Architecture and technical alternatives for connecting cockpits to FAA data

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative intends to accommodate significantly higher levels of air traffic volume with greater safety and efficiency through the extensive use of enabling data exchanges. Data link communications will replace voice communications between aircraft and air traffic management systems to improve the accuracy and timeliness of information exchanged. These data exchanges will enable pilots, air traffic managers, and dispatchers to use the same data sets in their decision-making processes. The long-term NextGen goal is collaborative decision-making enabled by machine-to-machine information sharing. While the technical challenges of providing data to cockpits are being addressed across the community, the software architectures and functionality needed to ensure the data is current, authoritative, and consistent are still being defined. This paper provides descriptions of technical and logical architectures for connecting cockpits to FAA data sources in a framework that promotes the NextGen objectives of interoperability and information sharing.