Friday, December 23, 2011

Nepal contracts Airbus Quovadis for RNP-AR navigation system

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is to deploy the satellite-based Required Navigation Performance-Authorisation Required (RNP–AR) for air safety from February.
“We are working on the legal aspect and developing regulations for the implementation of RNP-AR at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA),” said deputy director general of the authority Dinesh Shrestha.
The authority has set the end of February for the launch of RNP–AR approaches. “The implementation of the system will support safety enhancement of aircraft, it will also fulfil the visibility requirement required by aircraft during bad weather and help reduce aircraft diverts,” said Shrestha, who is also the member of Nepal Performance Based Navigation implementation committee.
“The Instrumental Landing System is not feasible at the international airport, so we are introducing the system as an alternative to fulfil basic requirements for international flights,” said CAAN director general Ram Kumar Neupane.
The RNP–AR has a high safety margin as it can operate for six minutes after power-supply failure and disconnection from the satellite.
Pilots will have precise three-dimensional curved flight paths — one through congested airspace, another around noise sensitive areas and the third through difficult terrains.
Airbus flight services subsidiary Quovadis will assist instaling the system.

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