Category: Life around runways

Everything you need to know to operate on and around runways safely

Test your knowledge of airport characteristics!

Fact: there are on average more than two runway incursion events in Europe every day. A lot of effort is going into eliminating the reasons for runway incursions… These range from improving procedures to increasing awareness of pilots, air traffic controllers and ground vehicle drivers of the dangers a runway represents. Now you too can… Continue reading Test your knowledge of airport characteristics!

The Case for LED Aerodrome Lighting

Aerodromes used also at night and in reduced visibility conditions rely on a variety of lights to guide aircraft on the ground and on approach to the runway. These lights must meet extremely stringent requirements set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The requirements range from color temperature… Continue reading The Case for LED Aerodrome Lighting

Radio Frequency Interference Mystery Solved by Safety Reporting System

For a while at Asheville Regional Airport Traffic Control Tower, faint Morse code and loud static would pop up on the approach frequency every 30 minutes. It only lasted for a couple seconds, but it could interrupt pilot-controller transmissions and was a potential risk to safety. So a controller filed an “ATSAP” report. ATSAP is… Continue reading Radio Frequency Interference Mystery Solved by Safety Reporting System

A bit of a breeze…

A long period of extreme heat in Budapest, Hungary ended with the arrival of a cold-front, triggering a violent storm causing a lot of damage in the capital. Ferihegy Airport experienced some truly high winds that made the tower shake… Here is a picture of the met display taken during this “breezy” period.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport – When One is More than Two

Some of us will still remember the times when Berlin Schonefeld was Interflug’s home and Berlin Tegel, in the Western part of the divided city, was the airport of the free world. The well known TV tower in East Berlin was put there not least to have something that made approaches to Tegel a bit… Continue reading Berlin Brandenburg Airport – When One is More than Two

GPR – What is This?

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) as Applied to Airport Runway Maintenance Airport maintenance and engineering groups face many challenges in maintaining their runway pavements. In addition to routine maintenance and rehabilitation, the increased use of larger aircraft and runway expansions, in combination with limited budgets, have necessitated the requirement for a cost effective means of accurately assessing… Continue reading GPR – What is This?

The Space Age Airport

When we think of space-flight, we tend to picture rockets blasting into the final frontier on the tip of a column of fire, thundering energy that seems to be totally random and untamable. Of course a rocket engine is anything but unpredictable but it is a technology very different from our more traditional winged aircraft… Continue reading The Space Age Airport

RIASS in Amsterdam – What is this?

RIASS stands for Runway Incursion Alerting System Schiphol and it is a system to warn air traffic controllers in the tower of an imminent danger involving the un-authorized presence of an aircraft or vehicle on a take-off runway or landing runway already in use. The system was developed by Air Traffic Control the Netherlands and… Continue reading RIASS in Amsterdam – What is this?