Join our Web-Seminar session on the unique NavAidDrone

Wednesday, 28^th October

Experts from Colibrex and FCS Flight Calibration Services will explain the purposes, challenges and enormous benefits of ILS inspection by drone. The Web-Seminar will be complemented by various videos of measurement flights and software demonstration

NavAidDrone opens new ways for NavAids inspection

• Targeted applications and key advantages of using drones for NavAids inspection
• Comprehensive system integration as key for accurate ILS measurements
• Software-based NavAids inspection workflow as facilitator for CNS engineers
• Example of GP and LOC measurements
• Q&A session

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy has recently published a brochure called "Unmanned flying in the service of man, nature and society".
Read more about the article of Colibrex that has been published in this brochure (Article and brochure in GERMAN):

Download the Article

Go to the brochure page of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy

Go to the general publications page of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy

Beginning of November 2018, the NavAidDrone from Colibrex and FCS Flight Calibration Services was employed at Hannover International Airport in Germany during the commissioning of a new Instrument Landing System. As part of the measurement process of the Glide Path antenna, our team conducted several measurement flights to generate very precise DDM (Difference of Depth of Modulation) measurement curves above and below the 3° approach path of the new 09R ILS at 1 km distance from the threshold. The measurement flights were monitored not only in the control tower of Hannover airport, but also at the DFS headquarters in Langen via the new DFS/Telekom U:CON drone tracking system. The flights were very successful and form an important impulse for the rapid operational introduction of measurement drones for ground measurements of the numerous Instrument Landing Systems installed worldwide.

Watch the video

Lichtenau / Baden, Germany, 5^th March 2018 – Following a joint-development effort with FCS Flight Calibration Services GmbH, LS telcom’s Colibrex announces the launch of NavAidDrone, a drone-based system for navigational aid (NAVAID) inspections.
The NavAidDrone is used for field measurements required for commissioning and regular maintenance of Instrument Landing Systems (ILS). It will support Air Navigation Service Providers, NAVAID system manufacturers, and CNS (communication, navigation, surveillance) installation and maintenance service engineers. The system can also perform VOR and GBAS measurements with additional software included.
Measurement data, processed by the NavAidDrone, will now be available for areas that cannot be accessed by vehicles or conventional telescopic masts and for which measurement was therefore previously not possible. For instance, the NavAidDrone measures localizer coverage with ease in a sector of ± 35° towards the antenna as it can be fully programmed to fly orbit paths. The airborne measurement system can also detect high frequency oscillations of ILS signals caused by buildings, cranes or other construction work obstacles.
Luc Haeberlé, Managing Director of Colibrex explains, “The integrated high-performing FCS receiver guarantees extremely accurate measurement results. At the same time, the flexible airborne platform delivers a much higher volume of measurement points and results, compared to ground measurements. Altogether, the measurement results obtained with the NavAidDrone are much more comprehensive and precise and improve ILS periodical measurements, adjustment and maintenance work substantially. At the same time, the use of NavAidDrone is more cost-effective and will also potentially reduce flight inspection hours.”
Rüdiger Schmidt, Managing Director of FCS, adds, “Drone-based ILS measurement opens the way to a new era in NAVAIDS inspection and FCS together with Colibrex are at the forefront of this exciting and complementary approach to flight inspection. Flight inspection and ground measurements should go hand in hand to ensure the best performance of our client's NavAids. Our exciting new technology very effectively bridges the gap between the two worlds.”
The NavAidDrone unites the flight inspection and receiving and processing expertise of FCS Flight Calibration Services GmbH and Colibrex’s expertise in the design and international commercial operation of unmanned aircraft systems for radio frequency measurements.
Colibrex and FCS are planning a follow-up development and launch of the “RadarDrone” to perform field measurements for commissioning, trouble-shooting and regular maintenance of military and civil radar and surveillance systems, including primary (PR) and secondary (SSR/MSSR) radar installations. The Air Navigation Service Providers and CNS maintenance staff, radar system manufacturers and radar service organisations will benefit from this new drone-based measurement technology.

More about NavAidDrones

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Malaysian Digital TV broadcaster MYTV verifies transmission installation via drone based measurements 

Rheinmuenster, Germany – Colibrex, the pioneer and worldwide market leader in drone based radio frequency measurements, today announced that it has recently completed countrywide antenna measurements for the Malaysian DVB-T2 broadcast operator MYTV Broadcasting Sdn Bhd. It is the first time that these drone measurements are performed in Asia.

The new Malaysian DVB-T2 broadcast operator MYTV is in the midst of implementing and rolling out their nationwide Digital TV network. As part of the network deployment, MYTV has to install new DVB-T2 transmitter systems all over the country. As most of the new antennas have to be mounted on existing towers, it is even more crucial to verify the transmission characteristics of these new installations.  

Colibrex and its long-standing Malaysian partner Wamata Solutions Sdn Bhd started work several months ahead of the actual measurements to obtain the necessary flight approvals and to schedule the flights. The work included organizing the logistics, coordinating the measurement flights with various authorities and obtaining appropriate approvals, e.g. from the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). 

The drone measurements enabled MYTV to detect installation errors, incorrect antenna configurations and factory faults on the newly installed antennas. MYTV was able to take immediate corrective measures together with the system supplier. 

“We are excited to be the first broadcaster in Asia to use Colibrex´s drone based measurement, and the results have been encouraging. Knowing how the antennas perform in their real environment and having the opportunity to immediately engage corrective measures with the system supplier or with the owner of the masts are of great benefit to MYTV. The Colibrex solution led to savings in both costs and time. We are already preparing the measurement of additional sites as we believe we will realize the same positive impact on our budget and time schedules as with the preceding measurements,” said Michael Chan, CEO of MYTV. 

Colibrex has already realized over eight hundred successful measurements in similar projects across Europe, Africa, North and South America. 

For more information please contact Info(at)Colibrex.com

LS telcom´s subsidiary Colibrex, the worldwide leader in airborne RF measurement, has recently completed broadcast measurements in Cedar Hill, Texas, USA, via unmanned aerial system (UAS, i.e. drone). The measurement validated both the horizontal and vertical transmission patterns of a newly installed broadband antenna for a television station. Leveraging the precision flight of the UAS combined with a specialized measurement payload, the key data was captured over a two-day period at the Cedar Hill facility beginning of this month, as part of the local network’s preparation for the upcoming repack.
“We are pleased to be able to bring this innovative technology to US broadcasters. As the industry faces the compressed time frame of the repack, Colibrex’s UAS Broadcast Measurement can optimize installations and rapidly provide broadcasters with the key baseline measurement of their network’s performance,” said Casey Joseph, Vice President of LS telcom Inc (LS telcom partner of Colibrex in the US). Broadcasters preparing for network equipment upgrades can include UAS Broadcast Measurement as a service in their network repack plans being filed with the FCC.
With over eight hundred successful measurements to its credit, Colibrex is the global leader in UAS Broadcast Measurement. The processes and procedures for these measurements have been approved for operations in over fifteen different countries around the world. For the Cedar Hill measurement, Colibrex operated via LS telcom Inc under an FAA approved Part 107 waiver giving access to the necessary airspace for the mission.

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