ILS (Instrument Landing System)

An instrument landing system (ILS) is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), such as low ceilings or reduced visibility due to fog, rain, or blowing snow.

Instrument approach procedure charts (or approach plates) are published for each ILS approach, providing pilots with the needed information to fly an ILS approach during instrument flight rules (IFR) operations, including the radio frequencies used by the ILS components or navaids and the minimum visibility requirements prescribed for the specific approach.

Radio-navigation aids must keep a certain degree of accuracy (set by international standards of CAST/ICAO); to assure this is the case, flight inspection organizations periodically check critical parameters with properly equipped aircraft to calibrate and certify ILS precision.

Airbus to tap engineering talent in India

The world’ s largest aircraft maker, Airbus, expects that the Indian
aviation market will require more than
1,000 aircraft worth $138 billion in the
next 20 years. In conversation with
ET, CEO Tom Enders said the European
aviation major will expand the India engineering centre and subcontract
more work to Indian firms such as
Mahindra, and Wipro . Excerpts from the interview: What role are India and China going to
play in the global aviation industry?
First of all, for us India and China,
obviously, are huge markets in the
future. And I believe we have seen
nothing yet. These markets are still in their initial phase.

Asia would need 180,600 pilots an 220,000 maintenance crew in next 20 years

   

The United States plane maker Boeing reports that the global commercial
aviation industry needs more than a
million pilots and maintenance crew in
the next 20 years, with Asia
accounting for almost 40% of the
demand. It estimates world demand at 466,650 pilots and 596,500
maintenance personnel from 2010 to
2029, of whom 180,600 pilots and
220,000 mechanics would be needed
in Asia.
Aviation is an exciting and rewarding industry for those who aspire to be an
airline pilot or an aircraft engineer.
Both courses require a lot of discipline,
hard work and passion.
Most countries, including Malaysia,
Australia, India, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, and Thailand, are members
of nternational Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO).

MRO Industry Grappling With Engineer Shortage

The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry needs to boost the size
of its workforce to cope with the
world’ s growing feet of aircraft at a time when engineers are coming
under increasing pressure on the job,
making the industry less attractive to
new recruits.
“ This industry is 24/7 and has a harsh demand on a person’ s time,” says Alex Choo, assistant honorary
secretary of the Singapore Institute of
Aerospace Engineers (SIAE), as well as
a qualified engineer.
Choo was addressing delegates Nov. 2
at AVIATION WEEK ’ s MRO Asia conference and exhibition in
Singapore.
He says the shortage of skilled and
qualified maintenance engineers
means those that are in the industry
are being required to work longer hours.
Choo says many MRO firms are trying
to make up for their staff shortfall by
poaching from other MRO companies.
The other tactic MRO firms are using is
to recruit maintenance engineers from the air force or related industries such
as the marine industry, he says.

DGCA ’ s CAR-21 regulations ground Saras in NAL hangar

The new civil aviation
requirement (CAR-21) regulations of
the Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA), has become a stumbling block
to India’ s first multi-purpose civilian aircraft programme, Saras.
The Saras programme, which suffered
a serious setback following a tragic
crash last year, is now awaiting the
aviation regulator to complete its
audit, based on the CAR-21 regulations at the Bangalore-based
National Aerospace Laboratories
(NAL) which is the designer of the
aircraft.
MS Chidananda, head of NAL ’ s Centre for Civil Aircraft Design and
Development said that until DGCA
completes its audit based on the
CAR-21 regulations it would not be
able to go ahead with the project
which has already overshot its deadline for the aircraft certification.

Kingfisher launching 14 new flights

Private sector carrier Kingfisher Airlines has announced the
launch of 14 new flights on seven
routes with effect from December 15.
The new flights include two additional
flights on the New Delhi-Hyderabad
route, taking the total number of daily flights on this route to three in each
direction.
There will be an additional flight on
the New Delhi-Chennai route, taking
the total number of daily flights on this
route to two in each direction. The airline has also introduced two
new flights each on the New Delhi-
Bhubaneswar and the Mumbai-
Lucknow routes, a press release from
the company said.

EASA LICENCES FOR NON-EASA member Country aircraft engineers

Excerpt from UK-CAA ELGD A7

NON-EASA AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS
A9.2 Category B1

EASA do not recognise licences and
qualifications gained outside of the
EASA Member States, including
qualifications gained from JAR/
Part-145 organisations outside of the
EU Member States, where approval has been given based upon local
requirements, which may differ
markedly from those of the UK. This
also includes JAR/Part-145 approvals
issued by the UK CM.