NAVAID Calibration Drone by Cursir helped to speed up the flight check of the landing system of the Ulyanovsk airport

Last year, by order of the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia, a working group was created on the implementation of UAVs to calibrate, check and configure navigation aids at Russian airports. As part of the activities of this working group, Cursir implemented NAVAID Calibration Drone at the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airport.

NAVAID Calibration Drone is a mobile radio measuring complex developed by Cursir (subsidiary company, R&D department of RTS Union). It was used to pre-configure the radio equipment system at the Ulyanovsk airport. The use of Drone made it possible to reduce the number of flights of a specialized aircraft (a flying laboratory), speed up NAVAID commissioning and cut maintenance costs.

NPO RTS, the head structure of RTS Union, is carrying out a contract for the installation of an ILS 734 (instrument landing system) and an RDF 734 (radio direction finder) at the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport. At the stage of commissioning, NPO RTS engaged Cursir to carry out system checks using NAVAID Calibration Drone. In June 2021, the Drone performed diagnostic flights, during which it obtained data for preliminary adjustment of ground equipment.

Alexander Tyurkin (Lead commissioning engineer, NPO RTS) said: "The aerodrome of the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airport has a difficult terrain, which complicates the preliminary configuration of the equipment. The use of a NAVAID Calibration Drone made it possible to set up the system in a short time and prepare for control flights performed by a special flight inspection aircraft."

Vitaly Munirov (CEO, Cursir) emphasized that the use of NAVAID Calibration Drone radically changes the nature of commissioning, accelerates and reduces the cost of further flight inspections.

"Thanks to the use of a UAS platform, it is possible to perform preliminary configuration of the equipment without the involvement of a flight inspection aircraft. The cost of operating a NAVAID Calibration Drone is noticeably lower than that of a specialized aircraft, and the extensive functionality makes it possible to effectively solve a significant part of the tasks that arise during flight check of radio aids," he said.