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Deborah J Peisen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Six Heliport Case Studies.
1997Co-Authors: Deborah J PeisenAbstract:Abstract : Over the years, one of the main concerns of the vertical flight industry has been heliport development. The record shows that most proposed Heliports are never built, and that even a heliport that has been fully operational for years can be closed due to changing community priorities. This report evaluates the dynamics of heliport development and operation in order to achieve greater success rate in the future through the case study investigation of six Heliports that have both succeeded and failed. The Heliports studied are: Houston Central Business District Heliport, Houston Texas; E.34th Street Heliport, New York, New York; Garland HeliPlex, Garland, Texas; Annapolis Heliport, Annapolis, Maryland; Boston City Heliport, Boston, Massachusetts; and Cobo Hall Heliport, Detroit, Michigan. This study is a follow-on to two previous studies for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): "Four Urban Heliport Case Studies," (reference 1) completed in 1988, and "Heliport/Vertiport Implementation Process - Case Studies" (reference 2) completed in 1996. The first study endeavored to understand what causes a heliport to succeed or fail. The second investigated why Heliports succeed or fail in the implementation process at the local government level and recommended ways to improve the success rate.
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Heliport/Vertiport Implementation Process - Case Studies.
1996Co-Authors: Deborah J Peisen, Robert M. Winick, Stephen V. Berardo, J. R. Ludders, Samuel W. FergusonAbstract:Abstract : Attempts to build public-use facilities have often failed, primarily at the local government level. On the other hand, a few public-use Heliports and vertiports have been built and operated successfully. This raises the question of why some Heliports are approved and built while others are rejected? The study attempts to provide some answers to that question and to identify more effective approaches to the public approval processes for vertical flight facilities. This study analyzes the approval process three ways. First, through the investigation of the nature of the public approval/implementation process that presents two approaches to heliport implementation. One is the Systematic Development of Informed Consent (SDIC) and the second is based on the results of a workshop held with persons experienced with heliport implementation. Next, six case studies of actual heliport approval processes are presented to promote an understanding of critical elements and procedures significant in determining the success or failure of heliport/vertiport projects during the approval process. Case study locations are: Dallas; Portland; Miami; Pittsburgh; Washington, DC; and San Francisco. The final section of this study provides information and offers strategies to assist heliport proposers in counteracting influences that often frustrate the implementation process.
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VFR Heliport Obstacle-Rich Environments: Simulation Requirements and Facilities
1994Co-Authors: Brian M. Sawyer, Deborah J Peisen, Eric H. BolzAbstract:Abstract : This document identifies simulation requirements and facilities for the visual flight simulation evaluation of the psychological impact of an obstacle rich VFR heliport environment on pilot performance. This report addresses the investigative process, test methodology, simulator requirements, and simulation data collection methodology. This is the third of several letter reports that were developed as part of the preparation for evaluating pilot performance during the approach to and the departure Heliports in an obstacle rich environment. The other reports are: (1) FAA/RD-94/4l, VFR Heliport Obstacle Rich Environments: Test and Evaluation (2) FAA/RD-94/42, VFR Heliport Obstacle Rich Environments: Draft Test Plan.
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VFR Helicopter Obstacle-Rich Environments: Test and Evaluation
1994Co-Authors: Brian M. Sawyer, Deborah J PeisenAbstract:Abstract : This is the first in a series of two letter reports detailing the specific test and evaluation requirements, scenarios, data processing techniques, and government/industry comments concerning pilot performance in an obstacle rich environment. The second report will develop and recommend the requirements for a piloted helicopter visual simulator to support data collection in this effort. This report details the issues and the development of test and evaluation criteria necessary to evaluate the psychological effects of an increasingly obstacle rich VFR heliport environment on the ability of a pilot to operate. In addition, it addresses a conceptual application of target level of safety, to assist the FAA and individuals concerned with heliport planning with regard to the proximity of obstacles to a VFR heliport. The effect of an increasingly obstacle rich helicopter environment on pilot performance will be tested by collecting definitive performance data through the use of a piloted, visual helicopter simulator. Results will be verified with actual flight testing. This study is divided into two phases. Phase 1 is further divided into four tasks: (1) test and evaluation requirements, (2) simulation requirements and facilities, (3) simulation test plan, and (4) pilot briefing materials. The product of task 3 is the completed test plan. The product of task 4 is pilot briefing material that explains their role in the test and participation requirements.
