Archive for August, 2015

Meeting Summaries Posted on August 19, 2015

There were two subcommittee meetings, Arrivals and Departures Technical Working Groups, held on August 19, 2015. This was the second meeting for the newly-formed technical working groups to review flight track data and define goals.

The purpose of the subcommittees is to serve as a technical working groups that are a forum for stakeholders to deal with specific issues in greater detail. Members will learn about specific issues of concern in the counties of San Mateo and San Francisco.

Departures Technical Working Group

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Council Chambers – Municipal Service Building
33 Arroyo Drive – South San Francisco, CA

Members Present:

Staff Present:

Public Present:

Meeting Summary:

The meeting was opened by James Castañeda and introduced Kathleen Wentworth, retired airline captain and deputy district director for Congresswoman Jackie Speier. Kathleen gave a presentation about departure procedures from the cockpit. She described the actions required for a commercial aircraft departure, including those by dispatch, cockpit flight crew, and cabin crew. She noted the interaction between dispatch and pilot, with dispatch relaying the initial weather information as well as the recommended departure procedure to file with the FAA.

Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable technical consultant, provided an overview of departure procedures, focusing on nighttime procedures and use of the SSTIK and PORTE.

Cindy noted that use of SFO’s preferential nighttime runway use program has dropped significantly in the past 10 years. This is due in part to FAA regulations changing on opposite direction operations (aircraft departing and landing in the same direction), weather, and air carrier runway preference. Don Kirby, NorCal TRACON, stated the TRACON supports use of opposite direction operations, which aircraft depart on Runway 10 L/R and land on Runway 28 L/R between the hours of 1 am – 6 am, traffic permitting. This noise abatement measure has been in place since 1988. Cindy indicated she will follow up with SFO ATC and specific airlines that operate during those hours to discuss making the nighttime preferential runway use program more prominent. Bert Ganuong, SFO ANAO, noted that aircraft can depart Runway 01 L/R and fly a 050 heading down the bay that helps alleviate noise for those communities under the departure flight path. NorCal TRACON noted this and will relay the information to the controllers.

Cindy reviewed use of the SSTIK and PORTE departure procedures which are satellite- and ground-based procedures, respectively. She noted use of the SSTIK since its implementation in early January 2015 versus use of the PORTE. For each month from October 2014 – August 2015, a sample of 1,000 flights per month were reviewed to understand the overall use of these procedures. A review of these flights shows that aircraft are using the procedure unless they are vectored. Vectoring can occur to accommodate air traffic and ensure safety regulations are met. Aircraft that are vectored cross over the shoreline at varying altitudes depending on aircraft capabilities. From Cindy’s analysis, it showed that on average there were 16 nighttime flights that used the SSIK procedure, of these approximately 8% of the PORTE flights turned before passing the SEPDY waypoint in the bay, and approximately 7% of the SSTIK flights turned before passing the SSTIK waypoint in the bay. Aircraft that turn before the way point are typically going to south-bound destinations such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix.

This was followed up by a discussion between the Roundtable members and staff regarding next steps of the subcommittee.

The following items were included as follow-up:

These items will be presented to the Roundtable at its October 7, 2015 meeting.

 Meeting Audio (MP3 80MB)

 

Arrivals Technical Working Group

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Community Hall – Portola Valley Town Hall
765 Portola Road – Portola Valley, CA

Members Present:

Staff Present:

Public Present:

Meeting Summary:

The meeting was opened by James Castañeda and introduced Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable technical consultant that provided an overview of arrival procedures, focusing on the SERFR1 and BIGSUR, which included information on how aircraft navigate from the termination of the standard terminal arrival route (STAR) to the runway end. STARs typically do not end at the runway and aircraft must be vectored from that point to the runway. A sample of 1,000 flight tracks for all arrivals from the south, east and oceanic were reviewed for August 2014 and August 2015. A review of these flight tracks showed aircraft are still vectoring off of the SERFR1 published procedure, as well as the arrivals from the east. Aircraft are vectored due to the amount of traffic, required spacing regulations and weather. NorCal TRACON noted they get information from members of the public regarding aircraft trends of being quieter or louder from residents in Santa Cruz. They noted this helps them look at flight tracks to determine what made those weeks quieter.

Bert Ganoung, SFO ANAO, gave a review of the Airport’s efforts to have airlines equip their Airbus A320 family of aircraft with wake vortex generators. There are four inlets on the underside of the wings that act as wind tunnels, generating a loud tone that can be irritating and heard most distinctly at least 20 miles from an airport when an aircraft is landing. Bert noted the Airport is exploring if they can offer incentives to airlines that install the vortex generator. The cost for the four vortex generators is approximately $3,000.00, required the aircraft to be off-line for a half of a day and must not have full fuel tanks. The airport is working with other airports that have a large percentage of A320 aircraft operating at their airports to see if they can work together to convince airlines to use the vortex generators. New A320 aircraft going into service have the vortex generators installed; as they start service at SFO, the noise office will monitor and see if the noise improves.

This was followed up by a discussion between the Roundtable members and staff regarding next steps of the subcommittee.

The following items were included as follow-up:

These items will be presented to the Roundtable at its October 7, 2015 meeting.

Meeting Live Stream

Techincal Working Group Agenda Posted on August 19, 2015

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Departures and Arrival Technical Working Group Meetings

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Departure Technical Working Group
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Council Chambers – Municipal Service Building
33 Arroyo Drive – South San Francisco, CA 94080

Arrivals Technical Working Group
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Community Hall – Portola Valley Town Hall
765 Portola Road – Portola Valley, CA 94028

Conference Call Number: (650) 517-7327
Webcast: sforoundtable.org/webcast

Note: To arrange an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to participate in this public meeting, please call (650) 363-1853 at least 2 days before the meeting date.

 

DEPARTURES TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP AGENDA

1. Call to Order
James A. Castañeda, AICP, Roundtable Coordinator

2. Public Comments on Items NOT on the Agenda
Speakers are limited to two minutes. Roundtable members cannot discuss or take action on any matter raised under this item.

3. Departure Procedure Operations
Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

4. Review existing departure procedures, including noise abatement procedures at SFO
Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

5. Review of existing TRACON departure noise abatement standard operating procedures
Harvey Hartmann, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

6. Status report: Aircraft use of initial SSTIK waypoint
Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

7. Status report: Late night and early morning departures
Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

8. Next Steps
James A. Castañeda, AICP, Roundtable Coordinator

9. Adjourn

__________

ARRIVALS TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP AGENDA

1. Call to Order
James A. Castañeda, AICP, Roundtable Coordinator

2. Public Comments on Items NOT on the Agenda
Speakers are limited to two minutes. Roundtable members cannot discuss or take action on any matter raised under this item.

3. Review existing arrival procedures, including noise abatement procedures at SFO
Cindy Gibbs, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

4. Review of existing TRACON arrival noise abatement standard operating procedures
Harvey Hartmann, Roundtable Aviation Technical Consultant

5. Status report: A320 Vortex Generator
Bert Ganoung, Manager – Aircraft Noise Abatement Office

6. Status report: Monitoring at Menlo and Woodside
Bert Ganoung, Manager – Aircraft Noise Abatement Office

7. Next Steps
James A. Castañeda, AICP, Roundtable Coordinator

8. Adjourn