29 November 2024
The arrival of new aircraft, from drones to the F-35 fighter jet, is increasing pressure on our scarce airspace. How can these ‘newcomers’ be incorporated and co-exist with current airspace users? The Programme Safe and Competitive Operations of NLR is looking for solutions.
14 August 2023
Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at airports are periodically calibrated using an aircraft equipped with a Flight Inspection System, such as the NLR Citation II research aircraft. If the ILS works well, and the transmission is free from disturbances, some periodic measurements can be carried out from or near the ground. This comprises Reduced Flight Inspection (ReFI). The main benefits of ReFI are 65% lower calibration cost, 90% less environmental impact (noise, emissions), and higher runway availability. The ground measurements can be carried out via Drone Flight Inspection (DFI). Therefore, NLR has developed DFI.
12 May 2023
LVNL has revised the navigation system at Schiphol for letting aircraft land safely on the Zwanenburg runway. To check that the system works correctly and accurately, NLR will be carrying out measurement flights. They are planned for the evenings of 13, 15 and 20 May.
29 March 2023
NLR develops advanced services supporting more complex operations in dense areas such as assistance for Detect & Avoid and U-space Weather Information Services. To provide drone operators with information about the actual and forecasted weather situation, NLR develops a service to provide hyperlocal wind nowcasting for drones by drones. Due to their light-weight nature, small drones can be vulnerable to wind. This is particularly true for low altitude operations in urban areas where both wind speed and direction can change abruptly. To safely realize numerous applications of drones in urban areas, real-time and accurate knowledge of low altitude winds is needed. To develop this service NLR executed the METSIS project (METeo Sensors In the Sky)
15 July 2021
As part of the set of measures proposed by the European Commission to meet the 2030 CO2 reduction target – ‘Fit for 55%’ – the topic of kerosene tax is back on the political agenda. In this blog, I will try to clarify the laws and regulations on this matter and correct a common misunderstanding.
24 July 2020
COVID-19 has caused a large negative impact in the aviation industry. In order to minimise the transmission of the virus between countries, borders were closed and transport movements decreased. Air traffic was considerably reduced, leaving the industry with the lowest numbers in operations of the last decade. Cargo and repatriation flights were the main operations conducted during the lock-down. As the world is trying to recover from COVID-19, aviation is recovering too, meaning that the number of flights is increasing again.
31 March 2020
Nitrogen is a complex subject that you’ve probably heard and read a lot about lately. Aviation plays a part in it and the experts at Royal NLR are working hard on the challenges this creates. We’re happy to share the knowledge we gain doing this, which is why we’ve answered various questions about this hot topic below.
17 March 2017
The aviation sector currently doubles in size every 15 years. How can we facilitate that growth while at the same time improving safety and security and reducing environmental impact? And how can we expand airport capacity without detrimental effects on the liveability of the human environment? NLR has been exploring these issues for decades, with a focus on the long term. As part of these efforts, NLR has been involved in a European project called ‘The Endless Runway’. This radical new airport concept is based on the construction of a circular runway with a diameter of approx. 3.5 km around an airport terminal. Such an airport would take up only a third of the space of a conventional airport. Another advantage is that aircraft would always be able to take off and land independently of the wind direction, since there is always a point without crosswind on the circular runway. Landing aircraft can also be routed away from residential areas because they are not dependent on a standard approach path. Finally, the ‘Endless Runway’ concept will enable multiple aircraft to take off and land simultaneously, resulting in increased airport capacity.
