Aeronautical Communications

Course Rationale

Analog, voice communications over two-way radios has been the primary means of communications between air traffic controllers and pilots. Very High Frequency (VHF) communications is old and has many limitations. These limitations include frequency congestion especially in terminal areas, stepped-on communications, lack of security, and high failure rate for older equipment. The continued air traffic growth in the United States and internationally has necessitated implementing new communications technologies, such as satellite, digital, and data link communications, to provide more robust communications capabilities. These capabilities enable digital distribution of additional information, such as traffic and weather, to pilots.

Course Description

The Aeronautical Communications course builds upon the information provided in the CNS/ATM course, which contains a general overview of communications in the NAS. The Aeronautical Communications course discusses the topics covered in the CNS/ATM course in greater detail. The course begins by providing an overview of the communications between National Airspace System (NAS) facilities and between control facilities and aircraft, followed by a discussion of current transmission, switching/multiplexing and networking systems for air-to-ground (A/G) and ground-to-ground (G/G) communications. The planned evolution of the FAA communications architecture for all domains will be described with heavy emphasis on FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) and Next Generation Air/Ground Communications (NEXCOM).

Pre-Requisite

It is strongly recommended that students have completed MAI’s CNS/ATM course.

Intended Audience

This course is aimed at engineers and managers who need to be aware of the technology advancements and planned implementation and upgrades of the current communications in the National Airspace System (NAS), and across the globe.

Cost

$600.00 (see MAI fee policy)

FAA employees will be invoiced upon completion of the course. The above-listed cost may be used as an estimate.

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