Everybody in aviation has heard about NextGen, the buzzterm that stands for the ponderous Next Generation Air Transportation System. But what is it, exactly? Ask 10 people and you’ll likely get 10 different answers. And don’t ask the popular media or tv or a politician: all they’ll tell you is that it’s “satellite-based” and coming soon. So the FAA’s latest video, released in July on the agency’s Web site (www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/reauthorization/nextGenVideos) and titled “NextGen,” provides a welcome explanation. Previous versions the agency produced are still on the site, but this one is the best so far.
And thankfully, it isn’t one of those eye-glazing “everything you wanted to know” efforts that overwhelms the viewer with so much information he forgets the important bits. In its 13-minute running time, “NextGen” reviews the system’s background, looks at today’s congestion and the predicted increases in traffic by 2025, and describes the major elements of the future system and their respective benefits in basic terms.
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