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2004
NAV CANADA-FAA Agreement to Improve Satellite-Based Approaches
NAV CANADA-FAA Agreement to Improve Satellite-Based Approaches
NAV CANADA today announced an agreement with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to further extend the benefits of satellite navigation technology for all aircraft operators who fly in Canadian airspace.
NAV CANADA's customers have been using the global positioning system (GPS) to fly more efficiently since the early 1990s. The agreement will see the extension of the FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) into Canada, involving the construction of four monitoring stations. This will result in a significant improvement in GPS navigational performance for satellite-based approaches in Canada and in the northern part of the lower 48 states by late 2005.
"We welcome this new collaborative agreement with the FAA, which promises to deliver significant benefits to our customers through increased accessibility to many airports," said John Crichton, NAV CANADA President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Being a part of the WAAS system also demonstrates the value to our customers of sharing technology and thus avoiding the cost of developing duplicate systems – an approach we have already successfully pursued with our home-grown technology solutions."
Aircraft receivers will use GPS/WAAS signals to pinpoint lateral and vertical position to within 2 metres with very high reliability, allowing pilots to fly approaches with vertical guidance in cloud to as low as 250 feet above ground without any approach system infrastructure at an airport. Today's GPS approaches do not provide vertical guidance, and typical minimum altitudes are 100 to 300 feet higher, resulting in more flight disruptions due to weather.
While the current ground-based instrument landing systems installed at many Canadian airports allow descent to 200 feet above the ground in cloud, each comes at a cost of about $1 million.
Said Crichton: "The comparative cost of GPS/WAAS approaches, once the system is installed, will be much lower. So our customers stand to benefit in two ways – through greater efficiency in flight and through a more cost effective air navigation system."
The terms of the agreement cover the installation of monitoring stations in Winnipeg, Goose Bay, Gander and Iqaluit. NAV CANADA will provide the sites and maintain the stations.
The Canadian WAAS stations will be combined with others in the USA and Mexico to provide seamless service in North America.
The WAAS has four main components: monitoring stations installed at selected locations, master stations, uplink stations and geostationary satellites. The monitoring stations assess the quality of the signals from each GPS satellite and send data to master stations which in turn create the WAAS signal. The WAAS signal is then uplinked to geostationary satellites orbiting over the equator, which rebroadcast the signal to aircraft on the GPS frequency. Telesat Canada will provide WAAS service from its Anik F1R satellite, to be launched in 3Q 2005.
NAV CANADA, the country's provider of civil air navigation services, is a private, non-share capital corporation with operations coast to coast providing air traffic control, flight information, weather briefings, aeronautical information, airport advisory services and electronic aids to navigation.
For further information, please contact:
Louis Garneau
Manager, Media Relations
NAV CANADA
(613) 563-5972
NAV CANADA Media Information Line: 1-888-562-8226
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