Vaisala's New Runway Visual Range System Approved for Air Traffic Control Use in the USA
Availability of runway visual range information has a positive impact on flight safety and airport capacity
(Louisville, CO, December 22, 2009) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Vaisala AviMet® PC-Based Runway Visual Range (RVR) system for air traffic control use in airports across the country. The primary users of the system are air traffic controllers who access RVR data through an improved display application, also developed by Vaisala.
Runway Visual Range is a calculated assessment of the distance that a pilot can see down a runway. Prevailing weather conditions have the most impact on RVR, but ambient light levels and runway light settings also play an important part in the equation. In addition to having an obvious impact on flight safety, RVR assessment also has an impact on airport capacity as runways can be safely kept open longer under diminishing weather conditions.
Vaisala's RVR system is a PC-based solution that provides fully automated runway visual range assessment and reporting. The system consists of Vaisala's state-of-the-art optical sensors for determining meteorological optical range (FS11) and measuring ambient light level (LM21), and of a newly developed runway light intensity monitor. A data processing unit collects the data, calculates RVR values and provides the data to users via various interfaces.
A prototype of the AviMet® PC-Based Runway Visual Range system was installed at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Pennsylvania in August 2007. Since the installation, the system has undergone extensive operational testing in real-life conditions. Soon Wilkes-Barre will be the first airport in the world to have the PC-based RVR system in official operational use.
About Vaisala
Vaisala is a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. Building on more than 70 years of experience, Vaisala contributes to a better quality of life by providing a comprehensive range of innovative observation and measurement products and services for meteorology, weather critical operations and controlled environments. Headquartered in Finland, Vaisala employs over 1200 professionals worldwide and is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. www.vaisala.com
More information:
Geoff Bing,
Regional Market Manager,
Airports, USA
Tel. +1 303 262 4037,
geoff.bing(at)vaisala.com
Theresa Mary Fischer,
NA Corporate Communications Manager
Tel. +1 520 806 7361,
theresa.fischer(at)vaisala.com
