Abstract

DOE contracted with Sandia to install a radar acquisition system (RAMS) to gather aircraft flight data near the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, TX. To support this effort, data reduction tools were needed to help analyze the radar data. Plot-flight is one of several data reduction tools that comprise the Sandia Airspace Recording System (SARS). The radar data is needed to support the Pantex Environmental Impact Study. Plot-flight is a DOS-based plot program that allows analysts to replay pre-recorded air traffic over Albuquerque and Amarillo. The program is flexible enough to permit replay of daily flights either sequentially, by range, or by Beacon ID. In addition to replay, the program is setup for data entry. Analysts can correlate electronic aircraft flight data to the green strip flights logs obtained from the local air traffic control center. The green strips are used by air traffic controllers to record each scheduled flight. The green strips have information not available electronically such as aircraft type and aircraft ID. This type of information is necessary to accommodate the current models used in aircraft crash analysis. Plot-flight correlates the hand-written information from the green strips to the recorded aircraft flight. Document type: Report