Aviation News - May 2016

Successful GPS/Transponder Trial for GA

A system that enables general aviation

(GA) pilots to use the full functionality

of their Mode S Extended Squitter

transponders has been trialled successfully.

Data recorded over the six-month

exercise saw GA pilots transmitting

sufficiently accurate Automatic Dependent

Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) position

information when their transponders were

connected to non-certified GPS sources.

Using a non-certified source meant they

could track their aircraft in real-time on apps

such as Plane Finder and Flightradar24.

Mark Watson, Head of Research and

Development at NATS, said: “The GA

community using visual flight rules will look

out of the aircraft window to see and avoid

other traffic. The trial showed that they could

transmit position data to enhance pilots’

situational awareness, which supports the

‘see, be seen and avoid’ concept.”

The trial is part of a wider project called

‘EVA’ – Electronic Visibility via ADS-B. As

part of EVA, NATS and f.u.n.k.e. AVIONICS

have been developing a new prototype

device called the Low Power ADS-B

Transceiver (LPAT), which is a portable,

battery-powered and affordable gadget

that will provide the minimum functionality

needed to make a GA pilot visible to other

airspace users. It will also provide proximity

warnings against other suitably equipped

aircraft. LPAT can send and receive

1090 MHz ADS-B signals giving pilots

greater awareness of the traffic around

them; however, it does not match a full

transponder in terms of functionality. For

example, it is not currently interoperable

with a Traffic Collision Avoidance System

(TCAS) and its use will not allow access

to some airspace if a transponder is

mandatory. David J Smith

Garuda Arrives at Heathrow

Terminal 3 was awash with colour and the

strains of traditional Indonesian music to

celebrate the arrival of Garuda Indonesia’s

inaugural Heathrow service on March 31. The

carrier has switched its London operation

from Gatwick and increased frequency to five

times per week. The outbound flight currently

routes via Singapore because the Boeing 777-

300ER’s maximum take-off weight exceeds the

strength of the runways at Jakarta’s Soekarno-

Hatta International Airport. The service from

London is non-stop. Garuda’s flights to and

from Gatwick had routed via Amsterdam.

Jubi Prasetyo, Garuda Indonesia’s General

Manager UK & Ireland, said: “Making the move

to Heathrow Airport has been an ambition

of ours since joining SkyTeam in March

2014. Heathrow’s pivotal role in servicing the
      alliance’s 1,052 destinations makes it an ideal
      departure airport for our passengers. Flying
      non-stop direct to Jakarta means we will truly
      be the most efficient way to reach Indonesia
      from the UK.”
      The airline plans to relocate to Terminal 4 in
      the future, to join its SkyTeam partners.

Delta Gets Maiden A

Delta Air Lines took delivery of its first Airbus A321 on March 17. The jet, registered N301DN

(c/n 6923), was flown from the manufacturer’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant to Minneapolis-St

Paul International Airport, Missouri, via stops at Keflavík in Iceland and Goose Bay in Canada.

It is the first of 45 A321s for Delta. Delta Air Lines

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Boeing 777-3U3ER PK-GIF pulls on to a stand at the end of the inaugural GA86 service from

Jakarta to London Heathrow. Key-James Ronayne

Go2Sky Adds

First 737-

Slovakian carrier Go2Sky expanded its fleet

with the arrival of Boeing 737-800 OM-GTE

(c/n 29925). The aircraft, the airline’s first

737-800, was handed over at Lasham Airfield,

Hampshire, on March 18, and is fitted with 189

leather seats in a single class. It was then

flown to the airline’s Bratislava base. Norwich-

based ISIS Aviation Services arranged the

lease on behalf of Go2Sky.

“We are delighted to have taken delivery

of our first B737NG aircraft,” said Daniel

Ferjancek, CEO of Go2Sky. “This New

Generation model plus our recent IOSA-

certification [IATA Operational Safety Audit]

shows our commitment to constantly improving

the product we offer our clients”.

Go2Sky also operates three -400s variants.

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