|
Daytona Beach Campus - Electrical and Systems Engineering Department
Electrical and Systems Engineering Department News
Research Into Remote Airport Lighting Systems
Test Airstrip in North Dakota Installed with Retro-Reflective Panels
A remote airport is defined as “one that is not paved, has no powered lighting, nor reliable electric power supply, is not accessible by paved or otherwise well developed roads, is not used by jet aircraft, has minimal or no glide slope, and no runway elevation or location markings useable from the air. A remote airport serves an identifiable community need for occasional emergency and provisional supply functions and has a constituency population that is willing to take minimal responsibility for its operation.”
RPI Lighting Research Center’s Corner Lights
The project has organized a working group composed of representatives from the following universities: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of North Dakota- Aerospace, University of Alaska- Anchorage, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center (LRC). This working group is investigating the optimum remote airfield lighting system to support current and future anticipated aviation navigation requirements of remote airfields. The working group is including in its investigation a description of the type of airfield operations in remote areas of the United States and the geographical comparisons of remote airfields that influence the lighting technologies available for implementation.
The focus of the lighting technology study will be to ascertain the shortcomings and advantages of current portable and permanent lighting system technology and their power needs. The project is developing options for portable low-cost lighting systems for approach and landing capabilities and power generation at remote airfields.
Laboratory tests conducted at RPI’s LRC identified the specifications (color, intensity distribution, flash rate, duty cycle, etc.) needed for optimal identification of remote airfields.And ongoing tests in the lab are identifying the optimal specifications for edge lights/markers. The lab tests have been validated with field testing with various aircraft on approach at a remote field in North Dakota. The applied research is producing various lighting options for small communities to increase safety
and accessibility to the airfields.
Funded through the Center of General Aviation Research by the FAA, ERAU investigators include Dr. Chris Grant with Dr. Jianhua Liu assisting the power analysis. For more information
contact grantch@erau.edu.
|
