FRIDAY JULY 16, 1999

WORKS Minister Sadiq Baksh yesterday commissioned the Air Traffic Services Flight Plan Processing System (FPPS) at the Air Traffic Control Centre at the Piarco International Airport.

     This system is a result of the collaboration between the Civil Aviation personnel at Piarco and Aerospace Engineering and Research Associates, Inc. of Maryland, USA, between 1994 and 1998.

     According to Jack Crimmins, director of operations at Aerospace, "The strong need for flight data processing systems led to its automation.

     The system in Trinidad is now the most modern flight data processing system in the world."

     In his address, Baksh outlined the importance of this system in providing more accurate interpretations of strip-writing: "The Piarco Automated Flight Plan Printing System is designed to greatly reduce the need for manual preparation of flight strips. Strip-writing is a vitally important function in any Air Traffic Control Unit"

     "The system," says Lonnie Bowlin, president of Aerospace, "Does away with the drudgery of preparing flight strips."

     These include greater accuracy in time/distance calculation standardization operation in terms of strip production, while eliminating the manual production of several hundred flight process strips each day. The system is user friendly.