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Recently I found and scanned some old documents, dated 1991-1992, which prompted memories of my first professional achievements. When I graduated the Faculty of Aeronautics in 1986, I had already discovered my talent for computers and I had built a passion for software, without abandoning my older passion for hardware, evolved from my hobby for electronics. The majority of personal development experts say that we need to do in life something we like, something we are passionate of. My opinion is different. You need to do something that you are talented at, because you can achieve remarkable results with minimum efforts. If you happen to like something where you need to work hard for every result, you will get tired and you will end up by disliking that job. If you have talent, the results appear effortlessly and you will end up liking what you have probably previously ignored.<\/p>\n
The communist ideology was completely unadapted to the new computer era. For instance, when we designed a piece of equipment, we had to use only Romanian integrated circuits and eventually a small and limited percentage of components imported from CAER countries (including microprocessors manufactured in the German Democrat Republic, coppied after Intel 8080). Obviously, the results were disappointing. I was lucky to be selected by my faculty professors C\u0103t\u0103lin Bungetzianu and Ilie Stiharu to hire me at the first Romanian ILS project, with a prototype installed at the Bac\u0103u Airport. I designed some digital logic and instead of using the Zilog Z-80 technology which I was familiar with from what I was doing at home, I was forced to work with Romanian low integration TTL integrated circuits, copied after Texas Instruments. Instead of one microprocessor, several memories and ports, I had to come with two large PCBs full of integrated circuits. Evidently, the Bac\u0103u prototype frequently malfunctioned, being much more complex than needed, and being exposed to extreme temperatures and humidity, which the Romanian circuits were not able to take.\u00a0 Another inadequacy of the communist regime to computer technology was that censorship was highly effective with printed books and journals, with audio (music) and movies (video cassettes), but totally ignored the software, including the electronic documents. That enabled us to be connected to the rest of the world in this field. We had the newest software on the market and we learned to work with them, but we were totally isolated from Western technical books and journals (some clandestine Xerox copies circulated).<\/p>\n
In spite of the KGB’s efforts, in 1989 Romania quit communism and got out of the Soviet dominance area, taking a fast course to the West. We cannot imagine now the huge challenges of those times. In 2007 Niculae Droc published a book evoking the beginnings of the Romanian air navigation services in the 1990s. Cosmonaut Dumitru Dorin Prunariu served as the first director of the post-communist (free) Civil Aviation Administration, and Niculae Droc was the visionary leader who created Romatsa, a modern provider of air navigation services. Also, Niculae Droc was the first general director of the Autonomous Management Romatsa, established in 1991.<\/p>\n
In his book [1], Droc writes about the initial priorities and among strategic priorities, he mentions the need for a Romanian AIP at Western standards. Thus, the NOTAM Center was created in ROMATSA, „equipment (computers, printers) were purchased, the necessary software was produced (project manager: C. Rusu) and in less than one year, the organization was able to provide a document which could be compared with the best such publications in the world. The superior quality of the AIP allowed us to raise the selling price, in order that a decent profit was ensured to Romatsa.” [1].<\/p>\n
In this paper I would like to present and comment on that particular AIP Romania, because it was a tour de force and a great achievent of the Romanian aviation, which had to wait until 2007 to get this short mention. Cristi Rusu was my faculty colleague and friend. He had graduated the navigation section and managed to be hired at the newly established Romatsa. He talked to me about the new AIP project and asked my opinion on how to replace the „manually executed charts” and the „machine written text” multiplied with the „technology of the 1970s” [1]. I had at home an IBM PC-AT 286 compatible computer, put together by myself from various components found with difficulty. Also I had a technology miracle, the new Hewlett-Packard HP 4L laser printer with 300 dpi resolution. It costed me a fortune, $500, but I paid for it partially working in a computer assembly job for a company which was importing components from Germany. As software, I presented to him WordPerfect, which I was using to write articles and books. For aeronautical charts, I presented CorelDraw 2.0. He let me know that they will open a call for tender at Romatsa for the new AIP in August 1991 and recommended that I participate. I did not own a company, I was leader and founder of a non-profit association instead, the Association for Personal Computers, which gathered many remarkable people passionate of this field. Two of the most active members of my association were brothers Alexandru and Radu Corlan. The former was a medicine student and the latter an electronics student. They were the only whom I trusted and at the same time who owned a registered business, called Induss srl. I convinced them to participate at the tender, promissing that I will teach them the aviation part, a field which they were not familiar with. They were computer geniuses instead, and curious to learn new things. Dan Alexandru Corlan is now a prestigious doctor in medicine, founder of Ad Astra Association, and producer in the 1990s of the first Romanian cardio Holter device and some high impact medical software. Radu Corlan emigrated in the US in 1995, where he co-authored a high speed filming technology, the Phantom video cameras. In this position of inventor I saw him in 2012 on the red carpet at the Oscars (Fig. 1). Even since we were working together, he was interested in high speed data acquisitions.<\/p>\n
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Fig. 1 \u2013 Radu Corlan (second from the right), co-author of high speed filming technology, awarded with Scientific and Engineering Award by the American Film Academy for inovations in the field (2012)<\/p>\n
Three companies participated at the call for tender, with an aeronautical chart sample made after a West Germany model supplied by Romatsa (Fig. 2). Induss won, because our chart was produced by a laser printer from Corel at 300 dpi, whereas our competitors placed their bets on plotter and AutoCAD. In those times, the peripherals specialized in graphics were indeed the plotters, and they were able to provide colour prints. We had plotters ourselves, but for aeronautical charts, we considered the plotter weak due to the relatively thick and constant lines. The laser printer could draw very thin lines (1\/300″ or under 0.1 mm). There was another fixation that vector graphics required vector peripherals, and the printers were bitmap. However, at high resolutions, with vector graphics, the printed image quality was even better than the plotter. One of the model samples was coloured, and laser printers at the time were black and white only, but we considered the quality more relevant than the colour. The only colour map in the Romanian AIP was the radio navigation chart of Romania on a A2 format. Another difficulty was that some obstacle charts in the AIP were A3 and the only available laser printer at the time was A4 format. We decided to overcome this hurdle by joining together two printed sheets. In 1992 AIP Romania one may notice small discontinuities of the horizontal lines at the junction (Fig. 3). Although the two halves matched perfectly on the screen, the paper was passing through a very hot oven and suffered uneven stretches, and if the lines matched in the upper side, there was a discontinuity in the lower side, and vice versa. To my stupefaction, I found these problems 27 years later in Romania’s AIP at some obstacle charts, including ballpen hadwritten modifications over my old charts. Then I realized that I needed to write about the 1992 digital AIP, with brutal, analog modifications by ballpen, in 2019.<\/p>\n
