AIRFIELD PERSISTENT COMMUNICATIONS GATEWAY
Secured dispatch dashboard for authoring alerts, launching priority interrupts, building custom slideshow loops, running wind PCA calculators, and managing display scales.
Fullscreen TV signage display receiver. Cycles through active operational postures, alert bulletins, weather loops, countdown timers, and memos. Supports offline continuity.
Tactical METAR/TAF interface for KDFW airfield awareness. Integrates active local NEXRAD loop, multi-layer weather maps, wind streamlines, and national prognoses.
Airport ground countdown clocks, global time-zone matrices, and real-time airfield weather telemetry monitors for terminal operations.
TV-optimized vertical autoscroller displaying real-time National Airspace System delay matrix flags and Zulu chronometers.
Real-time emergency call aggregator featuring flat-list unit dispatches, background geocoding cache, voice synthesis readouts, and dual-pane satellite mapping.
Live passenger checkpoint status and wait times display for DFW airport checkpoints, formatted for widescreen operations signage.
Interactive NEXRAD Doppler weather radar loop viewer for regional airfield tracking.
Modular placeholder terminal for SysAero interactive weather maps and storm movement vector projections.
Modular placeholder terminal for SysAero secure dispatch control console and network access gateways.
Modular placeholder terminal for SysAero flight tracking alerts and arrival countdown interfaces.
Modular placeholder terminal for SysAero vocal ATIS speech synthesis and airfield warning broadcasters.
Secondary developers' sandbox directory designed for running real-time layout experiments and telemetry tests.
The DFW Park Operations Hub is a real-time, high-availability communication platform designed specifically for airport airfield operations.
It provides instant broadcasting of operational alerts, weather statuses, and routine memos to shared displays across the facility. By utilizing a persistent WebSocket connection, the system ensures that all field teams remain synchronized during weather events, safety incidents, and service disruptions without requiring manual page refreshes.
Designed to be responsive, it accommodates full-screen display walls, remote control tablet dashboards, and desktop terminals, ensuring constant alignment across airfield coordinators, ramp managers, and dispatcher suites.
Eliminate voice communication redundancies and ensure immediate safety warning dissemination across 100% of ramp terminals in under 100 milliseconds.
To ensure uninterrupted 24/7 operation with zero "sleep" downtime, the system is deployed on a dedicated Virtual Private Server (VPS).
| Infrastructure Component | Specification | Role / Details |
|---|---|---|
| Host Server | Hostinger VPS | Dedicated virtual private host serving secure HTTPS/WSS channels. |
| Operating System | Ubuntu Linux | Persistent, stable hosting environment. |
| Backend Server | Python / FastAPI | Handles connection state, stores authoritative JSON, and manages timers. |
| Process Monitor | systemd / PM2 | Automatically monitors backend processes and restarts if crash occurs. |
| Reverse Proxy | Nginx | Manages secure SSL termination, routes HTTP traffic, and upgrades to WSS. |
As operators adjust values on the Control panel, updates stream instantly over WebSockets. The FastAPI backend updates its memory register, logs state to history, recalculates countdown limits, and broadcasts the single authoritative state to all active Monitor Displays.
The single-instance python backend stores the active system posture in an authoritative state. All displays listen to broadcasts and update their views accordingly.
The primary state object contains the following attributes:
{
"mode": "idle", // idle | alert | image | embed | memos | opsboard | sequence
"alert": {
"severity": "NORMAL", // NORMAL | RED | YELLOW | LIGHTNING | GROUND_STOP | HIGH_WINDS
"title": "Normal Operations",
"body": "Airfield and ramp operations are nominal.",
"bullets": [],
"footer": "DFW Airfield Operations Control",
"countdown": 0, // Remaining seconds
"flashing": false
},
"settings": {
"memos": ["Shift briefing at 1800", "Watch wind shear advisories"],
"memoInterval": 10, // Rotates every 10 seconds
"sequence": ["idle", "memos", "opsboard"],
"sequenceActive": false,
"theme": "dark",
"readability": {
"fontScale": 1.0,
"contrast": "normal",
"clockVisible": true
}
}
}
Displays can be toggled remotely into any of the following modes depending on operational urgency:
| Mode Name | Priority | Visual Profile / Description |
|---|---|---|
| Main / Idle | Low | Baseline status. Displays Zulu and Local clocks, current weather conditions, and active ticker. |
| Alert | Critical | Fullscreen high-urgency cards. Supported styles include:
• Red Alert: Ramp closure, severe lightning, immediate suspend. • Yellow Alert: Cautionary mode, tightening of taxiway operations. • Lightning Alert: Safety warning for ground crews. • Ground Stop: Complete aircraft stop instructions. |
| Media Mode | Medium | Displays full-screen visual resources (e.g., flight routing maps, video advisories, MP4 loop, or YouTube links). |
| Embed Mode | Medium | Loads external web applications or dashboards inside full-screen frames. |
| Ops Board | Medium | Widescreen grid layout showing weather data, tickers, clock matrices, and warnings on a single monitor. |
| Memo Carousel | Low | Displays operational notices and shift reminders sequentially on a configurable interval. |
| Sequence Mode | Low | Automates cycling through selected slide boards (e.g. Idle -> Memos -> Ops Board) for hands-free information distribution. |
The Control Remote includes specialized modules to authorize and fine-tune displays:
Dispatchers can compose custom alerts, including severe headlines, list items (e.g., specific gate closures), and footer notes. Bullet items are entered as single line-separated strings.
Attach ticking countdown clocks (e.g., "Ramp Reopens in 04:59") to warning screens. Displays update this countdown live down to the second. Timers can be configured to automatically revert the system to Idle Mode when they reach zero.
Permits emergency dispatches to instantly override ongoing slide shows or embeds. Once cleared, the displays return to their previous layout posture.
Control screens remotely to increase display scale factors (font sizes), force high-contrast black/white styles (for high-glare environments), or toggle digital clocks.
Standard protocols for dispatcher coordination:
Start on Idle -> Transition to Yellow Alert as lightning approaches (<10mi) -> Transition to Red Alert when lightning strikes within <3mi (with a 15-minute countdown estimate) -> Revert to Idle once clear.
Enter wind telemetry on the Control page wind calculator. The system computes PCA warnings (e.g., Airbus PCA removal for gusts >25kts). Broadcast the generated PCA alert card to monitors, then clear once wind thresholds drop.
Build custom memo rotation items on the Control Panel. Turn on Sequence Mode to cycle through KDFW weather, memos, and FAA delay boards. Use the Priority Interrupt toggle for any transient pilot warnings.
Because these terminals operate on security network connections, the system is designed to handle temporary network dropouts:
If the WebSocket connection fails, Display Monitors show an offline alert overlay. Critically, the clocks (Zulu & Local) continue to tick, and the screen continues to display the last known alert/weather status rather than freezing or crashing.
The display client automatically attempts to reconnect to the WebSocket endpoint. Once connection is re-established, the backend immediately resends the current active state, seamlessly updating the monitor.
Operators should verify remote connection indicators on the Control page, push a brief info bulletin test alert, and confirm Zulu/Local time synchronization.