Tower Departure List

Function presentation

The Tower Departure List gives the list of flights departing from a pre-selected Aerodrome or Aerodrome Set.
In addition to customisable automatic monitoring of the departure phase, this function will allow to :

Display list of Suspended flights.
Display detailed information on selected flights.
Issue some specific messages to keep sharp control on effective departing information.

The interface design was done taking into account the requested implementation of a sensitive display allowing operations without traditional peripherals like keyboard and mouse.
To avoid confusions when the Tower Departure List is referring to the current UTC, based on the PC time, the user adjustable preference CHMI / ATFCM application / General / Dates and times / Time adjustment will not be taken into account. The UTC time referred to in the following paragraphes is displayed in the top right corner of the Tower Departure List window. This preference is only used when a function has to propose a default but adjustable time value for query preparation.

Opening the window

The Tower Departure List function may be started manually from the Application / ATFCM menu. Select the option Flights / Tower Departure List.
On opening, the Tower Departure List window will check the following user adjustable preference to customise the display and start flight data retrieval :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure List Identifier

If already specified, this preference is used to retrieve the initial list of flights.
If not yet specified, a modal dialog box will invite the user to input the desired identifier type and value (Aerodrome or Aerodrome Set).

Upon choosing the button OK, the Tower Departure List window is being displayed and related User Preference is updated accordingly.
Cancel closes the dialog box and the Tower Departure List is not started.
The user adjustable preference CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Open at startup allows, when checked, to request immediate start-up of the Tower Departure List on ATFCM CFMU Human Machine Interface application start. In this case, the ATFCM Information window and the Release Notifier will not be opened automatically at the same time.
On opening, the Tower Departure List window will restore its previous state based on system properties :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Last window state
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Last window position
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Last window view type

It will be maximised if it was maximised when it was last closed.
If it was in Normal state, it will be restored with the last displayed size and position.
If it was minimised, it will use preferred size and position.
It will be externalised if it was externalised when it was last closed.

Preparing to query

Introduction

The Tower Departure List is designed to run unattended with pre-defined default values.
Consequently, the window will immediately issue a first set of queries as soon as it is opened.

Departure list

For the first query, the following values are used to retrieve the Departure List :

The query WEF date and time is calculated based on the current UTC stamp minus the Departure lead time specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.
The query UNT date and time is calculated based on the WEF stamp obtained above plus the Departure elapsed time specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.
Only departing flights are requested for the Aerodrome or Aerodrome Set identified here above in the user adjustable preferences.
The displayed flights are based on the Traffic Load type.

Proposal flights are never requested for the Tower Departure List.
For the Traffic Load on a Departure Flight List, the flights are selected on the ATOT, then on the CTOT if ATOT is not yet available, and finally on the ETOT if none before are available.

Suspended list

For the second query, the following values are used to retrieve the Suspended Flight List :

The query WEF date and time is calculated based on the current UTC stamp minus the FLS lead time specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.
The query UNT date and time is calculated based on the WEF stamp obtained above plus the FLS elapsed time specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.
Only departing flights are requested for the Aerodrome or Aerodrome Set identified here above in the user adjustable preferences.
The displayed flights are based on the Traffic Demand type.
The list is only filled in with the suspended flights.

Displaying the query results

Header data

The window title clearly identifies :

It is a Tower Departure List.
The Aerodrome ICAO identifier or the Aerodrome Set Identifier for which the list is displayed.
The stamp when the list was last updated with fresh data.

The current PC time (UTC) is displayed in the up-right corner of the window.

