Within the Alaskan Region, Flight 2000 served as the "capstone" for many additional initiatives, providing a common umbrella for planning, coordination, focus, and direction with regard to development of the future National Airspace System (NAS).
Operational enhancements included in Project Capstone are: The concept of conducting a real-world demonstration of these and other capabilities in Alaska was originally proposed for inclusion in the FAA's Flight 2000 Program.
The Alaskan Region identified the following FFOEP elements and related NTSB safety improvements for limited deployment in the fiscal year 1999: The Capstone program consisted of two phases in different geographical areas of Alaska.
The Y–K Delta area of southwestern Alaska, the focal point for Capstone's Phase 1 activities, typified most of the state in terms of transportation infrastructure.
The aircraft was fitted with instrument flight rules (IFR) capable GPS receivers, a universal access transceiver (UAT) data-link system that enabled automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS–B), and flight information service (FIS) including real-time weather, and a multifunction display (MFD) depicting terrain, other ADS–B aircraft, weather graphics and text data.
The avionics improved the pilot's situational awareness with the primary goal of preventing controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and mid-air accidents.
The lack of a usable IFR infrastructure and radar coverage combined with the harsh weather conditions caused Alaska to have a high rate of CFIT accidents.
The avionics continuously monitored the aircraft's altitude, GPS-derived position, ground speed, and route of flight, and compared this data to a built-in database of terrain elevation.
ADS–B aircraft position reports were also made available to airport traffic controllers in Bethel and to the commercial-aircraft operators via the Internet for flight-monitoring purposes.
The Capstone program provided training for pilots, operators, safety inspectors, air traffic control specialists, and technicians to ensure that the greatest benefits resulting from evaluation activities were realized.
To support this technology, 19 GPS stand-alone non-precision instrument approach procedures were prepared and published for runways of ten remote village airports within the Phase 1 evaluation area.
Also, an automated weather observation system (AWOS) was installed at these airports to enable air-carrier use of the new non-precision GPS instrument approach procedures.
This land-based system resulted in a traditional IFR route structure that was not optimized for the terrain or typical small aircraft users in Southeast Alaska.
The technology that changed this and put the routes and approaches where they were needed, at low altitudes over the fjords, was the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).
Basic GPS service failed to meet the accuracy, availability, and integrity (the ability of a system to provide timely warnings to users or to shut itself down when it should not be used for navigation) requirements critical to safety of flight.
The traditional VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) and automatic direction finder (ADF) ground-based en-route system has an availability rate of 98.5%.
WAAS provides the safety-critical navigation system that allowed the Capstone program to design airways and approaches where they can be best-used by the aviation industry in Southeast Alaska.
The first air-carrier validation flights by Harris Air, located at Sitka, Alaska, took place in March 2005 and resulted in FAA approval.
WAAS delivered the safety assurances essential for building a new U.S. navigation and air traffic management system based on cost-effective satellite technology.
On March 13, 2003, Special Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 97 was approved by FAA authorizing en-route IFR navigation in Alaska based solely on satellite technology without reference to ground radio-navigation stations.
[citation needed] In 2006, the FAA integrated the Alaskan Capstone project into the national Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS–B) program.