Remote Tower website
The innovative Remote Air Traffic Control Tower Project at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport is transitioning from concept to reality. A new website has been created by the Colorado Department of Transportation Division of Aeronautics in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration NextGen Division, Searidge Technologies, and the Northern Colorado Regional Airport. This website will be the platform used to communicate progress on the installation, operation, and testing of the system. The website includes information on the project and a brief video demonstration of the equipment and technologies being tested by Searidge Technologies for installation at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport. Installation of the system is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year.
rTower video demonstration
A brief demonstration of the technology behind the Colorado Remote Tower Project provided by Searidge Technologies.
rTower August 2017 Update
Camera installation locations
Remote tower interior layout concept
The Remote Tower contractor, Searidge Technologies completed a site survey on July 24, 2017. Searidge Technologies, is working on an agreement with engineering firm CH2M Hill to provide the necessary engineering, design, and construction services for the installation of the airside remote tower equipment. The agreement is intended to be a design-build type arrangement where CH2M will design and construct the tower masts and communication and power connections. They will also be handling the layout and any building modifications needed for the terminal modular building that will be used to house the air traffic controllers and system electronics. CH2M has been the on-call engineer for the Airport for the past five years, and has designed and managed many past Airport projects.
The FAA project team, Searidge, and Airport staff are excited to have a partnership with a group familiar with the Airport layout for this project. The current timeline for installation of the remote tower components is expected to begin in November with much of the primary equipment placed as quickly as February 2018. This will include the camera and equipment masts, and utility extensions. The full CDOT rTower progress report is available here.
Remote Air Traffic Control Tower – Vendor Selected
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Searidge Technologies to install, test and certify a Remote Tower System (RTS) at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) located in Loveland, Colorado. This announcement is one of the initial steps toward the implementation of a test site for NextGen air traffic control technology to increase the efficiency and safety at one of northern Colorado’s busier general aviation airports. See the media release for full details:
• FNL Remote Tower Media Release 7-25-17
Background
In October 2015 the Northern Colorado Regional Airport was selected as the official test facility for new Virtual Air Traffic Control Tower technology, “Remote Tower”. This leading edge aviation technology will employ ground-based video and aircraft ground detection components to provide data monitored by air traffic controllers working in a central off-airport location. The high-tech array will provide an enhanced level of air safety at a cost dramatically lower than the expense required to construct and staff a traditional air traffic control tower.
The NextGen Office of the FAA coordinated with the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Division of Aeronautics to develop a selection process for determining the airport facility location for Virtual Air Traffic Control Tower testing and assessment. The site selection process considered the following criteria for determining the initial test location: airspace type, existing airport infrastructure and runway configuration, daily aircraft operation levels, aircraft traffic mix, accessibility to a major airport, and local stakeholder support. The process concluded with Northern Colorado Regional Airport and Durango-La Plata County Regional Airport as the front-runners for the official test facility locations. The Northern Colorado Regional Airport was ultimately chosen as the initial test facility in part due to its close proximity to the FAA Approach and Air Route Traffic Control Centers located in Denver and Longmont, Colorado.
The $5.9 Million in funding for the test phase of this monumental project is being provided by the Colorado Aviation Fund and unanimously approved by the Colorado Aeronautical Board. The Colorado Aviation Fund is supported solely through the collection of aviation fuel taxes administered by the CDOT’s Division of Aeronautics.
The equipment necessary for the testing is expected to be installed at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport by spring of 2017, with initial testing and assessments of the new virtual technology commencing shortly thereafter.
The Colorado Airport System consists of 74 public use airports that support over 265,000 jobs, provide $12.6 billion in annual payroll, and $36.7 billion in total annual economic output for the State of Colorado.
More information can be found at Colorado-Aeronautics.org or in their 2016 Annual Report on page 9.