Airservices Australia has signed a 10-year contract worth more than $100 million with AeroPearl Pty Ltd for the delivery of its Flight Inspection Service (FIS).
The new FIS will take effect from January 1, 2013 on commissioning of two latest twin-engine model Beechcraft King Air B350s.
The aircraft, along with specialist staff, check the accuracy of over 500 pieces of critical air navigational equipment on a three-year rotational basis. The inspections also provide airborne engineering measurements for commissioning of surveillance facilities used to separate air traffic across Australia, on approach and on the ground at major airports.
Airservices General Manager Technology and Asset Services, Alastair Hodgson, said that the routine checks were critical to aviation safety for transit between and on approach to regional and major airports, aerodromes and airstrips.
“Radio navigation equipment that is tested year-round includes instrument landing systems, distance measuring equipment, VHF omni-directional radio range positioning systems and non-directional beacons,” Hodgson said.
Positional and navigational information is relayed from these aids to the test aircraft to support pilots and air traffic controllers with air navigation and airport arrivals. During testing, the data is analysed by Airservices maintenance and engineering specialists to ensure each navigation aid is operating accurately.
“The replacement of the current King Air aircraft as they approach end of life will ensure that we are able to continue these essential checks with increased availability and reliability of aircraft and data collected,” Hodgson said.
Based in Brisbane, both King Airs will be equipped with precision inspection equipment manufactured and integrated by Germany’s Aerodata AG. The AeroFIS system integrates with the aircraft’s autopilot and has been designed for future expansion to inspect ADS-B and GBAS supported precision approaches.
“The Aerodata equipment meets today‘s most advanced inspection requirements and will pave the way for flight inspection over the next decade as the infrastructure of air navigation technology changes,” Hodgson said.