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Fig. 2 \u2013 Samples of charts provided by Romatsa in 1991 as models for the new AIP, printed with 1200 dpi advanced laser technology, unavailable at the time in Romania<\/p>\n
The bid was won by Induss in spite of the powerful lobby of the rivals, who belonged to some Tarom pilots. Not only that our chart sample resembled the models in Fig. 2 the most (except the inferior resolution), and the rival AutoCAD plotted charts looked like cadastre plans, our price mattered. I was eager to get a contract in the field of aviation, I had enough money, and I was not after financial gain. Corlan brothers understood, and our offer was just 776,000 lei (the equivalent of close to $4000 at the moment of signing, and half of the amount at the moment of payment, 6 months later, due to hyperinflation) [2]<\/a>. It is true that one could have bought a flat in central Bucharest for that money.<\/p>\n On 30th<\/sup> of October 1991, Romasta signed with Induss probably the most profitable contract in their history, but it is worth mentioning that neither Romatsa was the financial power of later yet. „At the date of incorporating (1st<\/sup> of February, 1991) ROMATSA had no money in the bank account. (…)\u00a0 It was borrowing 4 rooms, some desks and chairs from the Civil Aviation Department in their building in Otopeni as headquarters.” [1]. In contrast, we who entered those rooms and sit in those borrowed chairs to apply for tender and negotiate the contract, could consider ourselves rich. Cristi Rusu admitted that our rather modest price was decisive, and that the rivals accused us of dumping. The truth is that I would have worked even for free, I longed to have an aviation project, in my field. I had enough computer projects, but none of navigation. I was working at the faculty a digital avionics project for the IAR-45 remote piloted vehicle for ICA Ghimbav, then at COMOTI I was working a project for the national methane gas distribution grid and a laser anemometry data acquisition project with Sergiu Sidon. Other projects were even more bizarre, for example the first matrimonial agency in Lahovary Square was automated by me in 1990. The agency was very satisfied and, besides the consistent fee, they offered a bonus, to find me a match. Corlan brothers were more pragmatic and tempered my impulse to do voluntary work for Romatsa.<\/p>\n Our contractual obligations were tough:<\/p>\n „1.1 The object and the scope of this contract is the realization by the Provider and acquisition by the Customer, within the conditions herein, of a System of Generating and Management of Aeronautical Charts and the 139 charts included in the AIP Romania 1991 document, with the technical specifications described in Annex 1.”\u00a0[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Fig. 3 \u2013 The first digital AIP of Romania published in 1992 [4]<\/a>, [5]<\/a>; (a) Vol. I with the obstacle charts which exceeded the A4 format of the laser printer; (b) Vol. II with the instrument approach charts; (c) detail with the discontinuities of the obstacle charts by joining two A4 halves<\/p>\n The provider was due „to implement the System of Generating and Management of Aeronautical Charts, with the technical and operational characteristics provided in Annex 1; to generate the 139 charts included in AIP Romania, within the specifications in Annex 1 and in compliance to the applicable norms (ICAO Aeronautial Chart Manual 1987 Doc. 8697); to ensure training of the Customer’s staff to use the system provided; to guarantee the correct operation of all provided products, according to Art. 10; to meet the phase deadlines, as per Art. 6.”<\/p>\n With the enthusiasm typical to our young age, we proposed an automated charts generating system from navigation databases. Thus, if for example a radio frequency which intervened in 20 charts was changed, it was modified in the database and the 20 charts were automatically regenerated. This meant a complete digitalization, with a modern concept at that date.<\/p>\n The deadlines were extremely ambitious. The time intervals were given in days: „50 days since signing the contract for the first phase products (9 December 1991); 100 days since signing the contract for the second phase products (28 January 1992); 150 days since signing the contract for the third phase products (18 March 1992);” [3]. To give us credit, I need to mention that the deadlines were met and that the beneficiary was extremely happy. The contract included a software user licence edited by Corlan brothers, who had knowledge of the legal aspects, too.<\/p>\n I need to explain at this point why I did not choose a team from within the Faculty of Aeronautics, which was my employer at the time. I wanted to, but Professor Ilie Stiharu did not show much interest, being absorbed in a automated pilots software which he developed together with Cristi Constantinescu. He was trying to attract me in that project, but I followed Cristi Rusu in his idea that it is high time for our generation to deliver professionally. In 1991 I was an engineer in the research team of the Department of Aeronautics and I was just beginning to work with the students. I involved them not earlier than the third phase of the contract, as I will mention further. Another friend whom I persuaded to participate was C\u0103lin Iosof, computer and automated systems engineer, who lived next to me in Rosetti Square, and a former colleague at the Lazar College. Like Corlan brothers, C\u0103lin was a computer genius. He built his own computers and in the 1980s he wrote a LISP interpreter in Z-80 Assembly, 10 times faster than any other software interpreter at the time, as well as an unbreakable copy protection encryption software. Unfortunately, his interpreter remained almost unknown due to the copy protection, since C\u0103lin asked for a decent price, but not for the poverty in Romania. By contrast, the software I wrote was circulating everywhere. For instance, my Tuttiprint printer driver was used nationwide. Until 1996, as in the whole communist block, in Romania it was not illegal to copy software. The software was unprotected, nobody paid to me anything, but my name was becoming a sort of brand.