RCP0110_006-012_Hangar Talk 2/9/10 5:03 AM Page 8
HANGAR TALK
PHI- Continued from page 6 Gulf of Mexico Operations. The FAA es- stall ADS-B equipment in its helicopters.
tablished December 17, 2009 as the “go “This is a tribute to all the people, in-
Gulf of Mexico Helicopter Operators en- live” date for ADS-B operations over the side and outside of PHI, who worked dili-
tered into a Memorandum of Agreement Gulf of Mexico. PHI was the first, and re- gently, day and night, and persevered
with the FAA Surveillance and Broadcast mains the only, helicopter provider to through great challenges to bring this ac-
Services Program Office, Helicopter As- achieve this milestone. complishment to PHI and to those who
sociation International, and Energy Com- When the ADS-B effort was first an- will ultimately benefit the most from it,
panies to enhance communications, nounced, PHI carefully constructed a plan our passengers,” continued Bospflug.
weather and surveillance capabilities in the of action to partner with the FAA and oth- After years of planning and millions of
Gulf of Mexico. ers in leading the way to apply this tech- dollars invested by the FAA, PHI, Inc., the
In support of this agreement, PHI de- nology. After the partnerships were Oil and Gas Industry, and other helicopter
veloped and installed ADS-B equipment formed, PHI then developed its imple- transportation companies, ADS-B has for-
for a number of its IFR aircraft supporting mentation plan to become the first to in- ever changed flights in the Gulf.
❚
LORAN-C Service To Terminate February 8, 2010
LORAN-C was originally developed to LORAN-C signal coverage areas of these
provide radio navigation service for U.S. international chains in Appendix B, pages
coastal waters & was later expanded to in- B-6 through B-9 of the Specification of
clude complete coverage of the continen- the LORAN-C Transmitted Signal,
tal U.S. as well as most of Alaska. COMDTINST M16562.4A. The entire
Twenty-four U.S. LORAN-C stations Specification may be downloaded also.
work in partnership with Canadian and The Coast Guard strongly urges
Russian stations to provide coverage in mariners currently using LORAN-C for
Canadian waters and in the Bering Sea. navigation to shift to a GPS navigation
They system provides better than 0.25 system and become familiar with its oper-
nautical mile absolute accuracy for suit- ation as soon as possible. Mariners will
ably equipped users within the published not be able to rely upon LORAN-C for
areas. And provides navigation, location, navigation as of Feb. 8, 2010.
and timing services for both civil and mil- Homeland Security Appropriations Act LORAN-C has, as a result of techno-
itary air, land and marine users. It is ap- for fiscal year 2010 allowed for termina- logical advancements in the last 20 years,
proved as an en route supplemental air tion of the LORAN-C signal on January 4, become an antiquated system no longer
navigation system for both Instrument 2010, after certification from the Com- required by the armed forces, the trans-
Flight Rule (IFR) and Visual Flight Rule mandant of the Coast Guard that it was portation sector or the nation’s security
(VFR) operations. The LORAN-C system not needed for maritime navigation and interests and is used only by a small per-
serves the 48 continental states, their from the Secretary of DHS that it is not centage of the population. The Coast
coastal areas, and parts of Alaska. Dedi- needed as a backup for GPS. Full details Guard understands that LORAN-C is still
cated Coast Guard men and women have are contained in Section 559 of this act used by a small segment of the public and
done an excellent job running and main- which can be found at the Government that those users will have to shift to GPS
taining the LORAN-C signal for 52 years. Printing Office website (clicking on the or other systems; however, continued use
It is a service and mission of which the link will open a new window). of limited resources to operate LORAN-C
entire Coast Guard can be proud. In accordance with the DHS Appropri- is no longer prudent use of taxpayer funds
LORAN-C Termination
ations Act, the U.S. Coast Guard will ter- and is not allowed under the 2010 DHS
minate the transmission of all U.S. Appropriation Act.
Information
LORAN-C signals effective 2000Z 08 The Coast Guard has enjoyed a long
The Coast Guard published a Federal Feb 2010. At that time, the U.S. LORAN- and close relationship with the many com-
Register notice on Jan. 7, 2010, regarding C signal will be unusable and permanently munities located near LORAN-C facili-
its intention to terminate transmission of discontinued. This termination does not ties and we value those relationships. The
the LORAN-C signal Feb. 8, 2010. A LO- affect U.S. participation in the Russian Coast Guard will continue to honor those
RAN Programmatic Environmental Im- American or Canadian LORAN-C chains. relationships by working to minimize any
pact Statement Record of Decision stating U.S. participation in these chains will con- adverse impacts to communities caused
that the environmentally preferred alter- tinue in accordance with international by site closures.
native is to decommission the LORAN-C agreements. The Canadian Coast Guard The decision to cease transmission of
Program and terminate the North Ameri- has also issued a statement, which is the LORAN-C signal reflects the presi-
can LORAN-C signal was published in shown on their website. dent’s pledge to eliminate unnecessary
the Federal Register on Jan. 7, 2010. The You may view the estimated remaining federal programs.
8 ROTORCRAFT PROFESSIONAL • January 2010
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