Weekly review #54- 24 June

Picture of Vincent Lambercy
Posted by Vincent Lambercy

Drones testing has cruised its way into a couple of news reports this week. The small but mighty unmanned aircraft has its benefits for airports, but non-cooperative drones can cause a fair amount of trouble, too.

Highlighting the need for a drone registration system, Germany plans national drone detection trials at selected airports later this year. This is an unusual move from Germany, since most European states rely on individual airports to implement their own drones detection. It places an importance on having a collective effort of systems and airports working together to tackle the problematic impact of rogue drones. 

The other side of the drones coin is in testing to discover how useful they can be for airports:

Amsterdam Schipol Airport begins a one-week trial for the inspection of drones  aimed at exploring their potential benefits for the inspection of taxiways, small buildings and aircraft and for the transport of light goods between different locations around the airport. This could help improve operational processes in the future. 

The move to trial manned and unmanned aircraft working together is a bold one, but certainly one to watch! We'll keep you updated.

ANSP news

  • Aviation innovations hub is being built in Poznań - Polish Air Navigation Services Agency has received the Air Traffic Control Center in the vicinity of the Poznań-Ławica airport. This is where air traffic over Poland can be managed. It is also the first of PANSA’s investments in infrastructure for the needs of the Central Communication Port.

  • PANSA develops innovations under the SESAR programme - Polish Air Navigation Services Agency takes active part in the SESAR programme, the technological pillar of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative. The objective of the undertaking is to develop and implement harmonized air traffic management infrastructure in Europe and solutions allowing defragmentation of the European airspace.

Airport news

Market news

  • Think awarded contract from SESAR's ENGAGE KTN - Think has been awarded a contract for a catalyst project from SESAR’s Engage Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). Project RoMiAD (Role of Markets in AAS Deployment) is designed to investigate the economic benefits of implementing the recommendations of the Airspace Architecture Study.

  • France Aviation Civile Services contracted by Taiwan to support SMR and ADS-B projects - Last March, France Aviation Civile Services signed a contract with the National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan. This contract is part of the project for the acquisition of surface radars and ADS-B antennas by the Taiwanese air navigation service provider. The objective is therefore to support this Institute in the development of market studies, in the drafting of technical specifications and in the preparation of the deployment plan for these two types of equipment.

Reports and data 

Research and innovation 

  • HungaroControl - Can Artificial Intelligence save the ATM industry? - Vast amounts of data can be gathered, accessed, stored and mined effortlessly and this enables researchers to develop algorithms that can support us in a wide range of areas in life. This piece will cover the present and future of AI research in aviation, specifically in air traffic management (ATM), which can truly change the way we tackle challenges in the industry.

  • Croatia Control - Collaborative Forecasting for Aviation in Europe - As of June 1, 2020, Croatia Control’s forecasters have been taking part in the European Cross-border Weather Advisory procedure for the EUROCONTROL Network Manager. Together with operational meteorologists at 11 other national MET providers, the cross-border MET product is made by each provider for its area of responsibility and harmonized with the neighbors to ensure consistent information.

  • LNAS pilot assistance system enables quieter and more fuel-efficient landing approaches - During more than 90 approaches to Zurich Airport conducted under the leadership of the Swiss SkyLab Foundation, researchers from Empa and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) tested an assistance system that supports pilots via a display during quiet and, at the same time, fuel-efficient approaches. The results show a measurable reduction in noise emissions and fuel consumption.

UAV and UTM 

  • LVNL launches week-long trial of inspection drones at Schiphol Airport - LVNL is launching a trial today in which drones equipped with cameras conduct inspections of runways, small buildings and aircraft, and drones carrying lightweight cargo provide transport between various locations at the airport. The trial run will be exploring whether it would be advisable and feasible to use drones for inspections of the asphalt surface and other aspects, in operational processes such as de-icing, and in the supply of replacement parts for aircraft maintenance.

  • Delair authorised to fly BVLOS under new European regulations - Unmanned airspace - Drone operator Delair has received EU beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) certification in compliance with European regulations recently published by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The company says the authorisation strengthens its capability to assist its customers and partners in carrying out their European drone operations in a simple and future-safe manner.

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