<\/p>\n The contract execution went very well, as far as I remember (but my memory is highly subjective). Cristi Rusu got to know WordPerfect well and focused on the text and tabular part. I taught Corlan brothers a crash course into ICAO Doc. 8697, reading it for the first time on that occasion. What I did not understand, I asked Cristi Rusu, and he asked Sorin Oni\u021biu. Sorin was a legend, an aviation engineer graduated 1981 who specialized in aeronautical charts. He did all the AIP charts by hand in ink, designed instrument flight procedures, and did all the aeronautical information job. I was to meet him in person much later, but at the time he was the person with the most authority in this field. As proof, Jeppesen, the most prestigious aeronautical information company in the world, made him an offer. The charts that we produced were in fact made after the prototype drawn by hand by Sorin Oni\u021biu. As a matter of fact, I was self taught in this super-specialized field by studying Sorin’s charts. ICAO Doc. 8697 was written in a language which the insiders call Icaoese, and I barely knew English. On top of that, I need examples to understand anything. In AIP Romania 1992 Vol. II MAP section there are still the old charts drawn by hand for the two airports which were considered predominantly military: Craiova \u0219i Bac\u0103u [5]. Perhaps for military secrecy reasons, we were not informed about these two airports and we were exempt from providing the charts. Another thing that helped me was that I used to fly on flight simulators and experimented with instrument flight procedures. The instrument procedure aeronautical charts (MAP section) are more special in the sense that they must be readable both by humans in the graphic form, and by flight management computers (FMS) in the digitally coded ARINC-424 form. The FMS guides the auto-pilot to fly the trajectories of these procedures, so the charts are not simple charts, they are flight programs which must be compatible with the types of aircraft which execute those programs.<\/p>\n Radu Corlan took the aerodrome charts and his first work was the Bucharest Otopeni airport (Fig. 4). I took the obstacle charts, which were bigger, and Alexandru Corlan with C\u0103lin Iosof started the database software for procedures charts.<\/p>\n Fig. 4 \u2013 The first chart realized by Radu Corlan was the aerodrome chart of the Bucharest Otopeni airport in AGA section; the contract signed with Romatsa and the Induss offer are nearby<\/p>\n My PC AT-286 computer had CGA graphics, this is monochrome at 640×200 resolution and I was using an analogue TV set as monitor. It was extremely challenging, because I only saw a small bit of the chart I was working at. I belive Radu had colour VGA, that is 640×480, but I had to finish the contract to get the money for a VGA card and monitor. In fact all the money I made I invested in hardware and peripherals.<\/p>\n The contour of Romania represented a challenge. The digitizers which allowed to digitize points were not accurate and I had to enlarge maps with the Romanian borders to scan them (Fig. 5). It took me one whole week to get that file with accurate contour points for Romania, which was later used on a wide scale. At sea, the Romanian airspace extended more than territorial waters and I needed to calculate there. Along the AIP charts, there was the Radio Navigation Chart of Romania, A2 format, where the contour imperfections would have mattered.<\/p>\n Fig. 5 \u2013 The Romania’s contour was digitized at a resolution larger than needed for AIP charts, because the A2 Radio Navigation Chart of Romania followed; Cristi Rusu applied an OK with a red pencil when the chart was accepted at the NOTAM Department<\/p>\n The charts when ready were delivered to Cristi Rusu, who took them at the office and brought them back either with observations, or with an OK written with a red pencil (Fig. 5).<\/p>\n The MAP section instrument procedure charts came later because the software to generate them out of the navigation database took long. However, after the software successfully passed the tests, all charts got generated at once. Two problems persist in my memory with these charts. The first is a bug which gave us headaches for a while. The charts were generated and then compared to those drawn by Sorin Oni\u021biu by hand. One of them included a VOR beacon which the software refused to represent. On Sorin’s chart the VOR was present, on the generated chart all the other details were in place, except the VOR. Of course, Cristi Rusu did not give his red pencil OK and Alexandru Corlan assured us that the software has no personality to discriminate a VOR from all others. Finally, redoing calculations, we realized that indeed, the VOR was misplaced in the original chart, and in fact its coordinates placed it outside the boundaries of that chart. Thus, by that time we wasted, we paid the small guilty satisfaction to find an error in the charts which circulated until then in AIP Romania. It was for the first time when the map objects were rigorously represented to match the reality in the field and the navigation database. The second incident came from the fact that the software automatically placed the labels of the radio aids where it found free space. For the viewer, these automated placements seemed bizarre, sometimes far from the radio aid itself. A human designer would have squeezed other elements and would have made room for the labels where the viewer expected to see them, but the automated generator was a robot who placed all the chart elements, leaving labels at the end, placing them where it found free space. Cristi’s red pencil kept correcting the placements, but we knew that what looks simple to a human is complicated for a robot and vice versa. Here, Alexandru and C\u0103lin came with a formidable solution. They wrote a LISP algorithm from the class of Artificial Intelligence (how we called it at the time, as a dream compared to today’s reality). It redid the placement of all chart elements which were not fixed by geographical coordinates to find a suitable place for each label, according to „human” rules (Fig. 6). A kind of Elisa test for placing the labels. After this algorithm was employed, OKs started to flow. There were pilots who did not even realize that these were automated generated charts. They knew Sorin Oni\u021biu was away, at Jeppesen, in Germany, and they wondered how he continued to design charts for AIP Romania.<\/p>\n Fig. 6 \u2013 ILS instrument approach chart where the labels of the radio aids are placed according to „human” rules (somehow in a line but not strictly aligned and eventually covering unessential elements, replacing the white space placements, which looked artificial)<\/p>\n A problem which we could not solve was the obstacle chart of Caransebe\u0219 Airport, which has a mountain on the runway axis. I innovated from the ICAO norms by a local change of vertical scale (Fig. 7), but I have never come to terms with this solution, because I was haunted by the idea what would happen if a pilot who has never encountered such a situation would wrongly interpret the height of the mountain. Evidently I got approval of the NOTAM Department. The innovation would not have been needed if we could use a larger printer.<\/p>\n Fig. 7 \u2013 Caransebe\u0219 airport obstacle chart where we needed to innovate from ICAO norms (upper right)<\/p>\n When the Faculty of Electronics left Polizu campus, moving to Leu in 1990, the Rooms A-146\/L114 in Polizu were given to us and there I had the mission to organize a computers laboratory. I installed CorelDraw and showed to the avionics students how we made the aeronautical charts for Romatsa. I thought it made a useful teaching exercise. It never crossed my mind that the students could help us because we worked against the clock with the deliveries and I was under stress with the large radio navigation map of Romania. The A2 format was too big and even if we split it in A4 bits, it was a colour chart, so only to be drawn on a plotter, and Corel was not even suitable to generate plotter files. A solution was in the waiting. I gave the students the chart symbols database and the contour of Romania, I asked them to learn CorelDraw, a possibly useful tool. It was not for a mark. After one week, there was this student R\u0103zvan M\u0103rg\u0103uan who called me at one of the stations, with another student, Radu Cioponea standing next to him. I will never forget my amazement that I was in front of the colour radio navigation chart of Romania, in all its complexity. I could understand how enormous amount of work was in that jewel of a chart, but I could not understand how can you do it in only one week and learning Corel in the same time. That chart was later delivered to the customer Romatsa (Fig. 8). Later, R\u0103zvan M\u0103rg\u0103uan and Radu Cioponea were offered a job by Romatsa imediatelly after graduation. Otherwise, general director Niculae Droc insisted to be present in person at their diploma exam, as an unprecedented and unique event in the history of Faculty of Aeronautics (Aerospace Engineering). R\u0103zvan in a team with Radu and another colleague made under my supervision a professional air traffic control simulator as a diploma project, presented at the diploma exam. The simulator was later implemented at Romatsa.