Departure list

The main part of the Tower Departure List is dedicated to the Departure list of flights.
For each flight, the main list contains :

TOT : The Take Off Time for the Departure Aerodrome or the Departure Set of Aerodromes (see later).
ARCID : The aircraft identification.
EOBT : The last received Estimated Off Block Time.
E/CTOT : Either the Calculated Take Off Time or, if not available, the Estimated Take Off Time. The appended letter indicates if it is the Calculated (C) or the Estimated (E).
TAXI : The Actual Taxi time is the latest value identified by the CFMU system to calculate the Actual profile.
SID : The Fixed connecting point of the Departure Procedure.
STAT : The Status of the flight (see later).
ATOT : The Actual Take Off Time (see later).
DEVIAT : The difference between the Actual Take Off Time and the planned Calculated Take Off Time. While ATOT is not yet available, the Anticipated Actual Take Off Time is used instead. The Deviation is only displayed when the flight is regulated and the value is outside the -5/+10 minutes boundaries.
ADES : The Aerodrome of Destination.
ATYP : The ICAO identifier of the Aircraft Type.

The Take Off Time (TOT) is the time used for the selection of the flight in the currently displayed flight list. It may be of three sources :

Estimated (E) when based on the Estimated flight profile.
Calculated (C) when based on the Calculated flight profile (allocated slot).
Actual (A) when based on the Actual flight profile (after departure).

The ATOT column might be coloured based on the presence of any CDM Discrepancies.
The colour used may be adjusted in the Preferences dialog :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / CDM Discrepancy colour.

Following different statuses may appear in the Tower Departure List before the flight is TACT Activated, ATC Activated or Terminated :

TSH : TOT Shifted status is displayed when a shifting of the CTOT has already been applied for this flight.
REA : If not TSH, REA status is displayed when when the flight is REAdy to depart (REA message received).
FRZ : If not TSH or REA, Slot Frozen status will be displayed when Current UTC time > (Calculated TOT - Taxi time - Time to Remove from sequence). Frozen status is only considered before the flight is TACT Activated.
RSI : If not TSH, REA or FRZ, Regulated Slot Issued status will be displayed if a slot has been published for this flight.
blank : If not TSH, REA, FRZ or RSI, status column will remain blank. This concerns the remaining cases after above checks are performed in sequence.

With the implementation of the CDM processing, the time in the ATOT column may be of different sources.
To indicate the source of the displayed time, it will be followed by a status letter.
Dependant on the current CDM flight status, following letter states are possible with the related time in front :

Blank follows effective ATOT time for flights departing from a non-CDM airport.
c follows effective ATOT time, when available, for flights departing from a CDM airport.
e follows the latest Take Off Time received within an Early-DPI (E-DPI) message, when available. If CDM Provisional Information is present, an asterisk is inserted between the time and the "e" state.
t follows the latest Confirmed value of the Target Take Off Time received within a Target-DPI (T-DPI) message, when available. If CDM Provisional Information is present, an asterisk is inserted between the time and the "t" state.
s follows the latest Confirmed value of the AO Target Take Off Time received within a sequenced Target-DPI (T-DPI "s") message.
a follows the latest Anticipated Actual Take Off Time received within an ATC-DPI (A-DPI) message.

The list is initially sorted in ascending sequence on the Take Off Time (TOT).
This flight List allows only single selection.
On initial display after any refresh (automatic or manual), the list is positioned on the first flight with an TOT greater or equal to the Current UTC time minus the Shift Display Time specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.
Automatic refresh of the list is processed based on the Refresh interval specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.

Suspended list

The FLS button at the bottom right of the window, just above the Toolbox button, allows to show or hide the Suspended list.
This FLS button indicates the current number of suspended flights to be displayed in the list (i.e. "<< 5 FLS").
When the Suspended list counter becomes a non zero value (from zero to non zero), the following user adjustable preference allows to show up the suspended list automatically :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Suspended list auto show

When it is requested or automatically, the list of suspended flights is displayed in the lower left part of the display (FLS).
For each flight, the list contains the following columns :

ARCID : The aircraft identification.
ADEP : The ICAO identifier of the Aerodrome of Departure (Only displayed if the list is run for an Aerodorme Set Identifier).
ADES : The Aerodrome of Destination.
EOBT : The last received Estimated Off Block Time in the format "DD-HH:MM".
E/CTOT : Either the Calculated Take Off Time or, if not available, the Estimated Take Off Time. The appended letter indicates if it is the Calculated (C) or the Estimated (E).
U : The Suspension reason code (see later).

