or even ACS ratings and there ain't too many of those looking for a job at the moment. Cranfield's present controllers only need APP ratings (in addtion to ADV/ADI of course).

....only if they are going to provide aircraft with an Approach or Area service of course.

If on the other hand it’s going to be a R&D centre for technological programmes, such as data links and RPAS/manned flight integration, then perhaps such licenced, radar-based ATS are not required.