Latest News

Aug. 31, 2011 - From Drawing to Reality

CHEVRON NIGERIA – ESCRAVOS Control TOWER

It took many hours in very challenging circumstances but from drawing to reality, it was 9 months. IN January 2009, Approach Navigation Systems was awarded the contract to design and manufacture the cab portion for the control tower at Escravos, Nigeria. Located on the Niger delta south east of Lagos, this area is densely populated and is sometimes called the oil rivers because of a long history of Palm oil. Now, it seems a new oil flows from this area, contributing to Nigeria being the 5th largest producer of oil.

Getting this oil requires many coordination feats which include the transportation of workers and the Escravos area is no stranger to the sound of aircraft. The Escravos airport maintains levels of 300 or more movements per day and thus the need for control for safe operations is very evident. .....

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May 4, 2011 - April-May 2011 - News

To our customers;

One of the most striking photos we have taken over the years is the one shown on the front page of our Website. This is a C130 Hercules on approach over the localizer antennas located at a mining operation in the Canadian Arctic.

Canadian mining operations in the north, use aviation as the lifeline for transport of goods and personnel back and forth. Approach Navigation has been involved with the supply and installation of navigation and weather equipment for many of Canada’s mines and exploration activities. At most of these facilities, an AWOS (Automated Weather Observation System) has been installed and is still the primary weather data collection instrument used at the mines.

One of the mines employed a NDB (Non-Directional Beacon) and a co-located DME (Distance Measuring Equipment). Together with these instruments the approach procedures allowed the approaching aircraft to get down to decision heights below the 400 foot level. This was an acceptable limit during the early phases of the mine. However, as the mine grew with its success, so did the waste pile of rock. Being that this particular mine is located on an island, where could all this rock go. The only place available was up, so as the waste piles grew in size, so did their infringement of protected airspace.

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Read the complete Newsletter by downloading the Official Press Release

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March 25, 2011 - LED Lights - Certified

March 25, 2011

Effective immediately, the PEARL lights are fully compliant with both CERTIFIED and REGISTERED aerodromes in Canada. A review of Transport Canada publication TP-312(REV 3) has shown the LED Lights are indeed fully compliant to the standards of candelas. Please see the PEARL Brochure for more information

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Jan. 15, 2011 - Newsletter

To our customers

It has been 5 years since Approach Navigation Systems Inc. has issued newsletters to our many customers, sometimes in the growth and development of a company; our efforts are directed to existing and new projects which have taken us all over the globe.

In an effort to keep Canadian Airports better informed in the newest technologies available to them it is our intention to renew our newsletters on a quarterly basis.

In this newsletter we want to focus on the new PEARL (Packaged Elevated Airfield Runway Lighting) system. We currently have two of these systems installed and a third one will be completed in May of 2011. What makes this system so great? How about reduced operating costs, reduced installation costs and reduced purchase prices. The system meets the standards currently for the registered aerodromes with medium intensity and in September at SWIFT in Montreal the new Transport Canada Publication 312 (TP312) will be revealed. Based on the new criteria, which we have seen, the PEARL will qualify for certified airports as well.

The PEARL is the only LED lighting system with this capability and here is why it will replace most of the runway lighting configurations in place;

• No Isolation Transformers
• Automatic dual circuit configurations
• Power consumption reduced by as much as 85%
• Little to no maintenance
• Cost of purchase and install reduced by as much as 30%

For example, at one airport in Northern Alberta, we operate a runway of 4000 feet with approach lights at both ends and the total power consumption at a night time setting is 69 watts, that is correct, 69 watts. In other words if you leave the light in the office on by mistake, you have more than doubled the power consumption of the system. Add to this that there are no lights to burn out and each LED is guaranteed to maintain its intensity for more than ten years makes this system the future of airfield lighting for over 80% of the airports in Canada.

For more information on the PEARL, please contact us for a quotation for your facility.

