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Aviation ZephIR
In a joint venture with Advantage West Midlands, QinetiQ has developed its licensed ZephIRTM system into an aviation version; ‘Aviation ZephIR’TM for measuring wind profiles, wind shear and aircraft wake vortices in the vicinity of an airport.
Accurate real-time wind profiling is a valuable supplement to current ground-based anemometers at airports. Aviation ZephIR’s remote, real-time detection of the presence of potentially hazardous atmospheric conditions, including wind shear and in particular the wake vortices generated by aircraft on both take-off and landing. This could significantly enhance safety and efficiency in airport operations as part of a future integrated Air Traffic Management (ATM) system.
Aviation ZephIR has been successfully trialled at Birmingham International Airport (where most aircraft are medium, with very few “heavies”) and at London Heathrow Airport (used by many large Airbus and Boeing aircraft - including the Airbus A380).
These initial trials have gathered wind and vortex data on the glideslope, from over 500 flights. The system reliably measures wind profiles in its standard operating mode. It also succeeds in the key task of reliably detecting the vortices from medium and large aircraft. It can detect and track wake vortices, while simultaneously measuring both the background wind and the temporary vortex disturbance.
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