<\/p>\n According to the contract we wrote manuals on charts design [6]<\/a> and trained Romatsa personnel, and the contract ended successfully and in time. Cristi Rusu gained a merited position in Romatsa. He got interest from many countries for the new Induss system, but his boss, Jenic\u0103 Poenaru was not interested to give a competitive edge to others. Sadly the people we trained left the country with Cristi Rusu among them, Cristi emigrating to Canada.<\/p>\n I do not know how long did Romatsa fully use the system. The specialists left in the NOTAM Department avoided us, probably fearing the dumping prices of such brilliant solutions.<\/p>\n Although it was expensive, I got an AIP Romania 1992 [4], [5] as courtesy of Romatsa. My AIP copy was maintained until 1993 (that is the reason for some pages dated 1993). Appreciation and other honours did not occur. I am glad that at least Cristi Rusu was mentioned in the history of Niculae Droc. In the end, it was not this first digital AIP of Romania (forgotten today) the most valuable thing. It was great that I managed to attract some exceptional students to this fascinating field of air navigation and that today they are accomplished experts at an international level. R\u0103zvan M\u0103rg\u0103uan is Head Technical Systems at EUROCONTROL, Maastricht Upper Area Control and Radu Cioponea is Safety Aviation Expert at EUROCONTROL in Brussels. Also, I enjoy that I suceeded in attracting to aviation (albeit shortly) exceptional people like Radu and Dan Alexandru Corlan, or like C\u0103lin Iosof. Personally, this project provided professional self confidence. It was so hard that, by comparisson, the challenges that followed seemed a piece of cake.<\/p>\n Fig. 8 \u2013 The radio navigation chart of Romania, 2019 Edition, a much more recent version of the 1992 original, which sadly was lost<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] Niculae Droc (2007) Scurt\u0103 istorie a serviciilor de trafic aerian, (A Short History of Air Traffic Services, in Romanian), https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/247930266\/Istoria-serviciilor-de-trafic-aerian<\/a><\/p>\n [2] Induss (1991) Deviz de lucr\u0103ri la licita\u021bia Romatsa pentru AIP Romania (Estimate of work for the Romatsa tender for AIP Romania, in Romanian)<\/a><\/p>\n [3] Contract Romatsa \u2013 Induss (1991) pentru realizarea unui Sistem de Creare \u0219i Gestiune a H\u0103r\u021bilor Aeriene \u0219i a celor 139 de h\u0103r\u021bi cuprinse \u00een documenta\u021bia AIP Rom\u00e2nia 1991 (Contract Romatsa \u2013 Induss 1991 for the development of a System of Generation and Management of Aeronautical Charts and of the 139 charts included in the AIP Romanian 1991, in Romanian)<\/a><\/p>\n [4] Departamentul Avia\u021biei Civile, Romatsa (2012) AIP Romania, Vol. I, GEN, AGA, COM, MET, RAC, FAL, SAR<\/a><\/p>\n [5] Departamentul Avia\u021biei Civile, Romatsa (2012) AIP Romania, Vol. II, MAP<\/a><\/p>\n [6] Induss (1992) Manual de desen pentru h\u0103r\u021bile AGA-AOC \u00een CorelDraw 2.0 (Manual to design AGA-AOC charts in CorelDraw 2.0, in Romanian)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”rgba(147,175,193,0.39)” show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”on” \/][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”on” show_reply=”on” show_count=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ \/][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_blog fullwidth=”off” include_categories=”11″ show_thumbnail=”off” show_content=”off” show_more=”off” show_author=”on” show_date=”on” show_categories=”off” show_comments=”off” show_pagination=”on” offset_number=”0″ use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light” use_dropshadow=”on” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#e5e5e5″ border_style=”solid” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First Digital AIP Romania by Octavian Thor Pleter Recently I found and scanned some old documents, dated 1991-1992, which prompted memories of my first professional achievements. When I graduated the Faculty of Aeronautics in 1986, I had already discovered my talent for computers and I had built a passion for software, without abandoning my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" [et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" fullwidth=\"off\" specialty=\"on\"][et_pb_column type=\"3_4\" specialty_columns=\"3\"][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=\"Row\"][et_pb_column_inner type=\"4_4\" saved_specialty_column_type=\"3_4\"][et_pb_text background_layout=\"light\" text_orientation=\"justified\" use_border_color=\"off\" border_color=\"#ffffff\" border_style=\"solid\" _builder_version=\"3.0.92\"]<\/p> De cur\u00e2nd am g\u0103sit \u0219i am scanat ni\u0219te documente vechi, din 1991-1992, care mi-au adus aminte de primele reu\u0219ite profesionale. C\u00e2nd am absolvit Facultatea de Aeronave \u00een 1986, \u00eemi descoperisem talentul pentru calculatoare \u0219i \u00eencepusem s\u0103-mi construiesc o pasiune pentru software, dar f\u0103r\u0103 s\u0103 abandonez pasiunea mai veche pentru hardware, evoluat\u0103 din hobby-ul pentru electronic\u0103. Majoritatea spun c\u0103 trebuie s\u0103 faci \u00een via\u021b\u0103 ce-\u021bi place, ce te pasioneaz\u0103. P\u0103rerea mea e diferit\u0103. Trebuie s\u0103 faci ceva pentru care ai talent, pentru c\u0103 atunci po\u021bi ob\u021bine rezultate remarcabile cu eforturi minime. Dac\u0103 \u00ee\u021bi place ceva la care trebuie s\u0103 munce\u0219ti din greu pentru fiecare rezultat, vei obosi \u0219i ajungi s\u0103 nu-\u021bi mai plac\u0103. Dac\u0103 ai talent, rezultatele ies f\u0103r\u0103 efort \u0219i ajungi s\u0103-\u021bi plac\u0103 ceea ce poate nu te atr\u0103gea ini\u021bial.<\/p> Comunismul era complet inadaptat ideologic la noua tehnologie a computerelor. Spre exemplu, c\u00e2nd proiectam un echipament, eram obliga\u021bi s\u0103 folosim doar circuite integrate rom\u00e2ne\u0219ti \u0219i eventual un mic procent de componente din \u021b\u0103rile CAER (printre care \u0219i microprocesoare produse \u00een R. D. German\u0103, copiate dup\u0103 Intel 8080). Evident c\u0103 rezultatele erau pe m\u0103sur\u0103. Am avut norocul ca profesorii mei din facultate C\u0103t\u0103lin Bungetzianu \u0219i Ilie Stiharu s\u0103 m\u0103 angreneze la proiectul primului ILS rom\u00e2nesc, al c\u0103rui prototip a fost instalat la Aeroportul din Bac\u0103u. Am proiectat o parte de logic\u0103 digital\u0103 \u0219i \u00een loc s\u0103 folosesc tehnologia microprocesorului Zilog Z-80 cu care eram familiar din ce lucram acas\u0103, am fost obligat s\u0103 lucrez cu integrate rom\u00e2ne\u0219ti TTL copiate dup\u0103 Texas Instruments, dar care aveau o integrare pe scar\u0103 joas\u0103. \u00cen loc s\u0103 am un singur procesor cu ni\u0219te memorii \u0219i porturi, a trebuit s\u0103 fac dou\u0103 pl\u0103ci mari pline de circuite logice. Evident c\u0103 prototipul de ILS de la Bac\u0103u se defecta mai tot timpul, av\u00e2nd mult mai multe circuite dec\u00e2t ar fi fost necesar \u0219i fiind expus \u00een c\u00e2mp unor temperaturi \u0219i umidit\u0103\u021bi extreme, c\u0103rora circuitele integrate rom\u00e2ne\u0219ti nu le f\u0103ceau fa\u021b\u0103. O alt\u0103 inadaptare a or\u00e2nduirii comuniste la tehnica de calcul era faptul c\u0103 cenzura foarte eficient \u00een domeniul c\u0103r\u021bilor \u0219i al jurnalelor tip\u0103rite, al materialului audio (muzic\u0103) \u0219i video (casete video), dar ignora total zona de software, inclusiv documentele electronice, a\u0219a c\u0103 noi eram conecta\u021bi la restul lumii \u00een acest domeniu. Aveam cele mai noi soft-uri care ap\u0103reau \u0219i \u00eenv\u0103\u021basem s\u0103 lucr\u0103m cu ele, \u00eens\u0103 eram izola\u021bi total de la c\u0103r\u021bile \u0219i articolele tehnice din occident (mai circulau clandestin ni\u0219te copii xerox).