NATS For Sale?
Gonzo and others that may be interested,
My proposal is that the New Model is a unique and complete solution to the introduction of automation in ATC. There is overwhelming evidence that it will work as advertised and 76 out of 78 visitors to my stand at Farnborough were on the positive side of neutral. Two actual TC controllers were even complimentary. A 777 fleet captain who started with sceptical comments stayed for 40 minutes and went away wishing that the system was already in service. At Farnborough the NM featured in FLIGHT DAILY NEWS and since July there have been two letters from me in FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL and a short piece in AEROSPACE INTERNATIONAL (an RAeS publication). Notwithstanding these results I respect anybody’s right to simply dislike the approach.
However, if the idea does work then what is NATS worth if it owns and can develop the technology? Developing systems doesn’t mean they have to be used in the UK. There are some very large markets out there. On the other hand, what is NATS worth if another ANSP realises the potential and exploits the already considerable information in the public domain?
I presume many people are familiar with Rolls Royce’s rejection of the Jet Engine and the subsequent donation of the technology to the USA for a nominal sum? Frank Whittle said that one of his major regrets was that the jet engine did not play a greater part in the winning of WWII. I don’t make any personal claims to brilliance; I’ve just put together a few ideas and requests that real controllers gave to me. Hence my feeling that readers of this site should be interested.
One of my own aims is to have some influence on emissions by air traffic. This week’s FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL has an article on the role of ATM in reducing contrail pollution. The New Model does work (whereas Free Flight was always incomplete and could not work without other tools). I'm hoping that I won't be shot as the messenger.