By Harlan Jonhson

Location, Location, Location! It is not only the mantra of the real estate agent, but it is also a critical requirement when managing aircraft utilized by the Department of the Interior (DOI). Imagine operating an aircraft in a remote location and you cannot establish contact with the outside world to alert them should you experience an emergency. How will help know where to look for you? Fortunately, advances in technology and through organizational determination, we now can meet the complex communication demands of the varied aircraft missions performed by the Department of the Interior.

Why do we need to communicate with an aircraft in flight? The Departmental Manual requires that aircraft operating under the control of the department "check in" with a ground-based dispatcher while in flight. To date, radio communications have been the sole means of establishing contact. This method has served us well, but it does have limitations. Ground-based radio communications are not always reliable due to great distances or topographic relief that may block the signal. However, the National Business Center's Aviation Management Directorate (AM) now has the answer to this dilemma.

For the past two years, the AM has partnered with the U. S. Forest Service (USFS) in the creation of a developmental "Automated Flight Following" (AFF) system. Providing aviation managers and dispatchers with information regarding the specific location of all government-owned and contracted aircraft is the expressed goal of this partnership. While the primary purpose of such a system is for timely search and rescue of injured persons, the transmission of data and voice between the aircraft and the ground dispatcher can realize significant improvements in efficiency. In addition, this system provides invaluable data for accident investigators and may mitigate some homeland security concerns regarding the location and control of firefighting aircraft.

A secondary partnership has been created with Canada's Province of British Columbia Forest Service. That government organization has tracked their aircraft for the past ten years for purposes of search and rescue and the tactical redeployment of firefighting resources. The principle value generated from this partnership has been the sharing of a software package known as "Webtracker" (as shown in the inset photo). This web-based system was developed by the Canadians and has gone through modification for use by the U.S. Interagency Fire partners, DOI and USFS. All parties have benefited from these modifications and have been accomplished at a minimal cost to the U.S. government. This is an example of true innovation and partnership in action.

So how does the system work? A "black box" is installed in the aircraft that "talks" with a communications satellite and receives position information from a Global Position System (GPS) satellite. The GPS location data is sent via the communications satellite to an earth station and is then loaded onto the world-wide-web. The data also includes aircraft tail number, owner, and mission and is available to all users of the Webtracker software. Access to the data is restricted to individuals participating in the management of these aircraft. Position reporting technology has been utilized by trucking firms and the railroads for many years; however, aviation equipment standards are much higher and many technical difficulties have been overcome to produce the current AFF system.

The AFF program will enhance the DOI aviation safety and efficiency. We anticipate that all DOI programs utilizing aircraft will soon enjoy the benefits of this system.

For more information

Harlan Jonhson

Harlan_Johnson@oas.gov