The flight might be suspended for the following reason :

ST for SIT Time Out
SM for Slot Missed
RC for FCM Required
TV for RVR
NR for Not Reported as Airborne
RV for FP Revalidation

The initial display sort sequence for the list of Suspended flights is Descending order on the E/CTOT column.
This flight List allows only single selection.
On initial display after any refresh (automatic or manual), the list is positioned at the top with the first flight selected.
The vertical scroll bar at the right side of the Suspended list allows to :

Move up and down selection in the Suspended list.
Request detailed flight info for the currently selected flight.

Automatic refresh of the list is processed based on the Refresh interval specified in the toolbox at the bottom of the window.

User interactions

General tools

If the key Aerodrome or Aerodrome Set Identifier of the Tower Departure List needs to be changed, just open the Preferences dialog, update related preferences with the newly desired Identifier and refresh the Tower Departure List after closing the preference dialog. These preferences are :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure List Identifier

Clicking on the Refresh button will force immediately the retrieval of up to date data for the currently displayed window (Flight lists or currently displayed flight Info).
To modify the Sort sequence of the flights, click on column headers corresponding to your desired sort criteria.
A TOOLBOX button at the bottom right of the window allows to show or hide the toolbox.
The different parameters in the toolbox at the bottom of the window may be adjusted by the user.

The value assigned to these parameters is stored in the following user preferences.

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Refresh interval : The interval in minutes between two automatic refreshes of the Tower Departure List.
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure lead time : The lead time in minutes applied to current UTC time when calculating the WEF time of the Departure list query.
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure elapsed time : The elapsed time in minutes used when calculating the UNT time for the Departure list query period based on above calculated WEF time.
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure shift display : For new Departure list initial display positioning, lead time in minutes before current UTC time.
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / FLS lead time : The lead time in minutes applied to current UTC time when calculating the WEF time of the Suspended list query.
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / FLS elapsed time : The elapsed time in minutes used when calculating the UNT time for the Suspended list query period based on above calculated WEF time.

The use of these parameters is detailed in the previous sections of this document.
The font used for the buttons on the right side may be adjusted with the following user preference :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Button font.

Departure list

Clicking on the large UP / DOWN buttons on the right side of the Departure list, moves backward / forward by 1 line in the list (hold click repeats).
Clicking the SHOW ACT or HIDE ACT button (2 states button) will turn on and off the display of the activated flights in the list.
Clicking on the INFO button on the right side of the Departure list, displays Flight Data details for the selected flight (See below for Flight info section).
If the user needs to display earlier or later Departing flights, he has to adjust the Departure Departure lead time and / or the Departure elapsed time with the Toolbox and request an immediate refresh.
Increasing / reducing the window height and width will impact the size of the Departure list control.
Following user preferences may be adjusted to associate colours with the current state of the departing flight :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Airborne colour
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Past CTOT colour : used for the flights with a CTOT in the past, not yet departed. This rule is applied with a tolerance of 10 minutes (CTOT + 10 minutes).
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Shifted by FAM : selection criteria is FAM status = "S".

All other flights in the Departure list will use the normal Tower Departure List foreground and background colours :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure list foreground colour
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure list background colour

The font used to list the Departing flights may be adjusted with the following user preference :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Departure list font.

To display a sub-selection of the retrieved data, click on the Filter button on the button bar or select the Action / Filter menu option and adjust the desired filtering criteria.