<\/p> Cu toat\u0103 str\u0103dania KGB-ului, \u00een 1989 Rom\u00e2nia a p\u0103r\u0103sit comunismul, a ie\u0219it de sub st\u0103p\u00e2nirea sovietic\u0103 \u0219i a luat un curs rapid c\u0103tre Vest. C\u00e2t de mari erau provoc\u0103rile, nu ne putem imagina acum. Niculae Droc a publicat \u00een 2007 o carte care evoc\u0103 \u00eenceputurile serviciilor de naviga\u021bie aerian\u0103 \u00een Rom\u00e2nia anilor 1990. Cosmonautul Dumitru Dorin Prunariu a fost primul director al avia\u021biei civile eliberat\u0103 de comunism, iar Niculae Droc a fost vizionarul care a creat Romatsa, un furnizor modern de servicii de naviga\u021bie aerian\u0103. De asemenea, Niculae Droc a fost primul director general al regiei autonome Romatsa, \u00eenfiin\u021bat\u0103 \u00een 1991. \u00cen cartea sa [1], Droc relateaz\u0103 despre priorit\u0103\u021bile \u00eenceputurilor \u0219i evoc\u0103 printre priorit\u0103\u021bile strategice, realizarea AIP Romania la o calitate occidental\u0103. Astfel, s-a creeat Centrul NOTAM al ROMATSA, \"s-au achizi\u021bionat echipamentele (calculatoare, imprimante etc.), s-a produs softul necesar (\u0219ef proiect: C. Rusu) \u0219i \u00een mai pu\u021bin de un an, regia transmitea abona\u021bilor un document ce putea fi comparat cu cele mai bune publica\u021bii din lume. Calitatea superioar\u0103 a documentului a permis ridicarea pre\u021bului de v\u00e2nzare, astfel ca acesta s\u0103 asigure un profit rezonabil regiei.\"\u00a0 [1].<\/p> \u00cen acest articol a\u0219 vrea s\u0103 prezint \u0219i s\u0103 vorbesc despre acel AIP Romania, pentru c\u0103 a fost \u00eentr-adev\u0103r un tur de for\u021b\u0103 \u0219i o mare realizare a avia\u021biei rom\u00e2ne\u0219ti, despre care abia \u00een 2007 a ap\u0103rut aceast\u0103 scurt\u0103 men\u021biune. Cristi Rusu mi-a fost coleg de facultate \u0219i prieten. El f\u0103cuse sec\u021bia de naviga\u021bie \u0219i se angajase la Romatsa. Mi-a vorbit despre proiectul noului AIP \u0219i mi-a cerut sfatul cum s\u0103 \u00eenlocuiasc\u0103 \"h\u0103r\u021bile executate manual\" \u0219i textul b\u0103tut \"la ma\u0219ina de scris\" \u0219i multiplicat cu \"tehnologia anilor '70\" [1]. Eu aveam acas\u0103 un calculator compatibil IBM PC-AT 286 \u00eencropit de mine din diverse componente procurate cu mari eforturi. De asemenea, aveam noul miracol tehnologic, imprimanta laser Hewlett-Packard HP 4L, la rezolu\u021bie de 300 dpi. M\u0103 costase o avere, adic\u0103 $500, dar am pl\u0103tit-o par\u021bial asambl\u00e2nd calculatoare pentru o firm\u0103 care importa componente din Germania. Ca software, i-am prezentat WordPerfect, cu care eu scriam articole \u0219i c\u0103r\u021bi. Pentru h\u0103r\u021bi, i-am prezentat CorelDraw 2.0. M-a anun\u021bat c\u0103 se organizeaz\u0103 o licita\u021bie la Romatsa pe tema noului AIP \u00een august 1991 \u0219i m-a sf\u0103tuit s\u0103 m\u0103 prezint. Eu nu aveam o firm\u0103, conduceam \u00een schimb o asocia\u021bie non profit \u00eenfiin\u021bat\u0103 de mine, Asocia\u021bia pentru Calculatoare Personale, unde erau afilia\u021bi mul\u021bi oameni pasiona\u021bi de acest domeniu. Doi dintre cei mai activi membri ai asocia\u021biei erau fra\u021bii Alexandru \u0219i Radu Corlan. Primul era student la medicin\u0103 \u0219i cel\u0103lalt student la electronic\u0103. Ei erau singurii \u00een care aveam \u00eencredere \u0219i care totodat\u0103 aveau o firm\u0103, denumit\u0103 Induss srl. I-am convins s\u0103 particip\u0103m la licita\u021bie cu firma lor, promi\u021b\u00e2ndu-le c\u0103 m\u0103 ocup s\u0103-i \u00eenv\u0103\u021b tot ce \u021bine de avia\u021bie, un domeniu care nu le era familiar. \u00cen schimb ei erau genii \u00een calculatoare \u0219i curio\u0219i s\u0103 \u00eenve\u021be lucruri noi. Dan Alexandru Corlan este acum medic \u0219i doctor \u00een \u0219tiin\u021be medicale, fondator al Asocia\u021biei Ad Astra, realizatorul \u00een anii 1990 al primului Holter rom\u00e2nesc \u0219i al unor softuri medicale de mare impact. Radu Corlan a emigrat \u00een 1995 \u00een SUA, unde a devenit coautorul unei tehnologii de filmare de mare vitez\u0103, camerele video Phantom. \u00cen aceast\u0103 calitate de inventator, l-am rev\u0103zut \u00een 2012 pe covorul ro\u0219u de la Premiile Oscar (Fig. 1). \u00cenc\u0103 de pe vremea c\u00e2nd lucram \u00eempreun\u0103 la h\u0103r\u021bile de avia\u021bie era interesat de achizi\u021bii de date de mare vitez\u0103.<\/p> Fig. 1 \u2013 Radu Corlan (al doilea din dreapta), coautor al tehnologiei film\u0103rilor de mare vitez\u0103, premiat cu Scientific and Engineering Award de Academia American\u0103 de Film pentru inova\u0163iile \u00een domeniu (2012)<\/p> La licita\u021bie s-au prezentat trei firme cu oferte \u0219i cu o mostr\u0103 de hart\u0103 realizat\u0103 dup\u0103 modelul din AIP-ul vest-german furnizat de Romatsa (Fig. 2). Induss a c\u00e2\u0219tigat, pentru c\u0103 noi ne-am prezentat cu o hart\u0103 realizat\u0103 la imprimanta laser \u00een Corel la 300 dpi, pe c\u00e2nd competitorii au mizat pe plotter \u0219i pe AutoCAD. \u00cen acele timpuri, perifericele specializate pe grafic\u0103 erau \u00eentr-adev\u0103r plotter-ele, mai ales c\u0103 erau color. Aveam \u0219i noi plotter, doar c\u0103 pentru h\u0103r\u021bi plotter-ul performa slab datorit\u0103 grosimii de linie destul de mari \u0219i constante. Imprimanta laser putea trasa linii cu grosimea de 1\/300\" (sub 0,1 mm). Mai exista o idee fix\u0103 c\u0103 grafica vectorial\u0103 are nevoie de periferice vectoriale, iar imprimanta laser este un periferic bitmap. Totu\u0219i, la rezolu\u021bii mari, dac\u0103 grafica era vectorial\u0103, calitatea imaginii imprimate era chiar mai bun\u0103 dec\u00e2t pe plotter. Unul din modelele de h\u0103r\u021bi era color, iar imprimata laser de la acea vreme imprima alb-negru, dar \u0219tiam c\u0103 multe alte AIP-uri din lume erau alb-negru \u0219i am considerat mai important\u0103 calitatea formelor dec\u00e2t culoarea. Singura hart\u0103 care trebuia realizat\u0103 color era harta de radionaviga\u021bie a Rom\u00e2niei pe format A2. O alt\u0103 dificultate consta \u00een faptul c\u0103 unele h\u0103r\u021bi de obstacolare din AIP erau format A3 \u0219i singura imprimant\u0103 laser disponibil\u0103 era A4. Am decis s\u0103 facem un artificiu \u0219i anume s\u0103 imprim\u0103m h\u0103r\u021bile de obstacolare pe dou\u0103 foi pe care s\u0103 le lipim. \u00cen AIP Romania 1992 se pot vedea mici disconituit\u0103\u021bi ale liniilor \u00een zona jonc\u021biunii (Fig. 3). Cu toate c\u0103 pe ecran cele dou\u0103 jum\u0103t\u0103\u021bi se potriveau perfect, imprimanta trecea h\u00e2rtia printr-un cuptor foarte fierbinte \u0219i aceasta suferea ni\u0219te mici \u00eentinderi inegale, \u0219i dac\u0103 potriveam liniile \u00een partea de sus, ap\u0103rea o u\u0219oar\u0103 discontinuitate \u00een partea de jos \u0219i invers. Spre stupoarea mea, am g\u0103sit aceste probleme \u0219i 27 de ani mai t\u00e2rziu \u00een AIP-ul Rom\u00e2niei la unele h\u0103r\u021bi de obstacolare, inclusiv unele modific\u0103ri cu pixul peste vechile mele h\u0103r\u021bi. Mi-am dat seama atunci c\u0103 ar trebui s\u0103 scriu c\u00e2ndva despre AIP-ul digital din 1992, modificat analogic, brutal, cu pixul, \u00een 2019.