Acceptability and effects of tools to assist with controller managed spacing in the terminal area

Abstract

In a human-in-the-loop simulation, a scheduler delivered aircraft to meter fixes in the Los Angeles terminal area with a -60 to +30 second accuracy. This study investigated whether, and how well, controllers could control aircraft to land them as close to their scheduled time of arrival (STA) as possible using speed control alone. Controllers were assigned one of three levels of tools to assist them but had to compensate for errors in the forecast winds that had not been taken into account by the scheduler. Results show that speed clearances were sufficient under all conditions to maneuver aircraft closer to their STAs. From participant reports, this form of control incurred manageable workload and two of the three levels of tools were deemed easy to use. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.