New landing system at Brandon airport needed?

[spongebob]

BRANDON — People in Brandon, Manitoba say a recent incident at their airport reinforces their call for the installation of a new landing system.

A Lifeflight air ambulance was unable to pick up a patient yesterday morning due to heavy snowfall.

Dave Wall of Maple Leaf Aviation says the incident could have been avoided if the airport “got out of the Dark Ages” and installed an Instrument Landing System (ILS).

The system provides precision guidance to aircraft approaching the runway using a combination of radio signals and high-intensity lights.

Nav Canada spokesperson Nadege Adam says the presence of an ILS is based on need, and that traffic in Brandon is rather low.
The patient was safely transferred to Winnipeg about four hours later when the skies cleared and the plane returned.

Chief Brent Dane of the Brandon Fire and Emergency Services could not comment on the patient’s status.

“If we had an ILS, they would’ve completed the approach and landed in Brandon,” Wall said about the plane’s original attempt to land.

“The weather was about half-mile visibility with a vertical visibility of 500 feet, and that’s in the parameters of an ILS.”

The cost of the system is more than $1 million.

“What is the value of one life? Can we put a value on that life?” Wall asked.

Adam disputed that an ILS would have enabled the pilot to land, claiming visibility was reduced beyond the system’s parameters.

“The pilot couldn’t see the runway until he was literally on top of it,” Adam said. “The pilot’s first attempt wasn’t successful.”

In 2007-08 Lifeflight made 43 trips to Brandon, and about 500 trips throughout the province, said a spokesperson for Manitoba Health.
Statistics on weather-related delays that affect takeoff and landing aren’t included in government records.

-- Brandon Sun

Uhmm... 1 million dollars for an ILS at an airport that has 2 scheduled flights per day.... dream on!

[Liquid Charlie]

Well sounds like a good candidate for LPV approaches. -- so there is the toss up -- government and ILS or a commercial operator upgrading their equipment -- damn I see people still running around with 2100's --

[just curious]

An LNAV approach would have served that purpose. Brandon has been crying for regular service without success, since Nordair, in the de-reg days. I was just glad to hear the airport was still open.

[bezerker]

Do they still have that lone tree, about a mile back on the centerline of 08? It stood out pretty good when the fields were snow covered. That tree helped as much as the NDB did on more than a few low vis days. Quite a bit cheaper than an ILS.

[CE-750Driver]

Hey All

I remember doing the NDB 08 in C-GFXM, and the VOR/DME 26 and looking for the Bolingbroke fuselages in the field 4 miles form the airport everytime.....good times...

Can't imagine NavCanada installing ILS' anymore. With the cost and complexity involved, compared to an GPS approach, wouldn't imagine they are going to comission any new ILS Approach, anywhere, in the future. Could be totally wrong....

Gord

1 1/2 yrs in YBR and 800 hrs on C-GFXM and C-GECA

[Cobra64]

Ya isn't it the point of GPS approaches that they can design precision approaches without needing ILS systems or other ground based aids.

[CP]

Gotta put ILSs and paved runways at all the resrves first!

[Nark]

Is there a link that shows the WAAS coverage for Canada?

Imagine the never-interrupted flow of pop and chips into Shamattawa thanks to lower mins? Oh yeah medevac's too.

Do you suppose the Bands would pay carriers for Garmin 430W's?



I'll ask the boss for one in the cub for Christmas... but then it'll mean we have to get some sort of power source installed...

This business gets complicated.

[Minimums]

But think of how many residents of Shamattawa would be able to get on their regular scheds if they didn't miss as often as they did until they had their ILS. Besides, I'm sure they could get the government to pay for it once they throw a protest, cause a fire, flood, burn a car on the runway, or something of the usual nature.

On a serious note, 1 million may sound like a lot, and well, it is. However, if you consider the cost to the taxpayer of just that one medevac flight, we'll ballpark it at say $4000 to the Canadian taxpayer(who doesn't really care, only 40some odd percent of us that voted anyway), and they missed 6 times a year, thats 24,000 grand down the scoop for nothing, from one airplane, per year. Of course there are maintanence costs, traffic considerations, and like the article stated, can you really put a price on a life? Its odd that air traffic has picked up dramatically in the last few years, yet Navcanada has done nothing but de-regulate airspace, close airports and landing systems. Any who said aviation is all about safety, and nothing like a business.....or was that the other way around..

[planett]

I'd love to see an ILS in CYBR.

