29 September 2008
The UK’s first GPS will be introduced at Shoreham Airport on 20 November this year. The CAA has approved RNAV Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) non-precision approach at the airport. Details of the approach are included in the UK Air Pilot update which is published on 9 October. Please note that the new charts/prodecures are different to those used in the trials last year.
The approval of this first GPS approach may well lead to a flood of other airports looking to get GPS approaches for their runways.
To qualify for a GPS approach, an airfield needs to be licensed, have a runway which meets the criteria required for an instrument runway, and have full ATC. Pilots wishing to fly the approaches need to have a current IR or IMC rating, and be flying an aircraft with a suitably approved nav installation.
Richard Taylor, Chairman of the CAA’s Communications, Navigation and Surveillance for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Steering Group, said: “The introduction of the GPS approach at Shoreham Airport is a significant development in the on-going project to make GNSS non-precision approaches available to UK GA pilots. The CAA would like to congratulate the team at Shoreham involved in developing the approach and the associated safety assurance.”
John Haffenden, Shoreham Airport’s Managing Director, said: “The CAA’s airspace policy and air traffic standards staff have worked with Shoreham to ensure that these new procedures can be made available, and produced and assisted in all the necessary approvals to make this happen.”
Well done to Shoreham for being the first of, we hope, many.
