A different kind of aircraft landed at Edmonton International Airport this past weekend as a highly specialized drone was used to conduct runway safety inspections as the airport continues to be a leader in the growing technology.
AERIUM Analytics, on behalf of EIA, flew a Microdrone md4-1000 to collect Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) and imagery data of EIA’s runways. The data collected will be used to more accurately predict when to conduct preventative maintenance on runways, taxiways and aircraft handling aprons, enhancing safety. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS or drone) operation was approved by Edmonton Airports in collaboration with Nav Canada and is part of the ongoing AERIUM RPAS operations at EIA, which is one of the only airports in Canada using this technology.
“RPAS technology is advancing quickly and is more and more useful to EIA,” says Steve Maybee, EIA VP of operations and infrastructure. “Thanks to the hard work of our Operations team and our partners in Nav Canada and AERIUM Analytics, our airport is a leader in this field, and we are fast approaching the point where drones are just part of the regular flight operations at EIA.”
EIA has 2 million square feet of runways, taxiways and aircraft handling aprons to maintain. The nationally recognized EIA maintenance program requires annual pavement inspections.
“We are honoured to be able to work with Edmonton International Airport on groundbreaking projects in the RPAS industry in Canada. Yesterday’s flights are the result of months of planning and would not have been possible without the support we received from the airport and coordination with NAV Canada. We are looking forward to reviewing the data collected to aid the airport in future runway maintenance and infrastructure development,” says Jordan Cicoria, VP of operations at AERIUM Analytics.
