CANARD Drones, a Spanish company, flew a specially-equipped UAS at the Mineral Wells Regional Airport (KMWL) to demonstrate their system’s capability to evaluate and calibrate the airport’s Instrument Landing System. The demonstration project was arranged by Russell Julian, CEO of Texas UASWERX, a Texas company involved in UAS pilot and crew training, flight testing, and research.
The demonstration flights were observed by twenty-five aviation industry, FAA, and military guests. The purpose of the event was to demonstrate that the CANARD drone could replace the current ILS calibration methods used in the United States that typically require an aircraft with a cost of several thousand dollars per calibration. The use of the CANARD system mounted on a UAS will result in very significant cost savings over the other methods.
For this demonstration, CANARD showcased their Calibration Tool App, which provides real-time ILS data while the drone is flying its autonomous flights. Several measurements are possible with CANARD’s done, including glidepath width, fluctuation and transverse check, as well as localizer course structure, fluctuation, course alignment, width, check, along with balance of modulations, and frequency offsets and separation.
CANARD provides drone-based solutions for navigation aids and airport inspections for both civil and military airports. This event was one of a growing number of UAS-related activities taking place at locations on the airport using the facilities of the Texas Advanced Technology Center, as well as other test sites in Parker and Palo Pinto Counties.
Source: Press Release