TopSky COOPANS

[Jonas Kuster (1158939)]

I've started to equip the sector file packages for EuroCenter vACC with TopSky. Having no experience with the plugin myself and working just along the documentation, I've come across one question regarding COOPANS I was not able to answer yet.

I've realised that there are two modes of the plugin (referred to as A and B). However, I've not understood what COOPANS is, and neither what the arguments are to prefer A over B or vice versa. Could someone give some advise why there are two modes and which of them is optimised for which situations?

[Mark-Julius Pikat (1051954)]

12 minutes ago, Jonas Kuster said:

I've started to equip the sector file packages for EuroCenter vACC with TopSky. Having no experience with the plugin myself and working just along the documentation, I've come across one question regarding COOPANS I was not able to answer yet.

I've realised that there are two modes of the plugin (referred to as A and B). However, I've not understood what COOPANS is, and neither what the arguments are to prefer A over B or vice versa. Could someone give some advise why there are two modes and which of them is optimised for which situations?

Those are the different versions of Thales TopSky system used in different locations. For example, version A is used here in Estonia and Finland (called FINEST), while version B can be found in Hungary, Croatia, Belgium, Sweden and many others (called COOPANS, which is a partnership to adapt systems and to share the cost by acquiring updates). There is no "preference" which one is better or not, mostly they differ in the colours, labels (tags) and how are they set up, what are the optional tools like RADARSEP or FPLSEP, how lists and dialogs are designed, how warnings are handled.

[Alexander Arlow]

 

On 27/03/2021 at 15:27, Jonas Kuster said:

I've started to equip the sector file packages for EuroCenter vACC with TopSky. Having no experience with the plugin myself and working just along the documentation, I've come across one question regarding COOPANS I was not able to answer yet.

I've realised that there are two modes of the plugin (referred to as A and B). However, I've not understood what COOPANS is, and neither what the arguments are to prefer A over B or vice versa. Could someone give some advise why there are two modes and which of them is optimised for which situations?

 

On 27/03/2021 at 15:46, Mark-Julius Pikat said:

Those are the different versions of Thales TopSky system used in different locations. For example, version A is used here in Estonia and Finland (called FINEST), while version B can be found in Hungary, Croatia, Belgium, Sweden and many others (called COOPANS, which is a partnership to adapt systems and to share the cost by acquiring updates). There is no "preference" which one is better or not, mostly they differ in the colours, labels (tags) and how are they set up, what are the optional tools like RADARSEP or FPLSEP, how lists and dialogs are designed, how warnings are handled.

Sorry to be nitpicking, but Hungary and Belgium are not part of COOPANS , Hungary use Matias which Euroscope emulates basically 1:1 and Belgium use Topsky, but not the COOPANS version.

https://www.coopans.com/Members

As Mark-Julius pointed out, none is "better" than the other, they are just different flavors of the same thing. From what I gather, in terms of harmonisation and maybe collaboration, you would be better off with the COOPANS version since we (Austria) as well as most German RGs use the COOPANS version.

[Mark-Julius Pikat (1051954)]

16 minutes ago, Alexander Arlow said:

Hungary and Belgium are not part of COOPANS

Indeed - my mistake, I always thought they were, or at least I heard it many years ago

My idea was probably that version "B" looks more to what Hungary and Belgium have, at least not the version we have here.

Edited April 19, 2021 by Mark-Julius Pikat

[Matisse VanWezer (1385143)]

For further reference:

In Belgium, the upper airspace, controlled by the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre , as well as the Belgian Airforce use MADAP (Maastricht Automatic Data Processing and Display System). Only Skeyes uses Topsky.