Any 'automatic' aerodrome FIS systems anywhere?

[John Hill]

Of course there are automatic ATIS systems all around the world but have any been extended to give information or warning of other traffic in the area?

I know some countries define a MBZ ('mandatory broadcast zone') where traffic entering the zone around an unattended aerodrome broadcast their position and intentions for those already in the zone thereby increasing the safety margin by increasing the awareness of least some of the parties involved.

Can PPruners tell me of any automatic systems that take this a step further? Does VDL Mode 4 fill this gap and how extensive has the uptake of this mode been?

Thanks

BTW, my interest is that I have a concept for something but there is no point in re-inventing any wheels.

[bsmasher]

Australian CTAFs have a system which can give some indication of other aircraft in the area.

At the end of a pilot transmission the AFRU ( automatic frequency response unit) will either transmit the name of the airfield if there have been no other transmissions for a while, or if there have been recent transmissions only respond with a beep

if theres only a beep it gives some indication of other traffic when making first contact on the frequency.

D.

[John Hill]

Thanks Mr Smasher, I think that called 'beep back' and has been around a while? What have been the issues with it, if any?

[bookworm]

Can PPruners tell me of any automatic systems that take this a step further? Does VDL Mode 4 fill this gap and how extensive has the uptake of this mode been?

I've heard nothing of VDL Mode 4 for years. It was proposed as a candidate datalink technology for ADS-B. However, Australia and Europe appear to be pursuing 1090ES for ADS-B, and the US still has UAT in play, but is also proposing 1090ES for those already so equipped.

Your idea is an interesting one, and has a lot of similarity to Traffic Information Service (TIS) as implemented in the US. With TIS, it's the radar systems themselves that act as the broadcasters of traffic information, rather than an airfield located system. At smaller airports I can see merit in combining a 1090ES detection system (e.g. SBS-1 (http://www.javiation.co.uk/sbs-1.html)) with a datalink for getting the traffic detected into the cockpit. Standardisation of the uplink technology would be the major issue.

PM me if you'd like to discuss further.

[bsmasher]

Yes thats "beep back" -

I dont fly into places wit hit that often (I'm mostly in the SY basin) so cant really comment on how useful it is as a traffic identification system

D.