- Foreign crew arrives Nigeria, Omni Blue contracted as backup
- Done with Pre Calibration brief
INFORMATION reaching Nigerianflightdeck indicates that Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has carried out its pre-calibration brief and calibration exercise will commence with Doppler Omni-Directional Range (VOR) and the CAT III Instrument Landing System(ILS) in Lagos.
Our correspondent learnt that the airspace managers maybe calibrating the navigational aids of all the nations airports including ongoing installation of Enugu new ILS/DME which will be ready soon with the nation’s newly acquired King Air 350i calibration airplane with Omni Blue as a backup in case of failure.
It was gathered that Omni Blue became a variable in the equation because this was the first calibration being conducted with the new aircraft.
Already, Certified Flight Instructors and pilots from UK have arrived Nigeria for the exercise and will be around for 3 weeks to carry out this calibration exercise while Nigerian crew, it was learnt, will undergo On the Job Training (OJT) during the exercise.https://nigerianflightdeck.com/2020/01/13/five-months-after-acquisition-8-5-million-calibration-aircraft-continues-to-gather-dust-investigation/
Our source said, “Certified Flight Instructors and pilots from UK have arrived Nigeria for the exercise and will be here for 3 weeks. We are using the newly acquired Calibration Aircraft to calibrate our facilities. To be sure that the exercise does not fail, we have also engaged Omni Blue as a backup in case of any failure being the first exercise to be conducted with the new calibration aircraft.
“Our Nigerian crew will be trained as well during the exercise as part of the exposure necessary for their certification. All the nations Airport including the ongoing installation of Enugu new ILS/DME which will be ready by next week.
“Today is for pre-calibration brief. Tomorrow the aircraft will be operated and we will commence the calibration exercise. We are hopeful to commence with Lagos DVOR and CATIII
Recall, Nigerianflightdeck investigations during the week reported that the $8.5 million King Air 350i calibration airplane acquired by Federal Government for calibration of Navigational aids was not operational because of numerous factors.
The news portal also reported that the seeming abandonment of that aircraft for over 5 months would cost the nation N152million this week to hire a third party for the calibration of navigational aids.
Calibration is a process that ensures the safety of air navigation principally by conducting regular flight inspection, calibration of test equipment/avionics systems, surveillance of airspace systems, and certification of navigation aids/ associated facility in accordance with the stipulated procedures as recommended in ICAO document 8071, annexes 10 (vol. I & II) and 14 as well as NCAA regulations.
Calibration of Instrument Landing System (ILS) are done twice a year-February and November, every six months because of the level of accuracy required. while Very High Frequency (VHF) Omni-Directional Range (VOR) is calibrated once in a year, and the radar system is once every three years. If there is repair work on any of the navigational equipment, or total replacement, it has to be calibrated.
