Evaluation of Enhancements to the Low Level Wind Shear Alert System (LLWAS) at Stapleton International Airport.

Abstract

An operational test and evaluation of enhancements to the 11-station Low Level Wind Shear Alert System (LLWAS) at Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, was conducted during the period August 3 to September 4, 1987. Enhancements included a 12th remote station for gathering wind data, a more sophisticated wind shear microbust detection (WSMD) algorithm, a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP 11-73 computer, a DEC VT-240 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Display, and an LLWAS message display format, the latter two for local controller use in the air traffic control (ATC) tower cab. Two sets of objectives were associated with this LUWAS evaluation: meteorological objectives, which stressed determining the effectiveness of the WSMD algorithm in establishing the presence of hazardous wind shears on or near the airport and reducing the false alarm rate; and human factors objectives, which were concerned with evaluating the usefulness and effectiveness of the CRT display, the display message, and the local controller's message to pilots. This report discusses the methodology and dual scientific analyses carried out, and provides detailed results with conclusions and recommendations. Based on the conclusions, it was recommended that the WSMD algorithm remain as an operational constituent of the Denver LUWAS and that human factors considerations be further explored in improving the controller LUWAS interface. (FR)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA200559

Entities

People

  • Bruce L. Rosenburg
  • Glenn R. Smythe
  • John D. Barab
  • Richard D. Page
  • Thomas E. Zurinskas

Organizations

  • Federal Aviation Administration

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Traffic
  • Airports
  • Algorithms
  • Cathode Ray Tubes
  • Detection
  • False Alarms
  • International Airports
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Equipment
  • Test Methods
  • Warning Systems
  • Wind
  • Wind Shear

Readers

  • Aviation Safety and Air Traffic Management
  • Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Data Science/Digital Signal Processing.
  • Environmental Remediation and Restoration.