Suspended list

A button at the bottom right of the window, above the toolbox button, allows to show or hide the Suspended flight list (FLS).
The automatic show up of the suspended flight list when the list counter becomes a non zero value may be enabled or disabled using the preference :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Suspended list auto show

If the user needs to display earlier or later Suspended flights, he has to adjust the FLS lead time and / or the FLS elapsed time with the Toolbox and request an immediate refresh.
Clicking on the UP / DOWN buttons on the right side of the Suspended list, moves selection backward / forward by 1 line in the list (hold click repeats).
Clicking on the INFO button on the right side of the Suspended list, displays Flight Data details for the selected flight (See below for Flight info section).
Colour background of the suspended flight list may be adjusted using the preferences :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Suspended list foreground colour
CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Suspended list background colour

The font used to list the Suspended flights may be adjusted with the following user preference :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Suspended list font.

Increasing / reducing the window width will impact the size of the Suspended list control.

Flight info

On selecting a flight in the Departure list or the Suspended list, the corresponding INFO button is enabled.
On clicking the INFO button on the right side of the Departure list or the INFO button on the vertical scrollbar of the Suspended list, detailed Flight Data : is retrieved and displayed for the selected flight :

The Departure list display is replaced by the tabbed Flight info presentation.
The INFO button is switched to LIST to allow returning to the Departure list display.
The UP, DOWN and SHOW ACT / HIDE ACT buttons are disabled on detailed Info display since not of any use in this context.

Following tabs are presented on the tabbed Flight info presentation :

The tabbed Flight data display.
The Flight history display.
The Operational log display.

Flight history and Operational log data are only retrieved when the corresponding tab is selected for display.
After a first retrieval, the Flight history and Operational log data are only refreshed on request.
Switching between the different Flight info tabs triggers initial data retrieval but will not trigger subsequent refreshes.
Subsequent refresh for the currently displayed tab is requested via a manual click on the REFRESH button.
Clicking the REFRESH button will trigger an immediate query of the currently displayed detailed flight information.

Contextual actions

General

On selecting a flight in the Departure list or when the tabbed info window is displayed for a flight, the different Action buttons are activated or de-activated based on the flight data context.
On pushing an Action button while a flight is selected in the Departure List or displayed on the tabbed info window, an action bar is made visible at the bottom of the current display (LIST or INFO).
If the Toolbox is displayed when an Action is triggered for a selected flight, the Toolbox is automatically closed.
Following Action buttons may be enabled or disabled for the selected flight :

TAXI UPD : to issue an update request of the Taxi Time for the flight.
SHIFT TOT : to issue a shift request of the Take Off Time (TOT) for the flight.
READY : to issue a Ready to Depart message for the flight.

The action bar includes :

Identifier of the selected Action and related flight.
Input controls for the data element related to the selected Action.
Send and Close buttons.

When the action bar is opened, the ARCID column background of the selected flight is highlighted in a specific colour associated to the user preference :

CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / Tower departure list / Action colour.

This colour may be adjusted in the Preferences dialog.
It will remain highlighted until the corresponding action bar is removed (Close or next Action).
After the desired Action request is issued, the Send action button is disabled and its caption is set to Processing ... while the message is issued.

If successful, the Send action button text on the opened action bar is replaced by the word Accepted.
If failed, a dialog box is displayed with the error message returned by the server. The Send action button text on the opened action bar is replaced by the word Rejected.

On successful Action :

The Tower Departure List is reactivated if it was not the case (back from Info display).
An immediate refresh is triggered automatically.
The ARCID identifier of the flight remains highlighted in BOLD for the next 5 minutes in the Tower Departure List.

The action bar opened for any Action is removed :

If the user clicks the Close button on the right of the bar before or after Action request.
If the user clicks an Action button for the same or another flight in the list.

Every time a refresh of the list (manual or automatic) or a refresh of the flight info display is successfully completed, any action bar opened based on the previous data is validated against the newly retrieved data.

If the flight is no more satisfying the conditions for the Action, the opened action bar is disabled except the Close button. The text on the Send button is replaced by the word Obsolete.
If the opened action bar remains valid, the ARCID column background of the corresponding flight is highlighted again in the list with the Action colour.

TAXI UPD

The TAXI UPD button is activated when the Current UTC time is smaller than (Calculated TOT - Taxi time - Time to Remove from Sequence). When Calculated TOT is not available, the Estimated TOT is used instead. This button is disabled when the time limit to issue the TAXI UPD is reached.
Clicking the TAXI UPD button, will display the Change Taxi Time action bar at the bottom of the screen.

