Last 26th of July, CANARD performed the calibration for the commissioning of 2 PAPI systems at a small regional airport in a remote island of a South Pacific nation. This marks a milestone, as it was CANARD’s first operation in the region.
The installation of the new LED PAPI units was part of the project to improve the infrastructures at the airport, with a runway extension and new terminal being built to allow larger planes to reach the remote island.
Right after the PAPI installation was complete, CANARD performed the calibration of the system using our drone and software tools. With a 4 minutes of flight with our solution, we provided the adjustments needed for the PAPI units. After the airport personnel adjusted the PAPI according to the indications of our system, a final measurement was performed with a short flight, verifying the correct configuration of the light units. The same process was performed on the other runway header, leaving both PAPI systems correctly adjusted and commissioned for the airport.
It is specially important to remark that light rain was present during the whole operation, but it did not prevent us from doing the job. With our solution, we can take advantage of small windows without rain and even fly with light rain.
This operation was a good example on how our solutions can help airports save money. This is specially true for small and remote airports such as this one, as we helped save more than $30,000 in compared to the costs of having to bring a flight inspection aircraft from a nearby country.
Our solution was also very helpful for our installation partner, as we helped them quickly commission the PAPI so they can focus on the rest of activities that they have to carry out in a project like this.
We would like to thank the CAA, Aviation Renewables, and all personnel involved in the operation for trusting in our solution and helping us deliver another successful calibration.