Test flights for aircraft navigation begin at Noida Airport

Noida: With a maiden turboprop aircraft flight, the Noida International Airport this week started calibrating the ground-based radio navigation system at the greenfield facility. The airport, which is scheduled to start commercial operations by the end of this year, is located at Jewar, around 75 km from Delhi. "A bright and sunny day at #NIAirport set the perfect stage for a DVOR calibration flight, the first of many. The Beechcraft King Air B300 took to the skies, to ensure all @aai_official navigation equipment works flawlessly. #FromTheGroundUp," the airport posted on X on Thursday.

A calibration flight is an aviation operation conducted to verify and fine-tune the accuracy of navigation equipment used at airports, according to officials. During a calibration flight, specialized aircraft equipped with precise measurement instruments fly predefined patterns around the airport's airspace. These instruments collect data on the performance of various navigation aids, such as instrument landing systems (ILS), very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) stations, distance measuring equipment (DME), and Doppler VHF omnirange (DVOR) stations.

DVOR, which stands for Doppler VHF omnirange, is a type of ground-based radio navigation system used by aircraft for navigation. It provides pilots with accurate information about their position and direction relative to the DVOR station. DVOR stations emit VHF radio signals that aircraft receive and interpret to determine their bearing from the station. The significance of calibration flights and DVOR for an airport lies in ensuring the safety and efficiency of air navigation operations.