Wake Vortex Measurements Start at Paris Charles De Gaulle

Eurocontrol, the Aéroport de Paris (ADP) and the French Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne (DSNA) have commenced wake vortex measurement at Paris Charles De Gaulle.

The measurements come from a Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies' WindTracer pulsed lidar mounted on the roof of a tower between Terminals 2A and 2C at the De Gaulle airport.  The system measures the wake vortices of departing and landing aircraft with an "eye-safe" infrared laser which is reflected by particles in the air, allowing a sensor to capture and analyze information about their movement.

Eurocontrol SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research Program) planners have said that more knowledge of the behavior of wake vortices might be a way to reduce the current ICAO-recommended separation minima for wake turbulence avoidance.

Peter Eriksen, who heads up Eurocontrol's airport research, said the use of this system will considerably reduce the time needed to determine the behavior of wake vortices between the two southern runways at Charles De Gaulle, which will then "allow us to make practical recommendations that could improve the use of closely spaced parallel runways in Europe."

Once the results of the study are available, a safety case will be developed to relax certain wake turbulence constraints concerning the operation of the runways in segregated mode, if appropriate.  Officials also believe the data collected will provide useful information for the restructuring of some operational features at the airport.  The project called WIDAO (wake-vortex independent departure and arrival operations) is financed jointly by DSNA and Eurocontrol with the courtesy support of ADP for practical implementation.  05-14-2007.

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