Lockheed Martin (Stand 1975) is installing its WindTracer windshear and turbulence-detection system at Dubai International Airport (DXB), where it will be used to detect aircraft wake vortices, thus allowing for increased runway utilization. Two WindTracers have been installed this year and a third one is to follow in the first quarter of next year, Michael Margulis, WindTracer program director, told AIN. WindTracer is a long-range, 3-D-scanning pulsed doppler lidar-based system.
The idea at DXB is to build a realistic model of the turbulence caused by large aircraft, rather than having a gross estimate and applying large safety margins. Such conservative separation distances between aircraft cause a loss of capacity at the airport. The WindTracers at DXB will be used for statistical data collection, and the resulting database will be used to change air traffic control (ATC) flight rules, Margulis said.