The airport would be better served by an LPV approach, and it is actually quite well equipped as it is today. CYBR is served by very few scheds but many medevacs. Many medevacs are dispatched to the north as well.

If medevacs have any importance in this discussion, then why is Swan River without an approach for 8 months now, likewise, why are many RCAP approaches in the north due to be revoked in the next year? In the U.S., LPV approaches now outnumber ILS's (1300). Why does Canada only have about three LPV's? Is NavCanada actually providing the service they are paid for?

[Jug]

Airport's ILS ready for flight commissioning

0 Comments | Brandon Sun, The, Aug 10, 2010 | by Dowd, Allison


A brand new Instrument Landing System at the Brandon Municipal Airport will be given an official test run this week.

Installation of the $1.6-million system -- which will provide precision guidance for aircraft approaching the runway using a combination of radio signals and high-intensity lights on the ground -- is nearly complete and will be ready for Nav-Canada officials to undertake a flight commissioning on Thursday.

"The civil work is 100 per cent done," says Rod Sage, the city's general manager of operations. "Now, it's just a matter of getting all the electronics set up. They're like a bunch of bees up there right now, trying to get everything set up for that date."

In addition to high intensity lighting that has been installed along the airfield's runway, two buildings that hold the electronic "guts" of the operation and a substantial radio antennae have also been set up on-site.

Once the technology is commissioned, it is technically available for use by any airplanes with the appropriate ILS gauges. Medivac flights or the Canadian Armed Forces, for example, can use the ILS as soon as it is up and running.

However, it will still be several months before the new technology is officially authenticated.

"Once Nav-Canada approves the ILS and approves that it can be published, it gets put into the Canadian Flight Supplement, which pilots use. But until that happens, there's not much that you can do for a grand opening," Sage said.

The city received $500,000 from both the federal and provincial governments to help fund the ILS, with the city kicking in approximately $530,000 from its coffers.

The remaining $150,000 or so is being raised through a Westman-wide private sector campaign, headed up by Virden-based airline transport pilot and businessman Scott Andrew and Brandon businessman Don Penny.

That campaign has raised about $15,000 to date, Sage said.

[fish4life]

well at least everyone will have a good alternate now

[sigmet77]

"Traffic has risen dramatically over the last few years". Really? Where? Traffic is slowly climbing but that is about it; with the exception of places like Fredericton. Airline and charter companies need to get with the times and prepare for PBN and forget about expensive land-based navaids.

[hs748]

Hey All

I remember doing the NDB 08 in C-GFXM, and the VOR/DME 26 and looking for the Bolingbroke fuselages in the field 4 miles form the airport everytime.....good times...

Can't imagine NavCanada installing ILS' anymore. With the cost and complexity involved, compared to an GPS approach, wouldn't imagine they are going to comission any new ILS Approach, anywhere, in the future. Could be totally wrong....

Gord

1 1/2 yrs in YBR and 800 hrs on C-GFXM and C-GECA

I thought you got on at WJ?

[The People's Pilot]

well at least everyone will have a good alternate now

this...

according to the YBR airport manager there was some pressure from WJ/AC to install an ILS at YBR for alternate purposes when flying to YWG.

[W0XOF]

Hey All

I remember doing the NDB 08 in C-GFXM, and the VOR/DME 26 and looking for the Bolingbroke fuselages in the field 4 miles form the airport everytime.....good times...

Can't imagine NavCanada installing ILS' anymore. With the cost and complexity involved, compared to an GPS approach, wouldn't imagine they are going to comission any new ILS Approach, anywhere, in the future. Could be totally wrong....

Gord

1 1/2 yrs in YBR and 800 hrs on C-GFXM and C-GECA

CYKA late '09

[Connor M]

No the tree is gone. Someone cut it down on boxing day in 2003.

[fish4life]

its going to be a great ILS... except they installed it on the wrong runway... most of the winds in manitoba come from the west yet they installed the ILS for runway 08... typical government planning

[tangomike]

While the prevailing winds may be from the West, winds from the East are more likely to bring the low visibility/ceiling conditions.

[skymarc]

Why would you spend $1.6m on an ILS when you can get an LPV GPS approach installed on both runways for about $50k with a 250' min or 200' if you install the approach lights.

USA as more LPV approcahes now than ILS and here in Canada we have less than 20 and a lot of these are private.
And by the way LPV GPS approaches are easier to fly and way more precise.