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Heliport/Vertiport MLS Precision Approaches
1994Co-Authors: Deborah J Peisen, Brian M. SawyerAbstract:Abstract : In the early 1990's, the Federal Aviation Administration initiated an effort to answer certain questions on precision approaches to Heliports and vertiports. Of particular interest were issues of economic justification and available airspace. Among the tasks included in this effort were the following: (1) Develop a criteria of what is required to establish an instrument approach at a heliport or vertiport. (2) Develop a selection process to qualify potential IFR heliport and vertiport candidates. is effort was focused on MLS. The implementation of GPS instrument approaches has required us to re-focus our thinking. This re-focusing is now well underway as evidenced with the commissioning of the Chattanooga hospital heliport GPS nonprecision approach. The publication of this report is not likely to have broad implications regarding the implementation of GPS instrument approaches. However, some portions of the work may have application to GPS instrument approaches and this document is published with this in mind.
Spyros Apostolacos - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A satellite virtual tower and facility management application for Heliports
SPACE APPLI 2008 - Space Applications Days, 2008Co-Authors: Spyros Apostolacos, M Manoussos, K Simaiakis, Apostolos Meliones, D. Kavadas, George Lykakis, M. KardarisAbstract:SATWAYS addresses the installation in Greece of remote site controllers, equipped with radio and telephony interfaces, at isolated Heliports countrywide, which shall relay radio and telephony communications, control and monitoring data, and surveillance video to/from the HCAA headquarters over satellite connections and using IP as the transport protocol. Upon approach to the remote heliport, the VHF communication on the VFR frequency is either difficult or impossible to achieve, so, the Flight Plan is usually closed with the helicopter landing report sent over mobile telephones, often an hour after landing. During that period, it remains impossible to determine whether the helicopter has landed or crashed with great delays in case of accident. This last happened on September 11, 2004, when a Greek Army helicopter crashed into the Aegean Sea while nearing Mt. Athos, killing all aboard including the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, without the Flight Information Centre (FIC) being aware due to communication loss. Additionally, there is no way to relay heliport equipment maintenance information to HCAA, unless a person goes to the site. For instance during a helicopter approach, the approach lights may be malfunctioning or severe meteorological conditions may be encountered, without FIC being aware. Moreover, communication with ground maintenance personnel and pilots after landing or before takeoff relies on the mobile telephony network, which seldom provides coverage. Finally, heliport sites are unsupervised, so additional risks to landing safety are posed, since unauthorized people or even animals may be inside the heliport when the helicopter lands. Standing on the above scenario, the SATWAYS project has been started with the objectives to provide remote control and monitoring of all heliport equipment, and resolve the issue of communication loss during approach, maintaining radio contact via switching to the heliport local frequency which is relayed to the flight controller over satellite. As far as the radio communication is concerned the long-term objective is to implement a TWR (tower) service in a centralized manner for all Heliports. The envisioned system is actually an extension to the VFR procedure for the airspace above Heliports. The key technical issue addressed in SATWAYS is to achieve the performance targets certifying efficient radio over IP over satellite communications for ATC (Air Traffic Control) applications over a private DAMA satellite network and under the effect of dynamic satellite bandwidth allocation mechanisms. The operational system has been designed to be in line with the ICAO guidelines on performance of VSAT networks for ground-to-ground radio communications, which summarize to 400 ms of absolute one-way delay, call setup time less than or equal to 2 sec, 10-7 BER, and 99.8% service availability. SATWAYS employs the HellaSat2 geo-stationary satellite to implement the space segment. Based on the service availability, the bandwidth, the satellite, the BER requirements and the geographical location, link budget calculation has been carried out to reveal that 250 kHz of satellite bandwidth are sufficient to implement the whole of the envisioned functionality. The SATWAYS system relies on an advanced modular facility management controller (RSC10TM) which typically consists of a rack-mountable chassis that carries an eight-or sixteen-slot backplane. A fully loaded RSC10 controller can interface directly with up to 512 field I/Os. Up to 8192 I/Os can be supported if external instrumentation buses are used. RSC controllers are equipped with a versatile high-level operating system that simplifies the development of control applications. A Radio/FXS RSC10-560TM interface card and a high-performance VoIP/DSP framework for low latency call handling and media streaming have been developed within the project to provide audio gateway functionality to the controller. A pilot activity will start in January equipping the heliport of the Aegean island of Patmos with a SatWays terminal. Initial results will be available during the conference. SATWAYS is supported by ESA through the Telecom Startup Project Initiative of the ARTES 3 framework (ESTEC contract 20379).
