Charlotte/Douglas Airport Improvements
ASDE-X Airport Surface Detection Equipment,
ASDE-X has gone
on-line at Charlotte Douglas International Airport providing controllers with improved
surface surveillance and increased reliability.
ASDE-X, which
stands for Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X, fuses ground
surveillance data collected from a variety of sources, including traditional
radar, ADS-B, and aircraft transponders. Controllers in the tower see this
information presented as a color display of aircraft and vehicle positions
overlaid on a map of the airport's runways, taxiways, and approach corridors.
The system essentially creates a continuously updated map of all airport-surface
operations that controllers can use to spot potential collisions.
One key improvement that ASDE-X provides controllers is its ability to track surface traffic in heavy rain, thanks to the integration of transponder data. Previous systems, which relied solely on radar data, could be rendered inoperable under severe weather conditions.
ASDE-X greatly enhances the ability of tower personnel to provide for a safer environment in the movement of aircraft and ground vehicles otherwise not observed.
Click here to see what it looks like: ASDE-X New
New runway construction parallel and to the west of runway 36 left has
begun in the spring of 2007.
