GPS at Sea-Tac means greener skies over Seattle

It seems like just about everybody has GPS now. It can be built into your car, on a portable unit or on your phone. So, it might surprise to learn it is a technology most airlines do not have yet. The few that do really can’t use it, but that is about to change.

The Greener Skies Over Seattle initiative kicks off Monday at SeaTac International. It incorporates a dual navigation GPS system with new FAA procedures for incoming flights.

At Alaska Airline’s Flight Training Center, Technical Pilot Oscar Vela explained that his airline has been using the system for more than 15 years at smaller, single runway airports.

“The weather had to be really nice to get into Juneau. We needed an opportunity to get into Juneau when the weather was not very nice,” says Vela.

Necessity led to invention. The airline outfitted all of their planes with two GPS units, two inertial navigation units and two computers that can give the pilots a very accurate picture of where the aircraft is in relation to the runway.

The technology saved Alaska $15 million last year thanks to all the flights that did not have to turn back in bad weather.

Right now, major airports use ground-based radar equipment that has been around for decades.

“Those things are expensive to maintain. They’re getting old and need replacing. NexGen is going to satellite base, so we’re all going their anyway. We’re just ahead of the curve,” Vela says.

NexGen is the new system the Federal Aviation Administration will be implementing in the coming years. It starts with the Greener Skies initiative here in Seattle.

It has taken a joint effort between Alaska Airlines, the FAA, SeaTac and several other entities to create the procedures that will allow the GPS system to be used for the first time at a busy airport with three parallel runways.

Doug Marek is the FAA’s Project Manager. He explains the new procedures will mean a smoother ride down to the runway. When airplanes land right now they are given a stair-stepping maneuver to get down to the ground. The new path will be more like a banister rail with planes making smooth turns as they slowly descend.

The procedures are controlled by computers on board the airplanes. But, that does not mean we will be losing any air traffic controllers.

“No way are we taking the controllers eyes off that surveilled approach,” says Marek.

The new system has several benefits. A smoother approach will mean arriving a few minutes earlier. It will waste less money on fuel which could keep ticket prices from rising so quickly. Also, it will allow the airport to be a better neighbor.

“Idle power in and of itself, without doing anything else, is quieter, greener, cheaper,” says Vela.

The goal is to stay away from some highly populated and sensitive areas altogether. For example, right now many flights approach SeaTac by turning over Ballard and North Seattle. The new plans have those flights coming in over Elliott Bay.

By putting more of the flight into the hands of the computer, the procedures are also expected to make flying safer. As Vela explains, there will be less room for human error.

The Greener Skies over Seattle initiative will run through the end of the year. If all goes as planned, the FAA plans on creating new GPS procedures for major airports all over the country starting early next year.

It will not just be major airlines using the new approaches. Smaller, private aircraft will also be able to use the procedures if they have the appropriate equipment on board.

Experience Kim’s ride in the Alaska Airlines flight simulator!