Originally Posted by
ZOOKER
Many years ago, I worked in a VCR where most of the airfield was only observable by CCTV cameras.
That about says it all Zooker...times change and technology improves.
The (probably steam-powered and piston-driven) CCTV you talk of can hardly be compared with the composite displays available today....much in the same way that the first radar displays bear little relation to the displays in front of area controllers today.
Every tower ATCO I've heard from - those who have actually seen/sampled the technology - have been keen to use it because they see the advantages.
It's great that you got a new all-seeing traditional VCR...but does it still have no blind spots? Sooner or later as airports continue to expand they will develop again. Can you always spot VFR? (At night? In marginal weather? At long distance? Regardless of aircraft orientation?) I know I can't from my traditional VCR.
From the airport authority's point-of-view it's a bit of a no-brainer...when the existing tower needs to be replaced (to get the all important all-seeing view back) do they spend £xx million on a new traditional control tower periodically or do they set up a remote facility at a fraction of the cost?
(Heathrow control tower cost ca. £50m in 2007...let's just say, for argument/example, that they get a 3rd runway built 15 years from now which requires another VCR to be built...that £50m in 2007 will cost more than £100m in 2030.)