<\/p> Fig. 2 \u2013 Mostrele de h\u0103r\u021bi furnizate de Romatsa \u00een 1991 ca model pentru noul AIP, erau realizate la tehnologii laser de 1200 dpi, inaccesibile la acel moment \u00een Rom\u00e2nia<\/p> Licita\u021bia a fost c\u00e2\u0219tigat\u0103 de Induss \u00een pofida lobby-ului puternic al firmelor rivale, care apar\u021bineau unor pilo\u021bi Tarom. \u00cen afar\u0103 de faptul c\u0103 mostra noastr\u0103 de hart\u0103 era cea mai asem\u0103n\u0103toare cu modelele din Fig. 2 (except\u00e2nd rezolu\u021bia inferioar\u0103), iar h\u0103r\u021bile rivale scose din AutoCAD pe plotter ar\u0103tau ca ni\u0219te planuri cadastrale, a contat \u0219i pre\u021bul cerut de noi. Eu eram dornic de un contract \u00een domeniul avia\u021biei, st\u0103team bine cu banii \u0219i nu am urm\u0103rit mari avantaje financiare. Fra\u021bii Corlan m-au \u00een\u021beles \u0219i ei \u0219i oferta noastr\u0103 a fost de doar 776.000 lei (echivalentul a aproape $4000 la semnare \u0219i respectiv jum\u0103tate la momentul pl\u0103\u021bii, peste 6 luni, datorit\u0103 hiperinfla\u021biei) [2]<\/a>. Este drept \u00eens\u0103 c\u0103 se putea cump\u0103ra un apartament \u00een centrul Bucure\u0219tiului cu ace\u0219ti bani.<\/p> La 30 octombrie 1991, Romatsa a semnat cu Induss probabil cel mai avantajos contract din istoria lor, dar merit\u0103 spus c\u0103 nici Romatsa nu era puterea financiar\u0103 care avea s\u0103 devin\u0103. \"La data \u00eenfiin\u0163\u0103rii (1 februarie 1991 nn.) ROMATSA nu avea niciun ban \u00een cont. (...) I se repartizeaz\u0103 \u00een cl\u0103direa Departamentului Avia\u0163iei Civile -D.Av.C, din Otopeni, pentru structura central\u0103, 4 camere \u015fi, sub form\u0103 de \u00eemprumut, c\u00e2teva birouri \u015fi scaune, care apar\u0163ineau D.Av.C.\" [1]. Prin compara\u021bie, noi care veneam \u00een acele birouri \u0219i st\u0103team pe acele scaune s\u0103 ne \u00eenscriem la licita\u021bie \u0219i apoi s\u0103 negociem contractul, ne puteam considera boga\u021bi. Cristi Rusu mi-a m\u0103rturisit c\u0103 pre\u021bul nostru mai modest a contat decisiv \u0219i c\u0103 rivalii ne-au acuzat c\u0103 am f\u0103cut dumping. Adev\u0103rul este c\u0103 a\u0219 fi lucrat \u0219i pe gratis, doar de dragul de a avea \u0219i eu un proiect din zona naviga\u021biei aeriene, care m\u0103 pasiona. Nu duceam lips\u0103 de proiecte de computere, dar nu erau de naviga\u021bie. Lucram la facultate un proiect de avionic\u0103 digital\u0103 pentru avionul f\u0103r\u0103 pilot IAR-45 pentru ICA Ghimbav, apoi la COMOTI lucram un proiect pentru re\u021beaua na\u021bional\u0103 de distribu\u021bie de gaz metan \u0219i cu Sergiu Sidon lucram un sistem de achizi\u021bie de date de anemometrie laser. Alte proiecte erau \u0219i mai bizare, de exemplu prima agen\u021bie matrimonial\u0103 din Pia\u021ba Lahovary fusese automatizat\u0103 de mine \u00een 1990. Agen\u021bia a fost extrem de mul\u021bumit\u0103 \u0219i, pe l\u00e2ng\u0103 onorariul consistent, au vrut s\u0103 m\u0103 cupleze. Fra\u021bii Corlan erau mai pragmatici \u0219i mi-au mai temperat impulsul de a face munc\u0103 voluntar\u0103 cu Romatsa.<\/p> Obliga\u021biile noastre contractuale erau dure:<\/p> \"1.1 Obiectul \u0219i scopul acestui contract este realizarea de c\u0103tre Executant \u0219i achizi\u021bionarea de c\u0103tre Beneficiar, \u00een condi\u021biile ar\u0103tate aici, a unui Sistem de Creare \u0219i Gestiune a H\u0103r\u021bilor Aeriene \u0219i a celor 139 de h\u0103r\u021bi cuprinse \u00een documenta\u021bia AIP Rom\u00e2nia 1991, av\u00eend caracteristicile tehnice func\u021bionale descrise \u00een Anexa 1.\" [3]<\/a><\/p> Fig. 3 \u2013 Primul AIP digital al Rom\u00e2niei publicat \u00een 1992 [4]<\/a>, [5]<\/a>; (a) Vol. I cu h\u0103r\u021bile de obstacolare care dep\u0103\u0219eau formatul imprimantei laser A4; (b) Vol. II cu h\u0103r\u021bile de apropriere instrumental\u0103; (c) detaliu cu discontinuit\u0103\u021bile h\u0103r\u021bilor de obstacolare din al\u0103turarea a dou\u0103 jum\u0103t\u0103\u021bi A4<\/p> Executantul se angaja \"s\u0103 implementeze sistemul de creare \u0219i gestiune a h\u0103r\u021bilor, cu caracteristicile tehnice func\u021bionale descrise \u00een Anexa 1; s\u0103 genereze cele 139 de h\u0103r\u021bi con\u021binute \u00een documenta\u021bia AIP Rom\u00e2nia, \u00een condi\u021biile grafice descrise \u00een Anexa 1 \u0219i \u00een conformitate cu normativele \u00een vigoare (OACI Aeronautial Chart Manual 1987 Doc. 8697); s\u0103 asigure instruirea personalului beneficiarului \u00een utilizarea sistemului livrat; s\u0103 garanteze buna func\u021bionare a tuturor produselor livrate, \u00een conformitate cu Art.10; s\u0103 respecte termenele de predare a fazelor, specificate \u00een Art. 6.\"<\/p> Cu entuziasmul caracteristic v\u00e2rstei, noi am propus un sistem de generare automat\u0103 a h\u0103r\u021bilor din baze de date de naviga\u021bie. Astfel c\u0103 dac\u0103 se schimba spre exemplu o frecven\u021b\u0103 radio care intervenea \u00een 20 de h\u0103r\u021bi, se modifica frecven\u021ba \u00een baza de date \u0219i cele 20 de h\u0103r\u021bi se regenerau automat. Astfel c\u0103 digitalizarea era complet\u0103 \u0219i cu un concept foarte modern la acea dat\u0103.<\/p> Termenele de predare erau extrem de ambi\u021bioase. Termenele erau date \u00een zile: \"50 de zile de la data semn\u0103rii contractului, pentru produsele corespunz\u0103toare primei faze (9 decembrie 1991); 100 de zile de la data semn\u0103rii contractului, pentru produsele corespunz\u0103toare celei de a doua faze (28 ianuarie 1992); 150 zile de la data semn\u0103rii contractului, pentru produsele corespunz\u0103toare celei de a treia faze (18 martie 1992)\" [3]. Spre onoarea mea \u0219i a echipei, trebuie s\u0103 remarc c\u0103 termenele au fost respectate \u0219i c\u0103 beneficiarul s-a ar\u0103tat extrem de mul\u021bumit. Contractul a inclus o licen\u021b\u0103 de utilizare software redactat\u0103 de fra\u021bii Corlan, care erau pasiona\u021bi \u0219i de aspectele juridice.<\/p> Trebuie s\u0103 explic de ce la acest contract nu am ales o echip\u0103 din Facultatea de Aeronave, locul meu de munc\u0103 de la acea vreme. Am vrut s-o fac, doar c\u0103 Profesorul Ilie Stiharu nu s-a ar\u0103tat prea interesat, fiind absorbit de un software de pilo\u021bi automa\u021bi pe care \u00eel scria \u00eempreun\u0103 cu Cristi Constantinescu. \u00cencerca s\u0103 m\u0103 atrag\u0103 \u0219i pe mine \u00een acel proiect, \u00eens\u0103 eu am fost convins de Cristi Rusu, care \u00eemi spunea c\u0103 este r\u00e2ndul genera\u021biei noastre s\u0103 se afirme profesional. \u00cen 1991 eram inginer \u00een colectivul de cercetare al Catedrei de Aeronave \u0219i abia \u00eencepusem s\u0103 lucrez cu studen\u021bii. I-am cooptat \u00een partea a treia a contractului, a\u0219a cum voi ar\u0103ta mai t\u00e2rziu. Un prieten pe care l-am mai convins s\u0103 participe era C\u0103lin Iosof, inginer de automatic\u0103 \u0219i calculatoare, cu care eram vecin \u00een Pia\u021ba Rosetti \u0219i fusesem colegi de liceu la Laz\u0103r. Ca \u0219i fra\u021bii Corlan, \u0219i C\u0103lin era un geniu \u00een calculatoare. \u00ce\u0219i cabla singur calculatoarele \u0219i \u00een anii 1980 scrisese \u00een limbaj de asamblare Z-80 un interpretor de LISP de 10 ori mai rapid dec\u00e2t orice alt interpretor software cunoscut la acea vreme, precum \u0219i un software de protec\u021bie la copiere imposibil de spart. Din p\u0103cate, interpretorul lui a r\u0103mas aproape necunoscut tocmai din cauza softului de protec\u021bie, C\u0103lin cer\u00e2nd un pre\u021b corect, dar nu pentru s\u0103r\u0103cia din Rom\u00e2nia. Prin contrast, softul f\u0103cut de mine circula peste tot. De exemplu driverul meu de imprimant\u0103 Tuttiprint era folosit \u00een toat\u0103 \u021bara. P\u00e2n\u0103 \u00een 1996, \u00een Rom\u00e2nia (ca \u00een \u00eentreg blocul comunist) nu era ilegal s\u0103 copiezi software. Softul era neprotejat, nimeni nu-mi pl\u0103tea nimic, \u00een schimb numele meu devenise un fel de brand.