AviMet® Low Level Wind Shear Alert System LLWAS

Increased passenger safety and comfort during take-off and landing, when crucial information about unpredictable changes in wind speed and direction is delivered in a timely and consistent manner. The solution decreases the burden on air traffic controllers by informing them immediately when and where windshear occurs and when the threat is over. The solution increases air traffic controllers’ decision-making confidence as decisions are based on facts, allowing them to issue timely and reliable advance warnings to pilots.

Key Benefits

Efficient solution for high-risk situations

The leading low-level windshear alert system that enables airports to improve their safety at a fraction of the life-cycle costs compared to other available systems. Vaisala LLWAS system uses proven wind shear methodology and algorithm and is widely deployed in several operational airports.

Situational awareness extended outside of the immediate airport area

Vaisala’s LLWAS can be enhanced with a web-based, real-time display of Global Lightning Dataset GLD360 data as well as by integrating Vaisala IRIS weather radar information for improved wind shear detection beyond the immediate vicinity of the airport.

Optimal solution to fit specific conditions of the airport

Every delivered Vaisala LLWAS system is designed for the specific conditions of an airport using standard and proven Vaisala weather system components. Experienced and competent Vaisala aviation weather professional performs a site assessment and survey to determine whether and what kind of LLWAS system is applicable to the airport in question.

Overview

The Vaisala AviMet® LLWAS offers aviation authorities the ability to dramatically improve aviation safety, the landing minima, and all weather traffic density with a low investment budget.

The LLWAS is the first choice stand-alone windshear detection system for airfields where weather radars cannot be considered due to budget constraints. On the other hand, the system can be integrated with TDWR systems as well to provide the ultimate quality for windshear detection. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the highest quality windshear warnings are achieved by integrating the results of a Phase III Low Level Windshear Detection System and a Terminal Doppler Weather Radar. To achieve this integration, the Vaisala AviMet® LLWAS is able to output data to a radar system.

The Vaisala AviMet® LLWAS is the newest ground based Windshear Alert System that incorporates the latest version of the phase III windshear algorithm developed for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and patented by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Foundation (UCAR).

The vast research on the windshear and microburst phenomena results in reliable alerts and warnings conveyed unambiguously to the operator on the LLWAS numeric and graphic displays. To generate crucial windshear alerts and warnings, the LLWAS system retrieves constantly wind data from an array of wind sensors surrounding the runway. The wind sensor array is carefully positioned and aligned in accordance with the MIT, Lincoln Laboratories and the National Center for Atmospheric Research system design guidelines to provide the maximum system reliability.

The Phase III windshear system is the result of many years of development in microburst alert research and represents the best technology currently available. The increased detection capabilities coupled with the low false alarm rates makes the Phase III system a clear choice over the older Phase I and II systems. Not only does the Vaisala AviMet® LLWAS use the best available algorithms in the world, it is newly designed and built to provide the user with the most advanced and reliable information on low level windshear and microbursts.