Originally Posted by
dbenj
It bothers me that, on a CAT III morning in Austin, I can have better situational awareness using my iPad with Flightradar24 than ATC from in the control tower.
Originally Posted by
hans brinker
While sitting on the couch and knowing what is about to happen....
Originally Posted by
alfaman
That's hindsight, not situation awareness.
Nothing to do with hindsight, nor knowing what is going to happen.
Compared to TWR ATC staring in the fog (so to speak), a John Doe with FR24 on its iPad watching in near real-time and in every detail what is unfolding, is a world of difference.
(and this screenshot is from the flawed replay function in FR24, not correctly reproducing what the real-time picture was)
Of course, nobody is implying that ATC should start using FR24.
But the technology is there to provide a basic, low cost alternative to ASDE-X, which I believe is indeed on it's way with the Small Airport Surveillance System (SASS) project.