Starting October 2016, Regional Air Services SRL (as air operator) and Tuzla Airport “Alexandru Podgoreanu” are part in a CEF funding project financed by European Commission via The Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA). The project is called Synchronised PBN Implementation – Cohesion Europe (SPICE) and is main objective is the synchronised implementation of Performance-Based Navigation system across EU and is having EUROCONTROL as a coordinator.
Performance Based Navigation (PBN) exploits the advanced Area Navigation (RNAV) capabilities of modern aircraft to enable efficient airspace design and the systemization of air traffic routes.
The Action ‘SPICE' concerns the deployment of PBN procedures in four Cohesion Fund Member States, the equipment of aircraft with PBN capabilities and the deployment of navigation infrastructure. The benefit of a consolidated and harmonized approach is not only to increase the overall impact of the project - such as increased efficiency, reduced costs and reduced environmental impact - but also to capitalize on mutual experience and enforce best practices.
In the long run, the Action supports the optimization of available airspace.
Regional Air Services, as part in Activity 7 of the project, started internal efforts to organize the activity for a good implementation of the project. This efforts consisted in establishing the team in charge with the project implementation, responding to request from the project coordinator, establishing the technical request for the implementation, contacting future contractors and suppliers needed in the project.
We already scheduled for upgrade two of the aircrafts in the project, one (DA42 YR-SCF) in the Q1 of 2017 and the second one (DA40 YR-RAE), in the Q4 of the same year. The schedule was decided regarding the operation needs of the company and the available slots in the service centre.
In the beginning of April 2017, as scheduled, a DA42 aircraft (YR-SCF) got to the Diamond service center in Austria and got the SBAS upgrade being already back in service.
DA40 (YR-RAE) was scheduled for November 2017 and the second DA42 (YR-SCD) is set for 2018.
Due to operational requirements and the risk that we won’t be able to take the aircraft out of service in November as scheduled, we managed to make the upgrade of DA40 (YR-RAE) in May 2017, previous of the initial schedule.
The CEF Financing also includes PBN training for all the crew able to fly the upgraded aircrafts. The Crew Training activity is scheduled to take place in 2019.
Tuzla Airport “Alexandru Podgoreanu” is (via Romanian Airports Association) also part in the Activity 6 – PBN Deployment in Romania.
This activity covers the design, approval and aircraft equipage to operate RNAV SID/STARs and RNP APCH procedures using GNSS signal (EGNOS – European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) an seventeen Romanian airports published within the AIP: Tuzla, Sibiu, Baia Mare, Bacau, Tulcea, Suceava, Timisoara, Craiova, Arad, Constanta, Otopeni, Baneasa, Iasi, Oradea, Satu-Mare, Targu-Mures and Cluj-Napoca.
For each airport the following steps will be followed: Collection of obstacle data, RNAV SID/STAR and RNP APCH procedures design, Safety assessment, Fast Time Simulator, Perform flight validation, Publication of PBN procedures in AIP, Maintenance of PBN procedures.
