Decommissioning ground navaids
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Hmmm... and what do we use to navigate IFR when the GPS system gets turned off ?..
If its a policy that ASA are getting rid of VORs but maintaining NDBs (E.g. MSO, MQD etc) and if GPS gets switched off and theres no VOR or ILS, it's true I'm stuffed. Have not used an NDB in anger for years and most of the planes I've flown recently don't have one. If they are really costing hundreds of millions to maintain, they're just an expensive security blanket giving recalcitrant operators even less incentive to get rid old the s--t boxes that plague our industry.
Join Date: Jun 2001
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What happened to multiple system redundancy? What about the 'independant' navaids with 'independant' receivers in the aircraft which was engineered into our regulations even for charter aircraft let alone RPT. What on earth was that for? Could it be that if one 'system' fails (either in the aircraft or on the ground or both) you will at least have another system to get you navigating and safely back to earth through an instrument approach. You can't tell me that the whiz-bang capabilities of GPS does not magically make it immune to 'failing' - TSO146 or otherwise. If this multiple system redundancy is removed purely for financial expediency it is not a good enough reason and is a serious step backwards from a safety perspective IMHO.
I would like the accountants making the decisions to have seen my 'oscillator' problem or some of the others I could add to the list. I have flown a relatively new aircraft where on climb out the GPS spontaneously wiped the entire Jeppesen data card. It was later found that the two interconnected GPS units were hardwired incorrectly from the aircraft factory - maybe a causal factor. There are some locations where it is known that some GPS units sometimes do a 'dummy spit' when it is time for the receiver to go into approach mode and for the CDI scaling to reduce down to 0.3 RNP. I'm sure glad in these cases that I am not entirely reliant on GPS - and frankly, I fear the day we do become totally reliant on one navigation source... I hope it does not take some big holes in the ground for us to reinvent the wheel on this one.
I would like the accountants making the decisions to have seen my 'oscillator' problem or some of the others I could add to the list. I have flown a relatively new aircraft where on climb out the GPS spontaneously wiped the entire Jeppesen data card. It was later found that the two interconnected GPS units were hardwired incorrectly from the aircraft factory - maybe a causal factor. There are some locations where it is known that some GPS units sometimes do a 'dummy spit' when it is time for the receiver to go into approach mode and for the CDI scaling to reduce down to 0.3 RNP. I'm sure glad in these cases that I am not entirely reliant on GPS - and frankly, I fear the day we do become totally reliant on one navigation source... I hope it does not take some big holes in the ground for us to reinvent the wheel on this one.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Frequently asked questions
I don't know if a list of the 200 navaids to be turned off by 2016 has been released as yet, but have heard that the Airservices board hasn't as yet approved the plan.
4. I’m a private IFR pilot. Can’t I just fly using VORs, NDBs and DME, as I’ve always done?
Yes, but be aware that you will have to fit a TSO-approved GNSS unit to your aircraft by 4 February 2016. You should also know there will be fewer ground-based navaids. In 2016, about 200 ground aids (VOR, NDB, DME) will be turned off. Decommissioning these will leave the remaining navaids to form the back-up navigation network (BNN), which is intended to run until 2025. Many of the navaids that will be decommissioned are already at the end of their operational lives.
Yes, but be aware that you will have to fit a TSO-approved GNSS unit to your aircraft by 4 February 2016. You should also know there will be fewer ground-based navaids. In 2016, about 200 ground aids (VOR, NDB, DME) will be turned off. Decommissioning these will leave the remaining navaids to form the back-up navigation network (BNN), which is intended to run until 2025. Many of the navaids that will be decommissioned are already at the end of their operational lives.
I don't know if a list of the 200 navaids to be turned off by 2016 has been released as yet, but have heard that the Airservices board hasn't as yet approved the plan.
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Join Date: Jun 2001
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Might be some interesting liability issues there...
As for the 2016 timeframe - remove half of all terrestrial navaids within three years? I just can't see it happening. The paperwork alone would swamp AsA managers!*
Cheers,
O8
*This is the primary objection, although you lot might make other objections along airy-fairy grounds like safety and retraining requirements.
