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| WindTracer at Dubai airport. Photo: Lockheed Martin |
[Avionics Today 01-28-2015] Middle East airport solutions provider Bayanat Airports Engineering & Supplies, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, has put three WindTracer systems into operation. WindTracer is a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system that measures the strength and behavior of wake vortices caused by arriving aircraft. Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) is analyzing wake data from WindTracers to ensure that concepts to reduce aircraft separations and increase airport efficiency can be implemented while maintaining safety at Dubai International Airport, which has recently seen a significant increase in air traffic volume.
The first two WindTracers were installed in 2013, and the contract originally awarded by Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects Corporation was extended to include a third system to collect wake information more quickly.
“WindTracer has been a major enabler for similar wake mitigation efforts in the U.S. and Europe, increasing aircraft throughput at many airports by up to 30 percent. That boost in efficiency not only enables more aircraft arrivals and departures, it also eliminates the need to build additional runways to accommodate heavy traffic volume,” said Michael Margulis, director of WindTracer Programs at Lockheed Martin.