TAMR Passes Important Milestone at First Facility (D10)
Thursday, January 31, 2013

 

TAMR Phase 3 Segment 1 (TAMR3S1) passed one of its most significant milestones last week. E-1 software passed operational suitability testing at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., and a few hours later the Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON (D10) operational system passed the Contractor Acceptance Inspection (CAI). All of the operational positions at D10 and the towers serviced by D10 have been outfitted with Common ARTS (CARTS - Common Automated Radar Terminal System) in Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) equipment. They are poised for the transition from Common ARTS to STARS.

The FAA has taken possession of the first ever TAMR3S1 operational system and has the software deemed suitable for live air traffic.

“It is an enormous first milestone for the first Common ARTS facility to transition to STARS,” said Mitch Herrick, NATCA’s TAMR project representative. “The software is now ready to be tested in the background at its first operational facility in preparation for going live in late march or early April.

“D10 is in the final stages and nearly ready to go. All we have left to do is test the system, train the controllers and technicians and then D10 will transition to STARS. They will be the first facility on the waterfall rollout of the project and will be followed by 10 more CARTS facilities. Next will be Northern California TRACON (NCT) followed by Atlanta (A80). We are off and running in the deployment phase.”

Herrick credited the work of D10 member Doug Peterson (D10), the TAMR3S1 NATCA lead for the project as well as the entire D10 facility for their enormous amount of work and flexibility in making this a reality. “The work and effort given there gives me great confidence that we are providing them fantastic product,” Herrick said.

“We now have the critical hardware and software elements in place to reach the next big milestone; the first live operational use of the new TAMR system,” Herrick said. “Everything is lining up for IOC (Initial Operating Capability) at D10 in late March or early April.”