The Communications Picture in 1965

The communications capacity required of the Common System for the year 1965 is projected from figures of fix postings for 1946 and 1954. In 1946, 8,800,000 fixes were reported; in 1954, 16,900,000 fixes were recorded. If this trend continues, the forecast for 1965 is 1,100,000 instrument approaches, and 32 million fix postings! Additionally, there are new requirements to be considered for the 1965 communications system. These are Airport Surface Detection Equipment and expanded helicopter service making short distance flights between cities and from airports to urban heliports, plus the ever increasing tendency for all flights to be controlled similarly to IFR flights. Studies on improving communications, conducted in the Boston area, have indicated the pattern for future work to be undertaken. One finding was the excessive amount of time spent by the controller communicating rather than controlling. The possibility of using codes for routine communications to eliminate repetition of messages between pilot and controller was suggested by this study. The Common System Beacon, under development primarily for radar reinforcement and flight identity, with the addition of altitude information would lend itself well to coding, with a subsequent saving in voice communications time. In the investigation of a communications system for the Common System of Air Navigation and Traffic Control, the goal should be for one of limitless communications capacity. This is the challenge for the communications engineer.