Tayside Aviation has given its fleet of Grob 115s a makeover to make them more visible. The aircraft have also all been fitted with the ZAON PCAS collision avoidance alerting device. The team at Tayside has also fitted all the fleet with ADS-B ( Automatic Dependant Surveillance Broadcast ) to make them more visible from the ground and on radar.
Managing Director, Jim Watt said,”It was the tragic accidents of 2009 where the RAF had two separate mid-air collisions killing three Air Cadets and pilots that have moved us towards enhancing safety both electronically and visually. PCAS ( Passive Collision Avoidance System) is a good aid to guide the lookout and ADS-B allows us to show up on radar in areas of poor radar coverage. There is still no better system than the Mark 1 eyeball, but the new decals help break up the visual profile especially against a white skyline. All our aircraft have also been fitted with new LED landing lights which are more intense and allows us to keep the lights on all the time. It is import to me to make sure lessons are learned from others and that their loss is not in vain and can at least help prevent similar accidents.”
