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New Canadian-installed landing system debuts at Guyana's airport

By: The Associated Press
Posted: 02/18/2012 11:33 AM
Source - Winnipeg Free Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana’s international airport has a new landing system long demanded by pilots that is expected to simplify approaches and make them safer, officials said Saturday.

Pilots approaching Cheddi Jagan International Airport can now use an instrument landing system that will provide a more precise reading of their angle of descent and guide them to within 60 metres of the main runway, said Civil Aviation Chief Zulfikar Mohamed.

He said the ILS installed by Intelcan Technosystems Inc. of Ottawa, includes distance-measuring equipment and an omnidirectional radio range system. It is part of a $3.5 million upgrade in pilot aids.

An ILS is especially helpful at night and during low visibility.

A previous system decommissioned in 2003 guided planes to within 150 metres of the runway, drawing numerous complaints from local and international pilots.

Guyana's outdated airport equipment came under scrutiny last July after a Boeing 737-800 with 162 people on board slid off the runway and stopped short of a deep ravine after breaking in two. No one was killed and it is not clear if the navigation equipment played a role in the accident.

Guyana also has awarded a $138 million contract to Beijing-based China Harbour Engineering Company to build a new airport terminal and extend Cheddi Jagan's main runway by more than a kilometre.

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Modern equipment installed at CJIA
- airport’s capacity to land planes in poor weather, visibility boosted

February 18, 2012 | By KNews | Filed Under News
Source - Kaieteur News

The glide path transmitter will provide vertical guidance to the pilot.

A major programme to upgrade the navigational system at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has been completed and Guyana now has enhanced capacity to land aircraft during bad weather or poor visibility.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), regulators of the country’s airspace.

According to GCAA, the two special systems were commissioned under a Government of Guyana capital project to modernize the navigation system.

The navigation equipment comprises the Timehri Instrument Landing System (ILS) which includes approach Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and a new High Powered DME co-located with the Timehri Very High Frequency Omni Directional Radio Range (VOR).

β€œThese en-route navigational and landing aids have been flight-checked, tested and certified during the first week of February, 2012 and have been commissioned for use by aircraft operating in Guyana’s national airspace,” GCAA revealed.

The ILS provides enhanced capability during bad weather with poor visibility since it allows flight crews to make precision approaches for landing.

The system comprises a localizer transmitter, a glide path transmitter and distance measuring equipment (DME).

β€œWhen an aircraft approaches to land and is on final approach it intercepts the localizer which gives accurate horizontal guidance along the centerline of the runway. When intersected at the correct angle with the glide path, the instrument in the cockpit will indicate to the flight crew that their aircraft is precisely on the centerline and at the correct gradient,” GCAA explained.

The Timehri ILS will now allow the airport the possibility of safely guiding an aircraft to 200 feet above the runway as against 520 feet when only the VOR is in use.

β€œThe DME gives information on the distance the aircraft is from the runway. The DME co-located with the VOR provides more accurate positioning of an aircraft. These tools provide bearing and distance information which are used in the air traffic management environment to pinpoint aircraft positions relative to each other in order to provide a more efficient and effective service.”

The new equipment will go a far way in allowing better use of the airspace since more precise position information is available to air traffic controllers.

According to GCAA, the air traffic controllers who manage Guyana’s airspace can apply more efficient separation standards to ensure adequate spacing between aircraft, optimizing use of airspace and allowing aircraft to operate at their optimum profile while ensuring safety of our skies.”

Prior to this installation, CJIA and GCAA’s infrastructure was supported by a single VOR since the removal from service of the high powered DME in 1997 and subsequently the ILS in 2003 followed by the decommissioning of the Non Directional Beacon.

Navigation throughout Guyana’s airspace was accomplished with the use of the VOR complemented by satellite technology such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

There had been major concerns over Guyana’s capacity expressed especially by Trinidad and Tobago following a crash-landing incident of a Caribbean Airline jet in July at CJIA.
Guyana had insisted that its systems were working fine and its track records unquestionable.

Guyana has announced a major project to build a bigger airport with a deal already signed with a Chinese firm.
FM

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