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Design and Implementation of a Solution for the Provisioning of Converged Remote Tower and Facility Management Services over Satellite IP for Greek Heliports
IEEE Communications Magazine, 2008Co-Authors: Spyros Apostolacos, M. Manousos, Apostolos Meliones, D. Kavadas, George Lykakis, A. Manousarides, M. Kardaris, K. SimeakisAbstract:The only way to quickly provide health and disaster recovery services to the large number of isolated islands in Greece is to fly there by helicopter. For this reason, there are 46 Heliports operated 24/7 by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA). Unfortunately, the Greek terrain is extremely difficult as far as provisioning of telecommunication means is concerned, so connectivity with the Heliports is virtually nonexistent. This leads to reduced radio coverage, especially at low altitudes, severely impairing the Heliports' operational capabilities. Moreover, Heliports are unmanned and unsupervised, and there is no indication as to the weather conditions there. Thus, flight controllers authorize landings/takeoffs to/from Heliports, normally a life or death decision, while remaining unaware of what pilots may run into. This article presents the design and implementation of a solution to these problems, contributing to flight safety and heliport maintenance/operation procedures as well as providing a working paradigm regarding the quality of satellite communication services for other air traffic control (ATC) applications.
K. Simeakis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Design and Implementation of a Solution for the Provisioning of Converged Remote Tower and Facility Management Services over Satellite IP for Greek Heliports
IEEE Communications Magazine, 2008Co-Authors: Spyros Apostolacos, M. Manousos, Apostolos Meliones, D. Kavadas, George Lykakis, A. Manousarides, M. Kardaris, K. SimeakisAbstract:The only way to quickly provide health and disaster recovery services to the large number of isolated islands in Greece is to fly there by helicopter. For this reason, there are 46 Heliports operated 24/7 by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA). Unfortunately, the Greek terrain is extremely difficult as far as provisioning of telecommunication means is concerned, so connectivity with the Heliports is virtually nonexistent. This leads to reduced radio coverage, especially at low altitudes, severely impairing the Heliports' operational capabilities. Moreover, Heliports are unmanned and unsupervised, and there is no indication as to the weather conditions there. Thus, flight controllers authorize landings/takeoffs to/from Heliports, normally a life or death decision, while remaining unaware of what pilots may run into. This article presents the design and implementation of a solution to these problems, contributing to flight safety and heliport maintenance/operation procedures as well as providing a working paradigm regarding the quality of satellite communication services for other air traffic control (ATC) applications.
M. Kardaris - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A satellite virtual tower and facility management application for Heliports
SPACE APPLI 2008 - Space Applications Days, 2008Co-Authors: Spyros Apostolacos, M Manoussos, K Simaiakis, Apostolos Meliones, D. Kavadas, George Lykakis, M. KardarisAbstract:SATWAYS addresses the installation in Greece of remote site controllers, equipped with radio and telephony interfaces, at isolated Heliports countrywide, which shall relay radio and telephony communications, control and monitoring data, and surveillance video to/from the HCAA headquarters over satellite connections and using IP as the transport protocol. Upon approach to the remote heliport, the VHF communication on the VFR frequency is either difficult or impossible to achieve, so, the Flight Plan is usually closed with the helicopter landing report sent over mobile telephones, often an hour after landing. During that period, it remains impossible to determine whether the helicopter has landed or crashed with great delays in case of accident. This last happened on September 11, 2004, when a Greek Army helicopter crashed into the Aegean Sea while nearing Mt. Athos, killing all aboard including the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, without the Flight Information Centre (FIC) being aware due to communication loss. Additionally, there is no way to relay heliport equipment maintenance information to HCAA, unless a person goes to the site. For instance during a helicopter approach, the approach lights may be malfunctioning or severe meteorological conditions may be encountered, without FIC being aware. Moreover, communication with ground maintenance personnel and pilots after landing or before takeoff relies on the mobile telephony network, which seldom provides coverage. Finally, heliport sites are unsupervised, so additional risks to landing safety are posed, since unauthorized people or even animals may be inside the heliport when the helicopter lands. Standing on the above scenario, the SATWAYS project has been started with the objectives to provide remote control and monitoring of all heliport equipment, and resolve the issue of communication loss during approach, maintaining radio contact via switching to the heliport local frequency which is relayed to the flight controller over satellite. As far as the radio communication is concerned the long-term objective is to implement a TWR (tower) service in a centralized manner for all Heliports. The envisioned system is actually an extension to the VFR procedure for the airspace above Heliports. The key technical issue addressed in SATWAYS is to achieve the performance targets certifying efficient radio over IP over satellite communications for ATC (Air Traffic Control) applications over a private DAMA satellite network and under the effect of dynamic satellite bandwidth allocation mechanisms. The operational system has been designed to be in line with the ICAO guidelines on performance of VSAT networks for ground-to-ground radio communications, which summarize to 400 ms of absolute one-way delay, call setup time less than or equal to 2 sec, 10-7 BER, and 99.8% service availability. SATWAYS employs the HellaSat2 geo-stationary satellite to implement the space segment. Based on the service availability, the bandwidth, the satellite, the BER requirements and the geographical location, link budget calculation has been carried out to reveal that 250 kHz of satellite bandwidth are sufficient to implement the whole of the envisioned functionality. The SATWAYS system relies on an advanced modular facility management controller (RSC10TM) which typically consists of a rack-mountable chassis that carries an eight-or sixteen-slot backplane. A fully loaded RSC10 controller can interface directly with up to 512 field I/Os. Up to 8192 I/Os can be supported if external instrumentation buses are used. RSC controllers are equipped with a versatile high-level operating system that simplifies the development of control applications. A Radio/FXS RSC10-560TM interface card and a high-performance VoIP/DSP framework for low latency call handling and media streaming have been developed within the project to provide audio gateway functionality to the controller. A pilot activity will start in January equipping the heliport of the Aegean island of Patmos with a SatWays terminal. Initial results will be available during the conference. SATWAYS is supported by ESA through the Telecom Startup Project Initiative of the ARTES 3 framework (ESTEC contract 20379).
