AirServices Australia / Aero Pearl Hawker Beechcraft B300 Super King Air VH-FIZ Back at Gladstone Airport

AirServices Australia / Aero Pearl-operated Hawker Beechcraft B300 Super King Air VH-FIZ touched down at Gladstone Airport from Brisbane on Friday 1 April.  Again, VH-FIZ was using the flight number ADA4 and the radio callsign of "Auscal 4".

It is believed that VH-FIZ is visiting Gladstone once again to conduct NAVAID / ILS calibration flights over the course of the weekend.

UPDATE!  VH-FIZ operated a local NAVAID / ILS calibration flight around Gladstone Airport on Saturday 2 April.  It has subsequently departed Gladstone for Townsville on Sunday 3 April via NAVAID calibration testing at Hamilton Island and Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airports.

Airservices Australia is an Australian Government owned corporation, responsible for providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry such as air traffic control, airways navigation, communication facilities and aeronautical data within the Australian Flight Information Region (FIR) as well as airport fire fighting and rescue services.

Employing more than 4000 staff, approximately 1000 personnel are dedicated to air traffic control alone working from two major centres - one in Melbourne and another in Brisbane - as well as 29 towers at other international and regional airports across Australia.

Of interest, Australian airspace covers approximately 11 per cent of the earth’s surface and includes continental Australia, territorial waters and international boundaries over the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Airservices Australia also manages upper-level airspace (above 30 000 ft) under contract to the neighbouring Pacific Island Flight Information Regions of the Solomon Islands and Nauru.

With approximately 500 navigational aids (NAVAIDS) throughout the country, Airservices Australia is tasked with testing and calibrating these vital pieces of equipment on a three-year rotational basis to ensure they remain within the required high tolerances.

Equipment checked include distance measuring equipment (DMEs), VHF Omni-directional range transmitters, non-directional beacons and approach lighting, while instrument landing systems (ILS) are tested every six months.

Using three-dimensional laser measuring equipment and GPS technology, information from the navaid is relayed to an aircraft and interpreted by specialist aircrew.  The data is then analysed by Airservices maintenance engineers to ensure each navaid is operating accurately.

Thanks again to Col for sending through these great photos!

All photos taken by Col  ©