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| Phil Inness of Axis Electronics and Simon Butterworth of Manchester Airport. |
Axis Electronics' Ground Marker runway incursion
prevention aid, which provides clear voice positional
advisories and warnings directly to the cockpit, is
about to start operational trials at Manchester
Airport. This follows on from the success of the 'proof
of concept' trial phase, which demonstrated
successful message transmission direct to the
cockpits of a range of different aircraft.
Ground Marker detects the presence of an aircraft as
it approaches a safety critical area and automatically
transmits a user programmable voice message
directly to the pilots. The system has been
recognised as having great potential for enhancing
runway safety. A unique feature of the system is that
no change to aircraft equipment is required as
Ground Marker operates directly through the
aircraft's existing equipment. Additionally, through a
simple in-cab receiver, all airport vehicle drivers may
receive voice warning messages.
Simon Butterworth, Head of Airfield Strategy at Manchester Airport said: "The
safety of aircraft and passengers is always a top priority and we are constantly
monitoring potential new technology that can further improve important aspects
such as runway incursion prevention."
The operational capability trials will last about 2 months and obtain feedback
from pilots on the message received and the overall performance of the
equipment. This puts Manchester Airport in the unique position of influencing the
final design of the product to make sure it meets the need of a busy modern,
airport. A previous trial led to modifications to the range of power inputs needed
and computer interface changes, both of which are currently being implemented
in the final product design.
'We are delighted that such an important airfield as Manchester has put so much
effort into this trial. It is a credit to the progressive approach of the management
team', comments Phil Inness, Managing Director of Axis Electronics. |
