The future of European air traffic control (ATC) has been seen at Le Bourget.
A Cessna Citation II research aircraft of the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) has been flying live ATN datalink demonstrations.
Show visitors at Thomson-CSF could see ATC radar and controllers communicating digitally with the aircraft, thus removing the need for voice communications.
In the air, the NLR scientists were able to receive and respond to the data. As the pilots using conventional radio were seeking clarification of the latest ATC instruction, NLR's Frank Diijkgraaf had responded with a simple keystroke.
The system exchanges data communication and navigation data in seconds. Tests are running simultaneously with the Airbus simulator in Toulouse.
The aircraft will be on the static park today enabling visitors to see the airborne equipment.
Source: Flight Daily News
