AERO Friedrichshafen is the main global trade show for general aviation in Europe.
More than 500 exhibitors including aircraft, avionics and engine manufacturers were on the display at the air show. This hi-tech platform offered an opportunity for the GSA to showcase the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and enhance public awareness of its benefits to the transport sector.
Since EGNOS was certified for civil aviation in March 2011, Safety-of-Life space-based navigation signals —vertically and horizontally — are now being used in landing approaches across Europe. The GSA's role at events such as these is to facilitate getting EGNOS-specific landing procedures published and available for general aviation.
Your aircraft is equipped… now get it certified!
“EGNOS for aviation safety” was one of the topics of the public presentations organised by GSA, EASA and AOPA. Michael Erb, Managing Director of Germany's AOPA, highlighted the importance of EGNOS in improving general aviation safety and stressed that EASA regulations seem complex compared to those in America. This makes the adoption of EGNOS and the certification process very slow. Reinhard Blasi, GSA Market Development Officer, underscored that the EGNOS signal is free of charge and covers all of Europe. This has major benefits for smaller airports not equipped with a conventional Instrument Landing System (ILS) and with limited economic resources. The use of LPV approach is a major advantage for them and enables pilots to take off and land even in bad weather and poor visibility conditions.
The three organisations will continue to work together in order to make the EGNOS-LPV approach more accessible in Europe.
Visitors learn more about EGNOS
Exhibition attendees visited the EGNOS stand to learn more about the service and how it works. Hans de With, GSA Market Development Officer for aviation, explained: “EGNOS improves the accuracy of position measurements, transmits signals that correct GPS data and provides information on its reliability. Thanks to its up-to-date space technologies, EGNOS offers enhanced vertical precision and integrity, improving safety, accessibility and efficiency to operators, pilots and airports all over Europe.”
Fostering European technologies
EGNOS marks the first fundamental step for Europe into the field of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Space technology applications act as an engine of economic growth, paving the way for Galileo—Europe’s global satellite navigation system.