Michael, Where is the plan from the FAA, you ask? Good news to report - It's here. It's called the Brand New Air Traffic Control System. A key component will be airspace optimization and trajectory-based operations.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has talked extensively about this for months now. His newest comments were made just today, in the context of speaking at Verticon 2026. A news story about his appearance, with quotes, can be found here: https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-03-10/are-helo-ads-b-requirements-coming-under-atc Re-architecting the U.S. airspace in the Brand New Air Traffic Control System will enable automated flight routes that will improve safety and efficiency and deliver reliable, scalable traffic with strategically deconflicted trajectories. “We’ll tell you where we want you to be in three dimensions … and we’ll tell you where we want you to be to hit that top of descent mark to [meet] the constraints of the runway, not the airspace itself,” said Bedford in recent remarks at the Aero Club of Washington. Many aircraft already have capabilities to fly in such a system, and individual operators have their own systems. But they are not collectively optimized from an overarching system design. Only catch to all this is that Congress needs to provide more funding for the next phase of BNATCS, because the down payment from last year's One Big Beautiful Bill does not cover this airspace modernization effort. -Doug Church On Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 4:03 PM ATHGroup--- via Mifnet < [email protected]> wrote: > Jack, > > > > Like many things, there is nothing wrong with continuous descent > approaches (CDA), but the devil is in the details. > > > > For example, FAA did an airspace redesign in Houston (hundreds of > millions) to accommodate CDAs. > > > > The end result is that United had to add 2 minutes for every flight into > Houston (IAH). Obviously, this is not the desired system result. > > > > In my latest article, "*What Should Airlines Want?* > <https://greenlandings.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/What-Should-Airlines-Want-MTS-WINTER-2026.pdf>" > (FAA's Manager's Association, Managing the Skies, Winter 2026 edition), I > asked a simple question, "*How should airlines want to fly their aircraft*". > Surprisingly, airlines had no answer for my question in the mid-1990s when > I introduced FreeFlight, and they still have no answer today. > > > > In other words, airlines have yet to define what they mean when they say > CDAs. > > > > From my perspective, what airlines/users should want is to take off when > they want; fly the route, altitude, and speed they choose (e.g., wind > efficient route/altitude to an idle descent to a 5 NM final); change that > route, altitude, and speed as they require; navigate with the tools they > select; land when they arrive; and do this all without enroute or terminal > area delays. > > > > What they need from ATC is to fly the airline’s chosen plan without > hitting another aircraft > > > > This is the goal. Where is the plan from airlines or FAA to meet it? > > Michael > > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > R. Michael Baiada > > cell - (303) 521-6047 > > [email protected] > > > > *From:* Jack Keady via Mifnet <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 10, 2026 10:08 > *To:* David Wardell via Mifnet <[email protected]> > *Cc:* Jack Keady <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [Mifnet 🛰 75627] continuous descent approaches > > > > A respected Mif-Aviator wrote > > > > "Don't get me started on continuous descent approaches" > > > > > > Keady asks "what's wrong with them? You just dial in the target point and > desired altitude and the computer does the rest" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Revised: 20250507 > > You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. > > The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't > exactly cost-free. If you'd care to make a small contribution to the > effort, please know that it would be greatly appreciated: > https://wardell.us/url/mifbit > > All posts sent to the list should abide by these policies: > > 1) List members acknowledge that participation in Mifnet is a > privilege--not a right. > 2) Posts are always off the record, absent specific permission from the > author. > 3) The tone of discussions is collegial. > 4) Posts are expected to be in reasonably good taste. > 5) We discuss ideas and not personalities, and we don't speak ill of other > Mifnet members. > > * The Mifnet WEB SITE is: > https://www.mifnet.com/ > > * To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list at any time please visit: > https://lists.mifnet.com/ > OR: SEND THIS MESSAGE via email: > [email protected]?subject=leave > > * Send Mifnet mailing list POSTS/SUBMISSIONS to: > [email protected] > > * You may reach the person managing The Mifnet at: > [email protected] > > * Please consider the DIGEST version of The Mifnet, which consolidates all > list traffic into 1-3 > messages daily. 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-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revised: 20250507 You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't exactly cost-free. If you'd care to make a small contribution to the effort, please know that it would be greatly appreciated: https://wardell.us/url/mifbit All posts sent to the list should abide by these policies: 1) List members acknowledge that participation in Mifnet is a privilege--not a right. 2) Posts are always off the record, absent specific permission from the author. 3) The tone of discussions is collegial. 4) Posts are expected to be in reasonably good taste. 5) We discuss ideas and not personalities, and we don't speak ill of other Mifnet members. * The Mifnet WEB SITE is: https://www.mifnet.com/ * To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list at any time please visit: https://lists.mifnet.com/ OR: SEND THIS MESSAGE via email: [email protected]?subject=leave * Send Mifnet mailing list POSTS/SUBMISSIONS to: [email protected] * You may reach the person managing The Mifnet at: [email protected] * Please consider the DIGEST version of The Mifnet, which consolidates all list traffic into 1-3 messages daily. See instructions at: https://lists.mifnet.com/ * Manage your personal Mifnet SUBSCRIPTION at: https://lists.mifnet.com/ * For a list of all available Mifnet commands, SEND THIS MESSAGE via email: [email protected]?subject=help * View The Mifnet LIST POLICIES and PRIVACY POLICY at: https://mifnet.com/index.php/policies * View instructions for Mifnet DELIVERY PROBLEMS at: https://mifnet.com/index.php/delivery-problems * View The Mifnet LIST ARCHIVE at: https://lists.mifnet.com/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/
