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wing tip clearance assessments. “This was essential to minimise disruptions to aircraft operations and ensure construction works are undertaken safely,” remarks Hildebrandt. “AviPLAN is the primary software tool used for planning and design of contact and remote aircraft stands at most of the world’s major airports. At many of our client airports, the stands are being progressively assessed for compatibility with new aircraft types to determine potential capability improvements.” AviPLAN’s stand tool enabled Hildebrandt to quickly check bridging, fuelling, ground power, clearances and a host of other serviceability considerations on multiple stands, and was also put to work in assessing pushbacks in the development of apron markings. The solution was pivotal to one particular apron project, which included the introduction of new passenger and freighter aircraft types, as well as changes to storage and staging areas for apron buses, additional passenger boarding bridges and upgrades to apron markings. “AviPLAN provided quick and detailed assessment of each stand,” says Hildebrandt. “Plus, it enabled fast and accurate assessment of service vehicle movements, including baggage and cargo loaders, catering vehicles, hydrant dispensers and tugs.”
A virtuous circle of development The versatility and the precision of AviPLAN is a product of constant evolution. The latest version, AviPLAN 3.0, includes a number of new features, such as enhanced conflict detection and the analysis of multiple jet blast variants. Its constantly updated and highly precise library of objects on the airfield – whether different types of aircraft, ground vehicles or elements of airport infrastructure – is the basis for the unrivalled accuracy it offers for the modelling of airport operations. Hildebrandt, who has been an airfield designer since 2008, has seen the software solution evolve over time. “Improvements in CAD software technologies and the introduction of AviPLAN have fundamentally changed the way I work by greatly improving and simplifying airside planning and design tasks,” he remarks. “The biggest advantages include significant productivity and
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AviPLAN enables long-term or short-term airport design solutions to be quickly deployed.
efficiency gains for the industry. Individual tasks that used to take days or weeks now take only hours to complete.
“Furthermore, the standard of airside planning and design work has improved greatly by enabling designers and planners to provide more accurate and detailed assessments, quick presentation of multiple different design options or operational scenarios and clear visualisations of potential conflicts or clearance non- compliances,” he adds.
“In my years at the airport, before joining planeground, aircraft parking had been a key discipline with AviPLAN, as operators frequently change aircraft types at short notice, requiring parking on different gates or remote stands, not to mention the itinerant, corporate or military aircraft that often require detailed assessment to ensure safe operations. Standard CAD tools can only go so far in basic airside planning and design, but as the task becomes more complex, only AviPLAN can cope.” Whether it is for large, long-term airport design projects or for short-term changes to layout and operation, the solution can be quickly deployed. It also provides a great deal of aircraft specific data and report- generating tools. “We use AviPLAN to help plan temporary procedures for taxiway diversions or
restrictions around maintenance and construction work areas,” says Hildebrandt. “The stand planning matrix is used extensively for planning new stands or adding new aircraft types to existing stands. That detail on aircraft types, bridge slopes and service distances is essential when assessing capability and providing serviceability reports.” As well as CAD plotting, AviPLAN can generate independent video files to illustrate the movement of aircraft, passenger boarding bridges and ground support equipment movement on the ground. That visualisation is the final ingredient in bringing any new plan to life. “It is very effective, especially when presenting designs at a high level, as staff from non-technical roles can better understand the movement via a visual simulation,” says Hildebrandt. AviPLAN continues to be an essential tool in the planning and upgrade of our client airports, and, as with every one of Transoft’s client engagements, Hildebrandt’s hands-on experience with the solution will continue to feed back into the development process, ensuring that AviPLAN stays in step with the changing demands of the industry and never falls behind. ●
www.transoftsolutions.com 9
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