October 3, 2023 Remote Sensibilities

The Liberty Gazette

October 3, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Our recent trip to England via commercial airline was book-ended by our own flight to Denver and back. Fort Collins, to be exact. We needed an agreeable place to leave the Elyminator while we toured London and the spectacular English countryside, Cambridge, Ely, Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Cotswolds. We wanted to be “in place” to get to the famed Estes Park Scottish-Irish Highland Games, scheduled the day after the 787 Dreamliner (ala fun window-dimming technology) would whisk us out of Heathrow and drop us back in the Mile High City. We had an important appointment with thousands of other Scottish heritage lovers. 

Of all the smaller airports around Denver, Northern Colorado Regional Airport (Fort Collins/Loveland) offered the winning combination of proximity to Estes Park, along with services and amenities we would need, like a rental car for the weekend after England. The flight up wasn’t exciting, as we had a headwind the whole way. But we planned for the possibility of weather interference and arrived a full 24 hours before our international flight. 

Northern Colorado Regional has a remote air traffic control tower. I don’t know where the tower controller on duty actually is, but on approach, I spoke with a live human who cleared me to land. 

The Colorado Department of Transportation is hosting a Remote Tower Project, which they call “a revolutionary high-tech approach toward the future of air traffic control.” For sure, it cuts costs. No tall building to maintain and staff. That can make a difference for airports with seasonal traffic like the ones in Colorado. It’s a beautiful state, but the Rocky Mountains make it a challenging place to fly. The terrain is the most obvious threat. In adverse weather conditions, we definitely need to know where those big rocks are. But we also must pay attention to the reduction in aircraft performance due to altitude (thinner air means fewer air molecules to provide lift). 

With all the jagged, high peaks and low valleys, air traffic controllers who sat in towers at airport locations couldn’t see all the traffic with traditional radar. This project aims to prove that controllers can do a better, safer, more efficient job controlling the skies over their state if they have the right technology. They report that the Colorado Mountain Radar Project, of which the tower project is the third phase, has increased the volume of traffic safely, effecting a positive impact on the local economies.

They’re accomplishing this with a mix of satellite-based technology and ground-based video, so controllers can see aircraft in their airspace and at the airports they monitor. When they were deciding which airport would be the first testbed, the one in Fort Collins met all the criteria. It offered a great mix of aircraft and operational levels, nearness to a major airport, and local support.

While we remain averse to pilotless aircraft, I must admit, I had an uneventful experience taking off and landing at a remotely-controlled airport.

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