The selected ARCID is displayed on the action bar.
The Taxi Time box is presented with the current Taxi Time displayed in the TXT column.
This Change Taxi Time action bar will allow to adjust the Taxi Time value by :

Clicking one or more times on the -1 / +1 buttons (hold click repeats).
Each time the button is clicked, the Taxi Time is adjusted with the clicked value.
Accepted values are between 00 and the maximum identified by the system property CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / General / Maximum MINLINEUP. When reaching the limits, the corresponding -1 / +1 button is disabled and re-enabled when appropriate.
The Send button remains disabled when the Taxi Time value on the action bar corresponds to the Taxi time in the TXT column.

Once updated, you can issue the Change Taxi Time message for the indicated flight by clicking on the Send button.
This button is then disabled and its caption is set to Processing ... while the message is issued.
On reply, the button caption is changed either to Accepted or Rejected (See above).
You can close the action bar without issuing any message by clicking on the Close button.

SHIFT TOT

The SHIFT TOT button is activated when :

The selected flight in the Departure list is Pre-Sequenced (Anticipated DPI received)
Or Not reported as Airborne
Or not departing from a CDM airport and after pushback (Current UTC time < CTOT and Current UTC time >= ( CTOT - Taxi Time )).

Clicking the SHIFT TOT button, will display the Anticipated ATC TOT action bar at the bottom of the screen.

The selected ARCID is displayed on the action bar.
The new TOT box is presented with the current TOT displayed in the E/CTOT column.
This SHIFT TOT action bar will allow to adjust the new TOT value by :

Clicking one or more times on the -5 / +5 buttons (hold click repeats).
Each time the button is clicked, the new TOT is adjusted with the clicked value in minutes.
Accepted values are between current CTOT-10 minutes and current CTOT+20 minutes. When reaching the limits, the corresponding -5 / +5 button is disabled and re-enabled when appropriate.
If the CTOT was already adjusted by a previous SHIFT TOT on the same ARCID, the authorised boundaries are still based on the initial CTOT value.
The Send button remains disabled when the New TOT value on the action bar corresponds to the CTOT value of the E/CTOT column.

Once updated, you can issue the SHIFT TOT message for the indicated flight by clicking on the Send button.
This button is then disabled and its caption is set to Processing ... while the message is issued.
On reply, the button caption is changed either to Accepted or Rejected (See above).
You can close the action bar without issuing any message by clicking on the Close button.

READY

The READY button is activated for a regulated flight not yet airborne in the Departure list (presence of a CTOT with no ATOT yet).
Clicking the READY button, will display the Ready message action bar at the bottom of the screen.

The selected ARCID is displayed on the action bar.
The Minlineup box is presented empty which implies CFMU system will take the Taxi time as default value for MinLineUp.
Default button is consequently disabled.
This READY action bar will allow to adjust the Minlineup by :

Clicking one or more times on the -1 / +1 buttons (hold click repeats).
Each time the button is clicked, the Minlineup is adjusted with the clicked value.
Accepted values are between 00 and the maximum identified by the system property CHMI / ATFCM application / Flights / General / Maximum MINLINEUP. When reaching the limits, the corresponding -1 / +1 button is disabled and re-enabled when appropriate.
Clicking on the Default button will suppress any value in the MinLineUp box. This is used to tell the CFMU system to use the Taxi time by default.
When there is no value in the MinLineUp box, the Default and the -1 buttons are disabled.
After this, on the first click on the +1 button, the first value displayed is 1 and buttons are re-enabled as appropriate.

Once updated, you can issue the READY message for the indicated flight by clicking on the Send button.
This button is then disabled and its caption is set to Processing ... while the message is issued.
On reply, the button caption is changed either to Accepted or Rejected (See above).
You can close the action bar without issuing any message by clicking on the Close button.