<\/p> Execu\u021bia contractului a mers foarte bine, a\u0219a cum \u00eemi amintesc (dar am o memorie foarte subiectiv\u0103). Cristi Rusu \u00eenv\u0103\u021base bine WordPerfect \u0219i s-a concentrat pe partea scris\u0103 \u0219i tabelar\u0103. Eu am \u021binut un crash course de ICAO Doc. 8697 fra\u021bilor Corlan, ocazie cu care l-am citit \u0219i eu prima dat\u0103. Ce nu \u00een\u021belegeam \u00eel \u00eentrebam pe Cristi Rusu, care la r\u00e2ndul lui \u00eel \u00eentreba pe Sorin Oni\u021biu. Sorin era o legend\u0103, un inginer de avia\u021bie promo\u021bia 1981, care se specializase \u00een h\u0103r\u021bi aeronautice. El desena \u00een tu\u0219 pe calc toate h\u0103r\u021bile din AIP, proiecta proceduri de zbor instrumental \u0219i f\u0103cea toat\u0103 treaba de informare aeroanutic\u0103. Aveam s\u0103-l cunosc abia mai t\u00e2rziu, dar de pe atunci el era cea mai autorizat\u0103 voce din Rom\u00e2nia \u00een acest domeniu. De altfel Jeppesen, cea mai prestigioas\u0103 companie de h\u0103r\u021bi aeriene din lume, avea s\u0103-i fac\u0103 o ofert\u0103 s\u0103-l angajeze. H\u0103r\u021bile pe care le-am lucrat noi au plecat de la prototipurile desenate manual de Sorin Oni\u021biu. De fapt eu am fost autodidact \u00een acest domeniu supraspecializat, studiind h\u0103r\u021bile lui Sorin. ICAO Doc. 8697 era scris \u00eentr-o limb\u0103 denumit\u0103 de cunosc\u0103tori icaoez\u0103, eu de abia \u0219tiam ceva englez\u0103 \u0219i \u00een plus mie \u00eemi trebuie exemple s\u0103 \u00een\u021beleg ceva. \u00cen AIP Romania 1992 Vol. II sec\u021biunea MAP mai exist\u0103 h\u0103r\u021bile vechi desenate manual la cele dou\u0103 aeroporturi considerate predominant militare: Craiova \u0219i Bac\u0103u [5]. Din motive probabil legate de secretul militar, noi nu am primit informa\u021bii despre cele dou\u0103 aeroporturi \u0219i am fost excepta\u021bi de la livrarea h\u0103r\u021bilor respective. De asemenea, m-a ajutat faptul c\u0103 zburam pe simulatoare de zbor \u0219i m\u0103 apucasem s\u0103 experimentez proceduri de zbor instrumentale. H\u0103r\u021bile aeronautice ale procedurilor instrumentale (sec\u021biunea MAP) sunt mai speciale pentru c\u0103 trebuie s\u0103 fie citite at\u00e2t de oameni \u00een formatul grafic, c\u00e2t \u0219i de computerele de management al zborului (FMS) \u00een formatul digital codat ARINC-424. FMS-ul ghideaz\u0103 pilotul automat s\u0103 zboare traiectoriile acelor proceduri, deci h\u0103r\u021bile nu sunt simple h\u0103r\u021bi, ci \u0219i programe de zbor care trebuie s\u0103 fie compatibile cu tipurile de aeronave care execut\u0103 acele programe.<\/p> Radu Corlan s-a apucat de h\u0103r\u021bile de aerodrom \u0219i prima lui lucrare a fost harta aeroportului Bucure\u0219ti Otopeni (Fig. 4). Eu m-am apucat de h\u0103r\u021bile de obstacolare, care erau mai mari \u0219i Alexandru Corlan cu C\u0103lin Iosof au \u00eenceput softul de gestiune a bazelor de date pentru h\u0103r\u021bile de proceduri.<\/p> Fig. 4 \u2013 Prima hart\u0103 lucrat\u0103 de Radu Corlan a fost harta de aerodrom a aeroportului Bucure\u0219ti Otopeni din sec\u021biunea AGA; \u00een imagine apar contractul semnat cu Romatsa \u0219i oferta Induss<\/p> Calculatorul meu PC AT-286 avea grafic\u0103 CGA adic\u0103 monocrom la rezolu\u021bia 640x200 \u0219i foloseam un televizor analogic pe post de monitor. Era extrem de greu pentru c\u0103 vedeam doar o mic\u0103 por\u021biune din harta la care lucram. Cred c\u0103 Radu avea VGA color, adic\u0103 640x480, dar eu abia dup\u0103 ce am terminat contractul am avut bani s\u0103-mi cump\u0103r plac\u0103 grafic\u0103 \u0219i monitor VGA. De fapt tot ce am c\u00e2\u0219tigat la contract am investit \u00een hardware \u0219i periferice.<\/p> Conturul Rom\u00e2niei a reprezentat o provocare. Digitizoarele care permiteau digitalizarea punctelor erau imprecise \u0219i a trebuit s\u0103 m\u0103resc h\u0103r\u021bi cu por\u021biuni din grani\u021ba Rom\u00e2niei pentru a le extrage (Fig. 5). Mi-a luat o s\u0103pt\u0103m\u00e2n\u0103 s\u0103 ob\u021bin acel fi\u0219ier de puncte precise ale conturului Rom\u00e2niei, care a fost dup\u0103 aceea folosit pe scar\u0103 larg\u0103. \u00cen mare spa\u021biul aerian rom\u00e2nesc se \u00eentindea mai mult dec\u00e2t apele teritoriale \u0219i acolo a trebuit s\u0103 merg pe calcule. \u00cen afara h\u0103r\u021bilor din AIP mai exista harta de radionaviga\u021bie a Rom\u00e2niei, format A2, unde imperfec\u021biunile conturului ar fi ie\u0219it \u00een eviden\u021b\u0103.<\/p> Fig. 5 \u2013 Conturul Rom\u00e2niei a fost digitizat la o rezolu\u021bie mult mai mare dec\u00e2t era necesar pentru h\u0103r\u021bile din AIP, dar urma harta de radionaviga\u021bie a Rom\u00e2niei, format A2; Cristi Rusu aplica un OK cu ro\u0219u c\u00e2nd harta era acceptat\u0103 la Direc\u021bia NOTAM<\/p> H\u0103r\u021bile care erau gata erau predate lui Cristi Rusu, care le ar\u0103ta la serviciu \u0219i fie veneau cu observa\u021bii, sau cu un OK scris cu creion ro\u0219u (Fig. 5).<\/p> H\u0103r\u021bile procedurilor instrumentale din sec\u021biunea MAP au ie\u0219it mai t\u00e2rziu pentru c\u0103 softul de generare din baza de date de naviga\u021bie a luat mult. Totu\u0219i, dup\u0103 ce softul a fost testat cu succes, toate h\u0103r\u021bile au fost generate deodat\u0103. Dou\u0103 probleme \u00eemi persist\u0103 \u00een memorie \u00een leg\u0103tur\u0103 cu aceste h\u0103r\u021bi. Prima este un bug cu care ne-am b\u0103tut capul mult\u0103 vreme. H\u0103r\u021bile erau generate \u0219i apoi comparate cu h\u0103r\u021bile desenate de Sorin Oni\u021biu de m\u00e2n\u0103. Pe una din h\u0103r\u021bi era un radiofar VOR pe care soft-ul nu-l desena. Pe harta lui Sorin era VOR-ul, pe harta generat\u0103 automat ap\u0103reau toate celelalte detalii, dar VOR-ul nu. Fire\u0219te c\u0103 Cristi Rusu nu punea OK-ul lui cu creion ro\u0219u \u0219i Alexandru Corlan ne asigura c\u0103 softul nu are cum s\u0103 discrimineze \u00eentre VOR-uri. P\u00e2n\u0103 la urm\u0103, ref\u0103c\u00e2nd calculele am realizat c\u0103 VOR-ul \u00eentr-adev\u0103r nu avea ce s\u0103 caute \u00een cadrul h\u0103r\u021bii. Coordonatele lui din teren \u00eel amplasau \u00een afar\u0103. Astfel am pl\u0103tit cu acest timp pierdut mica satisfac\u021bie vinovat\u0103 de a g\u0103si o eroare \u00een h\u0103r\u021bile care circulaser\u0103 p\u00e2n\u0103 atunci \u00een AIP Romania. Era prima oar\u0103 c\u00e2nd generarea h\u0103r\u021bilor se f\u0103cea pe amplasamentele riguros exacte din teren, luate din baza de date de naviga\u021bie. Al doilea incident era legat de faptul c\u0103 softul amplasa etichetele radiofarurilor automat, unde g\u0103sea loc pe hart\u0103. Pentru privitor, aceste amplasamente automate p\u0103reau bizare, uneori departe de radiofarul \u00eensu\u0219i. Un desenator uman ar fi \u00eenghesuit alte elemente \u0219i ar fi f\u0103cut loc pentru etichete acolo unde privitorul s-ar fi a\u0219teptat s\u0103 apar\u0103, pe c\u00e2nd generatorul automat era un robot care amplasa toate elementele \u0219i abia la sf\u00e2r\u0219it etichetele, pe unde mai era loc. Creionul ro\u0219u al lui Cristi mereu corecta amplasamentele, dar noi \u0219tiam c\u0103 pentru un om pare simplu ceea ce pentru un robot pare imposibil \u0219i invers. Aici au venit Alexandru \u0219i C\u0103lin cu o solu\u021bie formidabil\u0103. Au scris un algoritm \u00een LISP din clasa inteligen\u021bei artificiale (cum se numea pe atunci, ca un vis fa\u021b\u0103 de realitatea de ast\u0103zi) \u0219i reamplasa toate elementele h\u0103r\u021bii care nu aveau pozi\u021bie fix\u0103 geografic pentru a g\u0103si un loc adecvat pentru fiecare etichet\u0103, conform unor reguli \"umane\" (Fig. 6). Un fel de test Elisa de amplasat etichete. Dup\u0103 ce a fost aplicat acest algoritm, OK-urile au curs valuri. Erau pilo\u021bi care nici nu-\u0219i d\u0103deau seama c\u0103 sunt h\u0103r\u021bi generate automat. \u0218tiau c\u0103 Sorin Oni\u021biu era plecat la Jeppesen \u00een Germania \u0219i se mirau cum continu\u0103 s\u0103 deseneze h\u0103r\u021bi pentru AIP Romania.