Future Air Navigation System
[1] In the FANS-B equipped Airbus A320 family aircraft, an Air Traffic Services Unit (ATSU) and a VHF Data Link radio (VDR3) in the avionics rack and two data link control and display units (DCDUs) in the cockpit enable the flight crew to read and answer the controller–pilot data link communications (CPDLC) messages received from the ground.
Air traffic control's ability to monitor aircraft was being rapidly outpaced by the growth of flight as a mode of travel.
In an effort to improve aviation communication, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management ICAO, standards for a future system were created.
The FANS report was published in 1988 and laid the basis for the industry's future strategy for ATM through digital CNS using satellites and data links.
This was based on the early ICAO technical work for automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) and controller–pilot data link communications (CPDLC), and implemented as a software package on the flight management computer of the Boeing 747-400.
It used existing satellite based ACARS communications (Inmarsat Data-2 service) and was targeted at operations in the South Pacific Oceanic region.
ATC services are now provided to FANS 1/A equipped aircraft in other oceanic airspaces, such as the North Atlantic.
Mandatory carriage of the ICAO compliant system is now the subject of an Implementing Rule (for aircraft flying above FL280) issued by the European Commission.
This is because the air traffic controller can recognize problems and issue corrective directions to multiple airplanes in a timely fashion.
The FANS concept was developed to improve the safety and efficiency of airplanes operating under procedural control.
If market demand pushes airlines to operate at the same time on a given route, this can lead to airspace congestion, which is handled by delaying departures or separating the airplanes by altitude.
The latter can lead to very inefficient operation due to longer flying times and increased fuel burn.
This allows the flight crew to select from a menu of standard ATC communications, send the message, and receive a response.
The improvements to CNS allow new procedures which reduce the separation standards for FANS controlled airspace.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) first developed the high level concepts starting with the initiation of the Special Committee on Future Air Navigation Systems in 1983.
During these trials, airplanes installed applications in their ACARS units which would automatically report positions.
Boeing worked with the airlines to develop a standard which would control the interface between FANS-capable airplanes and air traffic service providers.
AirSatOne provide advanced FANS 1/A services through their Flight Deck Connect[3] portfolio of products.
On June 20, 1995, a Qantas B747-400 (VH-OJQ) became the first aircraft to certify the Rolls-Royce FANS-1 package by remote type certification (RTC) in Sydney, Australia.
The airplane touched down at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The non-stop eight-hour, 4,000-nautical-mile (7,400 km) flight originating from Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana, was part of a North Atlantic Traffic trial conducted by the FANS Central Monitoring Agency (FCMA).
