Reliable Weather Information to Increase Flight Safety at Small Airports

Helsinki, Finland, Vaisala introduces a new aviation weather system that has been developed specifically to the needs of small airports and helipads. Designed as efficient but affordable, the Vaisala AviMet® Small Airport System improves flight safety on smaller, uncategorized airports by providing continuous, real-time weather reports to pilots and airport operators.

Information on current weather conditions is just as important for safe take-offs and landings on small airports as it is on larger ones. The level of flight safety can be increased tremendously by measuring even the very basic weather parameters, such as temperature, humidity, pressure and wind. Still, a lot of small airports have no weather systems in place or the systems in use are insufficient.

This is simply due to the fact that standard commercial aviation weather systems are based on large airport’s needs and regulatory compliance requirements, which means that they are easily too complex and expensive for smaller airports. The Vaisala AviMet® Small Airport System was designed specifically to resolve this issue, which means that the system delivers full ICAO compliant weather observations in a scope and a price range that is optimized to smaller airport use.

“Despite its name, there’s nothing small in the Small Airport System’s capabilities, and it is not a downgraded larger system either. As the global leader in developing AWOS solutions to categorized airports, we wanted to take that expertise and create a complete Vaisala system to match the specific needs of uncategorized airports. With this new system, they now have what they need to boost the safety of their operations”, Hannu Katajamäki, head of Vaisala’s Airports business says.

The entry-level configuration provides basic temperature, pressure and wind measurements, and being fully modular, the system expands easily to include cloud height and coverage, visibility, precipitation and lightning data, for example. The system is also fully automatic, which means that it is effortless to use and requires very little maintenance. Data is presented in an ICAO compliant format and it is available in visual web format and as an audio message through VHF radio or telephone. The system also provides auto-generated aviation reports in METAR format.

The Vaisala AviMet® Small Airport System is introduced for the first time at the ATC Global 2011 event in Amsterdam this week. Come meet us (stand #D518a) to learn more.

About Vaisala
Vaisala is a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. Building on 35 years of experience in developing aviation weather solutions, Vaisala has become the preferred choice for leading airports in the world when they need a partner they can rely on. The Vaisala AviMet product family is the world’s most trusted airport weather observing and decision making support system, providing a common solution platform for all weather affected operations at an airport.

www.vaisala.com/smallairportsystem