<\/p> Fig. 6 \u2013 Hart\u0103 de apropiere instrumental\u0103 dup\u0103 ILS unde etichetele radiofarurilor au fost amplasate automat dup\u0103 reguli \"umane\" (oarecum \u00een linie dar nu exact in linie \u0219i acoperind eventual unele elemente neesen\u021biale, \u00een loc de amplasamente pe fond alb care p\u0103reau artificiale)<\/p> O problem\u0103 pe care nu am fost \u00een stare s-o rezolv\u0103m a fost harta de obstacolare de la pista aeroportului din Caransebe\u0219, care are un munte pe direc\u021bia pistei. Am inovat fa\u021b\u0103 de normele ICAO printr-o schimbare de scar\u0103 vertical\u0103 pe desen (Fig. 7), dar nu m-am sim\u021bit niciodat\u0103 satisf\u0103cut cu aceast\u0103 inova\u021bie, pentru c\u0103 m-am g\u00e2ndit ce s-ar \u00eent\u00e2mpla dac\u0103 un pilot care n-a mai \u00eent\u00e2lnit o astfel de situa\u021bie interpreteaz\u0103 gre\u0219it \u00een\u0103l\u021bimea muntelui. Evident, am ob\u021binut aprobarea inova\u021biei de la Departamentu NOTAM. Inova\u021bia nu ar fi fost necesar\u0103 dac\u0103 dispuneam de o imprimat\u0103 mai mare.<\/p> Fig. 7 \u2013 Hart\u0103 de obstacolare la aeroportul din Caransebe\u0219 unde a trebuit s\u0103 inov\u0103m fa\u021b\u0103 de normele ICAO (dreapta sus)<\/p> C\u00e2nd Facultatea de Electronic\u0103 a p\u0103r\u0103sit Polizu, mut\u00e2ndu-se la Leu, \u00een 1990 ne-au fost acorate s\u0103ile A-146\/L114 din Polizu \u0219i acolo am avut misiunea de a face un laborator de calculatoare. Acolo am instalat CorelDraw \u0219i le-am ar\u0103tat studen\u021bilor de la instala\u021bii \u0219i aparate de bord cum desenam h\u0103r\u021bile pentru Romatsa. M-am g\u00e2ndit c\u0103 le poate fi util ca exerci\u021biu didactic. Nu mi-a trecut prin cap c\u0103 ar putea s\u0103 m\u0103 ajute pentru c\u0103 eram contra cronometru cu pred\u0103rile \u0219i eram extrem de stresat de harta mare de radionaviga\u021bie a Rom\u00e2niei. Formatul A2 era prea mare \u0219i chiar dac\u0103 ne-am fi chinuit s-o asambl\u0103m din buc\u0103\u021bi A4, era o hart\u0103 color, deci de desenat doar pe plotter, iar Corel nu era adecvat s\u0103 genereze fi\u0219ierele necesare. Urma s\u0103 ne g\u00e2ndim cum o abord\u0103m. Le-am dat studen\u021bilor baza de simboluri \u0219i conturul Rom\u00e2niei le-am spus s\u0103 \u00eenve\u021be CorelDraw c\u0103 e posibil s\u0103 le trebuiasc\u0103. Nu era ceva pentru not\u0103. Peste o s\u0103pt\u0103m\u00e2n\u0103 studentul R\u0103zvan M\u0103rg\u0103uan m-a chemat la una din sta\u021bii, mai era de fa\u021b\u0103 un student, Radu Cioponea. Nu pot s\u0103 uit uluirea mea \u00een fa\u021ba h\u0103r\u021bii de radionaviga\u021bie a Rom\u00e2niei, color, \u00een toat\u0103 complexitatea ei. Eu puteam s\u0103 \u00een\u021beleg c\u00e2t\u0103 munc\u0103 era acolo, dar nu puteam s\u0103 concep cum a fost posibil s\u0103 \u00eenve\u021be Corel \u0219i \u00een acela\u0219i timp s\u0103 produc\u0103 o asemenea bijuterie de hart\u0103. Harta a fost mai apoi predat\u0103 \u0219i ea beneficiarului Romatsa (Fig. 8). Mai t\u00e2rziu, R\u0103zvan M\u0103rg\u0103uan \u0219i Radu Cioponea aveau s\u0103 fie angaja\u021bi de Romatsa imediat dup\u0103 absolvire. De altfel la examenul lor de diplom\u0103 directorul general Niculae Droc a \u021binut s\u0103 participe personal, fapt unic \u00een analele Facult\u0103\u021bii de Aeronave (Inginerie Aerospa\u021bial\u0103). R\u0103zvan \u00een echip\u0103 cu Radu \u0219i cu un alt coleg au f\u0103cut sub \u00eendrumarea mea un simulator profesional de control de trafic aerian la proiectul de diplom\u0103, prezentat la examenul de diplom\u0103. Simulatorul a fost apoi implementat la Romatsa.<\/p> Conform contractului am scris manuale de desenat h\u0103r\u021bi [6]<\/a> \u0219i am \u0219colarizat personalul Romatsa, iar contractul s-a \u00eencheiat cu succes \u0219i la timp. Cristi Rusu \u0219i-a c\u00e2\u0219tigat o binemeritat\u0103 pozi\u021bie \u00een Romatsa. A primit oferte din mai multe \u021b\u0103ri s\u0103 le v\u00e2nd\u0103 noul sistem Induss, doar c\u0103 \u0219eful lui, Jenic\u0103 Poenaru nu a fost interesat s\u0103 dea altora un avantaj competitiv. Din p\u0103cate, oamenii pe care i-am \u0219colarizat au p\u0103r\u0103sit \u021bara \u00een frunte cu Cristi Rusu, care a emigrat \u00een Canada.<\/p> Nu \u0219tiu c\u00e2t timp Romatsa a mai folosit sistemul la capacit\u0103\u021bile lui. Speciali\u0219tii r\u0103ma\u0219i \u00een Departamentul NOTAM ne-au evitat, probabil de team\u0103 s\u0103 nu recidiv\u0103m, furniz\u00e2nd solu\u021bii at\u00e2t de bune at\u00e2t de ieftin.<\/p> De\u0219i era foarte scump, am primit un AIP Romania 1992 [4], [5] ca o curtoazie din partea Romatsa. AIP-ul meu a fost men\u021binut actual p\u00e2n\u0103 \u00een 1993 (de aceea unele pagini au date din 1993). Laude \u0219i alte onoruri nu au existat. M\u0103 bucur c\u0103 m\u0103car Cristi Rusu e men\u021bionat \u00een istoria lui Niculae Droc. P\u00e2n\u0103 la urm\u0103 cel mai reu\u0219it lucru nu a fost primul AIP digital al Rom\u00e2niei, uitat ast\u0103zi, ci faptul c\u0103 am reu\u0219it s\u0103 atrag ni\u0219te studen\u021bi excep\u021bionali c\u0103tre acest fascinant domeniu al naviga\u021biei aeriene \u0219i c\u0103 ei ast\u0103zi sunt exper\u021bi de nivel interna\u021bional. R\u0103zvan M\u0103rg\u0103uan este Head Technical Systems al EUROCONTROL, Maastricht Upper Area Control \u0219i Radu Cioponea este Safety Aviation Expert la EUROCONTROL Bruxelles. De asemenea, m\u0103 bucur c\u0103 am putut atrage spre avia\u021bie (pentru scurt timp) ni\u0219te oameni excep\u021bionali ca Radu \u0219i Dan Alexandru Corlan, sau C\u0103lin Iosof. Personal, acest proiect mi-a dat \u00eencredere profesional\u0103. A fost at\u00e2t de greu \u00eenc\u00e2t, prin compara\u021bie, provoc\u0103rile ulterioare au p\u0103rut o joac\u0103.<\/p> Fig. 8 \u2013 Harta de radionaviga\u021bie a Rom\u00e2niei, Edi\u021bia 2019, versiunea mult mai recent\u0103 a celei originale din 1992, care din p\u0103cate nu s-a p\u0103strat<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> [1] Niculae Droc (2007) Scurt\u0103 istorie a serviciilor de trafic aerian, https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/247930266\/Istoria-serviciilor-de-trafic-aerian<\/a><\/p> [2] Induss (1991) Deviz de lucr\u0103ri la licita\u021bia Romatsa pentru AIP Romania<\/a><\/p> [3] Contract Romatsa \u2013 Induss (1991) pentru realizarea unui Sistem de Creare \u0219i Gestiune a H\u0103r\u021bilor Aeriene \u0219i a celor 139 de h\u0103r\u021bi cuprinse \u00een documenta\u021bia AIP Rom\u00e2nia 1991<\/a><\/p> [4] Departamentul Avia\u021biei Civile, Romatsa (2012) AIP Romania, Vol. I, GEN, AGA, COM, MET, RAC, FAL, SAR<\/a><\/p> [5] Departamentul Avia\u021biei Civile, Romatsa (2012) AIP Romania, Vol. II, MAP<\/a><\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/inginerie.aero\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Fig_3_Digital_AIP_detaliu_HiRes-1024x768.png\")
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<\/p>\nReferences<\/h3>\n
Primul AIP Digital al Rom\u00e2niei<\/h1>
de Octavian Thor Pleter<\/h3>
<\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p>Bibliografie<\/h3>