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Design and Implementation of a Solution for the Provisioning of Converged Remote Tower and Facility Management Services over Satellite IP for Greek Heliports
IEEE Communications Magazine, 2008Co-Authors: Spyros Apostolacos, M. Manousos, Apostolos Meliones, D. Kavadas, George Lykakis, A. Manousarides, M. Kardaris, K. SimeakisAbstract:The only way to quickly provide health and disaster recovery services to the large number of isolated islands in Greece is to fly there by helicopter. For this reason, there are 46 Heliports operated 24/7 by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA). Unfortunately, the Greek terrain is extremely difficult as far as provisioning of telecommunication means is concerned, so connectivity with the Heliports is virtually nonexistent. This leads to reduced radio coverage, especially at low altitudes, severely impairing the Heliports' operational capabilities. Moreover, Heliports are unmanned and unsupervised, and there is no indication as to the weather conditions there. Thus, flight controllers authorize landings/takeoffs to/from Heliports, normally a life or death decision, while remaining unaware of what pilots may run into. This article presents the design and implementation of a solution to these problems, contributing to flight safety and heliport maintenance/operation procedures as well as providing a working paradigm regarding the quality of satellite communication services for other air traffic control (ATC) applications.
Emre Başeski - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Heliport Detection Using Artificial Neural Networks
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 2020Co-Authors: Emre BaşeskiAbstract:Automatic image exploitation is a critical technology for quick content analysis of high-resolution remote sensing images. The presence of a heliport on an image usually implies an important facility, such as military facilities. Therefore, detection of Heliports can reveal critical information about the content of an image. In this article, two learning-based algorithms are presented that make use of artificial neural networks to detect H-shaped, light-colored Heliports. The first algorithm is based on shape analysis of the heliport candidate segments using classical artificial neural networks. The second algorithm uses deep-learning techniques. While deep learning can solve difficult problems successfully, classical-learning approaches can be tuned easily to obtain fast and reasonable results. Therefore, although the main objective of this article is heliport detection, it also compares a deep-learning based approach with a classical learning-based approach and discusses advantages and disadvantages of both techniques.
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A New Remote Sensing Dataset for Heliport Detection
2019 9th International Conference on Recent Advances in Space Technologies (RAST), 2019Co-Authors: Emre BaşeskiAbstract:Labelled training image datasets are the main driving forces for many research areas. Especially object detection and recognition research require quite a few labelled data in order to come up with a successful model. In this work a new dataset for H-shaped heliport detection is presented. The presence of a heliport on an image usually implies an important facility such as governmental buildings or military facilities and detection of Heliports can reveal critical information about the content of an image. The dataset directory and labelling structure is in Pascal Visual Object Classes (VOC) format. Hence, it is possible to use most of the well-known neural network architectures for creating a model. The dataset contains Google Maps images with heliport samples from all over the world. Therefore, the dataset represents a large variety of image context and different heliport samples.
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WHISPERS - Heliport detection in high-resolution optical remote sensing images
2018 9th Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS), 2018Co-Authors: Emre BaşeskiAbstract:Automated image exploitation algorithms are crucial in order to analyze the content of high-resolution remote sensing images. In this work, a fully automated heliport detection algorithm is presented. The algorithm has been designed to detect H shaped, lightly colored Heliports. The existence of a heliport on an image usually implies an important facility such as governmental buildings or military facilities. Therefore, detection of Heliports can reveal critical information about the content of an image.
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Heliport detection in high-resolution optical remote sensing images
2018 9th Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS), 2018Co-Authors: Emre BaşeskiAbstract:Automated image exploitation algorithms are crucial in order to analyze the content of high-resolution remote sensing images. In this work, a fully automated heliport detection algorithm is presented. The algorithm has been designed to detect H shaped, lightly colored Heliports. The existence of a heliport on an image usually implies an important facility such as governmental buildings or military facilities. Therefore, detection of Heliports can reveal critical information about the content of an image.