The Beginning
The Flight Inspection Service in Italy was created in 1952
within Italian Air Force. It used to operate a C-47 aircraft, on all Italian
Airports (military and civil) and was initially based on Centocelle Airport
- Roma.
The C47 Flight Inspection Aircraft
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At the end of Fifties the Italian F.I Department moved to Pratica di
Mare Airport, near Roma, with the name "Reparto Sperimentale di Volo"
and later "Centro Radiomisure".
It operated a fleet composed by:
Four C-47 aircraft equipped with a manual F.I. System and ground theodolite
for ILS , VOR and NDB flight checks.
Three C-45 aircrafts equipped with a small manual System for NDB and DF
flight kecks;
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Three T-33 aircrafts for RADAR and GCA flight checks.
PD808
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Early in the Sixties the "Centro Radiomisure" was transformed
into "Reparto Radiomisure" still operating the same fleet.
In 1972 the FI System was upgraded with an infrared electronic theodolite
(IFIS) and the old C-45 was replaced by a Piaggio twin jet PD-808.
At the end of year 1976 the "Reparto Radiomisure" became
"14 ° Squadron" which is still today the Military FI Department,
in charge of the flight check of military NAV-AIDS only.
A G222 with the red stripes
of Flight Inspection
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However during the period between 1974 and 1984 an Italian private Airline
(A.T.I.) supported the 14° Squadron for flight checks using
three Fokker 27 aircrafts equipped with a manual F.I. System.
In 1984 there was an aircraft turn-over with Aeritalia G222 replacing
the old C-47 while the T-33 were replaced by Aermacchi MB339.
The G222 aircrafts, still operated by Air Force 14° Squadron, were
equipped with an Aeritalia AFIS (Automatic F.I. System).
The G222 FI Console
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In the year 1985 the Italian Government split the responsibility of checking
NavAids between the F.I. Departments of the Air Force and the new established
Civil Air Traffic Control Agency ENAV (in those days called AAAVTAG)
Since then, the Flight Inspection Service in Italy is accomplished by
two different units:
- The "14 Squadron" of Air Force, responsible for the
Nav-Aids installed on all military Airports only;
- The "Area Radiomisure" of "ENAV",
responsible for all civil Nav-Aids installed on civil Airports.
"ENAV" (Ente Nazionale di Assistenza al Volo)
ENAV is the Italian government agency for Air Traffic Control
and Aeronautical Services. It was established in 1981, when the responsibility
for air traffic services for general civil air traffic was transferred
from the Italian Air Force to the new agency.
The Agency has its H.Q. in Rome, and it is responsible mainly for:
- Air Traffic Services
- Aeronautical Telecommunications
- Aeronautical Information Service
- Flight Inspection Service
- Aerodrome Weather Service
- Recruitment, Training and Licencing of Personnel
- Advices and studies on any matter related to ATS
- Supply and maintenance of permises and systems
- Autonomous management and financing, through enroute and terminal
taxes and sale of services.
Flight Inspection of civil NAV-AIDS is one of the main tasks carried
out by ENAV, to assure the safety of air navigation. This is accomplished
periodically checking that navigation and approach aids' precision and
parameters are in conformity with the ICAO standards, and that they can
satisfy their operational requirements.
Since September 1986 this activity has been managed directly by ENAV
with the establishment of its own F.I. Department called "Area Radiomisure",
with a completely new fleet and new F.I. Systems. Within the department
was also created the maintenance and technical support for F.I Systems
and aircrafts.
About the Fleet
A low pass for ENAV's Citation II
during an ILS check
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A fleet of three CESSNA Citation II aircrafts, each equipped with
an "ad-hoc" automatic high-technology system, is available to
perform flight check operations to acquire in-flight real-time data without
any ground-based support equipment.
ENAV aircrafts are flown by two pilots (Captain), while one Inspector
manages the inspection equipment and keep contacts with the ground maintenance
personnel for real time corrections to the NavAid under test.
The aircrafts, are equipped as follow:
- Two CITATION II each equipped with a Parker-Gull full Automatic Flight
Inspection System (AFIS) based on Laser IRU, GPS and DGPS technology
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The aircraft airframe was modified in 1984 by Alenia (formerly Aeritalia)
to install a gimbal stabilized vertical camera in the tailcone, a number
of independent antennas for the F/I receivers and the structures to
support the F.I. consolle located in the cabin. The System has been
recently upgraded to the latest technology by Parker-Gull.
The Citation II FI System
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- One CITATION SII equipped with an ENAV automatic Flight Inspection
System.
Using the experience gained in over ten years of activity, the F/I Electronic
Laboratory designed, made and installed on board of this aircraft a
low cost , lightweight, removable Flight Inspection System for enroute
Nav-Aids checks. The System is based on GPS for the aircraft positioning
and a commercial PC for data collection and analysis. For this System
the Electronic Lab wrote the software, designed and built the interfaces
needed which were not commercially available, built and installed the
whole System into the aircraft.
ENAV's F/I Operations
By accurate determination of the aircraft's position, ENAV's AFIS is
capable, without any ground based equipment, to automatically flight inspect:
- VOR, DME, NDB, TACAN and ILS (up to CAT.III)
- Visual Approach Aids ( PAPI , VASI , T-VASI)
The lightweight FI System
on the CITATION SII
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The inspections carried out are:
- Routine inspection
- Special flight inspection, due to reported failures or malfunctions
- Commissioning inspections , for new equipment
- ILS inspection , for categorization up to Cat. III
- Site check inspections, to determine the suitability of a proposed
site for the installation of a new facility.
ENAV F.I. Department is also equipped with a highly specialized electronic
laboratory and a consolle dynamic simulator, for personnel training and
for specific courses, also available for foreign students. F.I. Service
is ready to perform inspection for other countries, if so required.
Today and
Tomorrow
ENAV Flight Inspection Department has participated and supported the
ADS Mediterranean trials and has recently supported the Mediterranean
Satellite Test Bed trials (MTB) performed by ENAV in conjunction with
FAA to develop the integration of the MTB into the EGNOS Test Bed and
will continue the Euro-American activities to confirm the benefits of
the active interoperability between EGNOS and WAAS.
ENAV Flight Inspection Department has recently started a wide program
for the change of the aircraft's type and for the implementation of F/I
checks of MLS and P-DME. Rationalization of the Organization and modernization
of the System, nowadays and even more tomorrow, are imperative to produce
cost-effective services for the Aviation community.
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