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FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. announced a new contract, following the issuance of an advanced contract notice, for the acquisition and delivery of aircraft meteorological data relay (AMDAR) data by FLYHT and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
FLYHT and the ECCC have entered into a contract whereby FLYHT collects and delivers upper air meteorological data from Canadian commercial aircraft to be used for data quality testing purposes. This testing will be conducted by ECCC-Meteorological Service of Canada’s (MSC) Canadian Center for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction (CCMEP).
In the first phase of the contract, valued at $63,000, specialized AMDAR software (which measures temperature and wind on commercial aircraft) will be installed and run on FLYHT’s automated flight information reporting system (AFIRSTM) satellite communication system, accessing information from the aircraft data bus and preparing specially encoded messages for transmission to the Meteorological Service. The estimated total value of the contract, including options, is $166,000.
The ECCC launches weather balloons equipped with a radiosonde, a package of electronics, sensors and batteries to capture weather data. This weather data is augmented by a variety of satellite and other data sources for use in weather forecasting. The AMDAR data collected by FLYHT’S AFIRS system provides additional key aircraft-based weather data which has been proven to greatly improve forecasting accuracy.
AMDAR data differs from tropospheric airborne meteorological data reporting (TAMDARTM) data. AMDAR data is collected strictly from sensors such as air speed indicators and temperature probes which are part of the aircraft when it is manufactured. TAMDAR is a sensor deployed by FLYHT that is purpose-built and installed on aircraft to capture additional environmental data such as relative humidity, icing and turbulence.
“We are excited to see this partnership come to fruition and keen to see how our different real-time collection systems can make a positive impact,” said FLYHT’s chief executive officer Thomas R. Schmutz. “FLYHT’s unique ability to capture, process, and transmit weather data in real-time should be very useful for the CCMEP. We hope to ultimately augment our services with the TAMDAR reporting system. This could supplement the overall weather balloon program, increase forecast accuracy and reduce overall program costs in the long term.”
Depending on the level of AMDAR compatibility with the various airlines/aircraft of interest, the work required to obtain and deliver the data will be conducted in phases. Additional services options may be exercised to expand and continue data supply for the longer term, pending data quality testing results.