Approach Navigation continues to be the leader in AWOS (Automated Weather Observation Systems) in Canada and are currently installing or have just completed new systems in Bonaventure Quebec, Manitouwadge Ontario, Mount Laurier Quebec, Ekati Diamond Mines and Suncor Firebag airport. ANS supplies different AWOS as required to fit the customer needs and thus our customers are not encouraged to use one over the other, we can supply either Vaisala, All Weather Inc or Belfort Instruments to best meet our customer requirements.

Our Roadway/Runway Weather Information Systems installed and maintained throughout the country now number over 100 systems. We maintain these networks with installation, maintenance, data collection as well as improving the camera usage to now provide 24 hours illumination of the sites.

In March 2011, the instrument approach procedures will be published for our latest ILS installation at the City of Brandon, Manitoba. ANS supplied, installed and certified the facility which included the installation of Localizer, Glidepath and DME facilities. On top of this to attain best usage of the approach procedure, ANS supplied and installed the high intensity SSALR on runway 08. This project was completed on budget, on time and to the complete satisfaction of The City of Brandon. We wish to thank all those involved at the Brandon Airport for their assistance and confidence in ANS for this project.

2011 looks to be another growth year for ANS and while we will still be involved with projects abroad, our main work this year will be in Canada. In our next newsletter, we will tell the story of how we provided two solutions to projects in the Canadian Arctic and Nigeria.

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Sept. 8, 2010 - Brandon Municipal Airport Instrument Landing System

Brandon, MB – The General Manager of Operational Services for the City of Brandon is pleased to announce the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for the Brandon Municipal Airport is now installed, pending Nav Canada approval and publication in early 2011.

The Brandon Municipal Airport would like to thank Approach Navigation Systems Inc. for completing this project in a timely, professional manner. “Without all their assistance in completing this project including preliminary plans, this ILS project would not have been possible” said Mr. Sage. Approach Navigation Systems Inc. has a wealth of knowledge in this area of the aviation industry and the Brandon Municipal Airport is very fortunate to have this resource.

The Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments contribution in the investment of an ILS at The Brandon Municipal Airport will allow the City of Brandon and Southwestern Manitoba the opportunity to improve the long-term economics of this region by diversifying the local economy, providing alternatives to economic barriers for airport development, increased safety for life flights, and enhancing the overall quality of life for residents in the South Western Manitoba Community.

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Jan. 2, 2010 - Airfield Lighting Advancement

What is the single most advancement in airfield lighting? Simply put it's LED systems. Many airports have installed LED lighting systems adapted to the existing infrastructure but what about new installs and how is it beneficial?

Adding LED lights to an existing infrastructure will save on maintenance because of the proven reliability of the LED as opposed to having bulbs burn out, but do you save any energy? Not really when you consider that the isolation transformer has an efficiency of only 80% to be added to their own power consumption.

This proves to be both expensive and no real savings from power consumption. When a true LED system, such as the ones currently installed by Approach Navigation Systems, is installed there are major advantages to the cost, maintenance and operation. First consider the capital costs; with a LED system there are no isolation transformers, There is much lower voltage used and this means less expensive conductors used between lights. Then there is maintenance costs where there are no bulbs to burn out since each LED has a service life exceeding ten years with a guaranteed intensity. Finally there are the operating costs. Because of the low power consumption of the LED system each LED draws 3 watts at maximum power. Translate this to a 4000 ft runway with threshold and end lights, and say about 10 taxi lights and your total power at max setting is less than 700 Watts, as compared to a conventional system at approximately 4,000 Watts for the same thing. This is at max settings, for lower setting the saving are greater since LED’s track linearly while conventional are more logarithmic. For example at 10 % light output the LED system draws less than 70 watts while the conventional draws about 1800 watts.

Given regulatory considerations, the PEARL (Packaged Elevated Runway Lighting System) is approved for installation currently in Canada for all registered aerodromes up to medium lighting systems, when the new TP312 is released (Sept), this will include certified aerodromes.

ANS is currently installing one new system in Manitoba in May of this year followed by a planned 9 more systems this year. Please see our brochure on the PEARL and contact ANS for more info on this revolutionary new airfield lighting development

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