Overview
The CARE project – Curved Applications for Rotorcraft Environmental Enhancement – supported the definition of new rotorcraft IFR curved operations benefiting from SBAS guidance. In this project, on top of the innovative character of those procedures, the consortium really CARE about minimising noise impact. Concrete milestones were implemented to address various types of operational and regulatory issues that rotorcraft operators had to tackle. The CARE project brought state-of-the-art expertise in Air Traffic Management to meet the CleanSky JU objectives. A major Air Navigation Service Provider supported by the National Regulator, two specialised engineering companies and, procedure designers, have teamed up to ensure:
- The definition of tailored criteria for designing low noise optimised curved procedures for rotorcraft;
- The safety assessment of the new procedures;
- The identification of the benefits brought by those specific curved applications;
- The promotion of these new types of operations through the implementation of a concrete procedure;
- The appropriate dissemination of CARE results encompassing the organization of a dedicated user forum with the different Stakeholders.
Involved in GNSS projects and Air Traffic Management for many years, the Egis Avia Company led the consortium to help making the required breakthrough a reality.
Funding
Results
Executive Summary:
The CARE project provided complementary analysis related to the curved capabilities on top of the activities currently on-going in GARDEN project (GNSS-based ATM for Rotorcraft to DEcrease Noise). GARDEN project consisted of developing new IFR flight procedures based on the use of GNSS and enabling rotorcraft to reach busy airports fully independently of the airplane traffic operating from or to active runways. CARE obtained a complete overview of rotorcraft specific IFR procedures relying on GNSS benefiting from curved capabilities and SBAS improved positioning.
The objectives that had been achieved in the frame of this project were to:
- Identify the regulation baseline for rotorcraft curved IFR procedures;
- Assess the benefits of SBAS guidance for curved segments in rotorcraft IFR procedures including for SNI operations at airport;
- Design a Point in Space (PinS) SBAS curved approach;
- Contribute to CleanSky JU dissemination activities.
The main benefits were related to safety improvement for rotorcraft operations combined with noise minimisation.