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“You can fly an airplane by looking out the window and using visual cues to guide you, but this is only possible when you fly low and in good weather conditions.” There are no reference points at high altitudes, so various navigation aids are needed here, the signal of which is used to determine the position of the aircraft in space, ”Remigijus Malinauskas, Chief Engineer of Services, quotes in the press release. of Navigation of the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Service of SE Oro Navigacija.
Air Navigation / DVOR Photo Navigation System
Ensures the safety of the flight.
To ensure flight safety, SE Oro Navigacija has many different navigation tools for various phases of the flight.
“For example, the DVOR / DME or Doppler omni-directional radio beacon with long-range equipment is a route navigation aid that helps determine the location of aircraft that transit through Lithuanian airspace and do not land at the country’s airports. We have three such measures in Lithuania. Precision instrument approach systems, also known as ILS, are designed to successfully land an aircraft in adverse weather conditions. We have five of these systems ”, explains the specialist.
ILS Aeronautical Photography Precision Approach System
The International Civil Aviation Organization requires inspections of navigation equipment both on the ground and in the air to ensure the safe travel of the aircraft. Such inspections are a necessary part of a long process that ensures not only the proper functioning of navigation devices, but also the safe and successful travel of aircraft and their passengers. The aircraft receives a signal from the navigation aids to determine its location. If that signal is inaccurate, the aircraft will misidentify its position, which could have catastrophic consequences.
The navigation equipment and radio stations available for SE Oro Navigacija are located throughout Lithuania in such a way that in most of the airspace they overlap and even in the event of a vehicle failure, flight safety will be guaranteed by others. The aircraft laboratory that flies to Lithuania each year helps keep the equipment stable.
“Some navigation devices need to be inspected once a year, others twice. One of these inspections is already underway, and the entire process is carried out with the help of an aviation laboratory which, after receiving all necessary permits to quarantine conditions, arrived in Lithuania from the UK. It is a small aircraft equipped with the necessary navigation equipment to receive navigation aid signals. Previously, these teams consisted of large teams of ten or more people, but due to the technology improvement, today only three people go on the air: two pilots and an inspector of navigation equipment ”, shares R. Malinauskas.
Verification is more important than it sounds
The specialist points out that this is a very favorable time for navigation tests due to the reduced number of flights during the global pandemic, so the inspection must be carried out faster than usual. According to him, the inspection process itself is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance, but it is necessary.
“The inspection procedure stipulates what maneuvers and at what height the aircraft must perform. For example, when testing a DVOR / DME navigation system, the test begins with at least two 10-nautical mile orbits and continues during radio flights. At that time, various parameters of the radio signal are verified in the aircraft laboratory: frequency, modulation, depth, etc.
Its deviations are strictly regulated, and when it is determined that all the parameters meet the prescribed requirements, a certificate is issued confirming the operation of the system and allowing its further operation, “says the engineer.
Engineers ensure quality system work on a daily basis
During the inspection, SE Oro Navigacija specialists also participate in the entire process, who have the opportunity to correct inaccuracies or deviations observed during the test.
“During almost thirty years of my work, certain deviations from the parameters observed during the inspection never exceeded the allowed limits and everything was corrected while the plane was still in the air,” says Malinauskas, adding that this is influenced by careful work. of the engineers who work in the Communications Monitoring and Navigation Service. who regularly perform ground system inspections.
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