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Aerodrome walkthrough

From the facility register to the inspector pack.

Fifteen films. Thirteen follow one regional aerodrome on the Australian rule pack through lights going out, rain, works, a crane, a bird strike and the inspector’s visit; one is at a remote strip kept by a mine, and one at a hospital helicopter landing site. Start with two lights out: the operator’s phone and the dashboard play together, chapter by chapter. See the airport’s whole day.

Film 3 of 15: Two lights out

Two runway edge lights side by side go out at 05:10. Tapped in by number, they restrict the circuit under the lighting rules, mark a NOTAM required and alert the supervisor, who acknowledges.

In this filmTwo lights out

Two runway lights side by side go dark before the first departure. In a minute the circuit is Restricted and supervisors are alerted.

Lights out by number
Restricted by the lighting rules
Supervisors alerted
Acknowledged, ATC advised
0:00 / 1:18

Two runway lights side by side go dark before the first departure. In a minute the circuit is Restricted and supervisors are alerted.

  1. Lights out by number. 05:10. Driving RWY 12/30, Amara Okafor, the reporting officer, sees two edge lights dark. The lights are numbered in the register, so she taps 11 and 12. The phone says so at once: two next to each other are out. Recorded with her name and the time. With no signal it waits on the phone and sends later.
  2. Restricted by the lighting rules. The board checks the outage against the Australian MOS lighting pack, the rules this site uses. In that pack, a circuit of over 13 lights is restricted when more than 15% are out, or two next to each other. Two next to each other: the circuit is Restricted and the site Open with restrictions. It is also a NOTAM trigger.
  3. Supervisors alerted. Supervisors are alerted in the dashboard: the aerodrome is open with restrictions, with the cause in plain words. The 15-minute NOTAM check adds a second alert at 05:15: NOTAM required. Escudo does not issue NOTAMs. Alerts show in the dashboard only: no push, SMS or email.
  4. Acknowledged, ATC advised. 05:16. Linh Tran, the duty supervisor, opens the change on the board, with its cause. She notes what is being done, an electrician called out, and who was advised: ATC. Acknowledged. Had nobody acknowledged it, it would go to managers after 15 minutes and administrators after 60.

Illustrated from the real operator app and dashboard, with the Aerodrome module switched on. The aerodrome uses the Australian pack (Part 139 MOS, Compilation 7) and the MOS lighting rules; templates, facilities and wording are set by each operator, and the board shows each site by the operator’s own records. Escudo Aviation records a NOTAM request and its number and never issues a NOTAM; it suggests a runway condition code and records where the report went, and never sends one; it reminds about strike reports and never lodges one. The operator decides whether the aerodrome is used, and at a strip or landing site the pilot decides whether it is suitable. A drill record says what was done, by whom and when, never that anyone is trained or competent. Alerts appear in the dashboard. Harbourview Regional Aerodrome, Carrow Ridge mine, Harbourview Hospital, Amara Okafor, Linh Tran, Priya Hale, Ollie Grant, Jordan Haddad, Kiri Rahman, and every aircraft, operator, reference and NOTAM number are invented.

Options and solutions

Everything on the aerodrome board, in one place.

Each site chooses its type, its rule pack and its lighting rules, and records its facilities: runways, lighting circuits with their lights numbered in order, windsocks and the rest.

What the board counts

Movement areaRunways, taxiways, aprons, strips and landing areas, with works, runway condition codes and braking prompts, and wildlife not dispersed. With every runway or landing area closed or unserviceable, the site is closed by the records.
LightingLighting circuits, PAL, slope indicators and beacons, with lights out by number against the site’s lighting rules.
Visual aids and communicationsWindsocks, frequency confirmation units, aerodrome-owned navaids and weather stations.
Security and otherGates, fence sections and fuel installations.
Works and wildlifeWorks under way and their restore countdown, the works safety officer briefing, MOWP and works NOTAM lead times, temporary and new obstacles, wildlife not dispersed with no facility, strike report reminders and the plan review.
InspectionsToday’s inspections against the rule pack and the day’s movements, the first movement of the day, unplanned inspections not yet met, and technical inspections due.
NOTAMA facility whose trigger needs a NOTAM with no request recorded, and NOTAMs to review or cancel.
Owner’s reportAt a strip or landing site: the owner reports ready, ready by day only or not ready, with who and when.

Each site is Open (from records), Open with restrictions or Closed (from records), with the reasons in plain words and the operator’s own state shown beside it, never instead of it. Changes not acknowledged go to managers after 15 minutes and to administrators after 60. A NOTAM required with no request recorded, a NOTAM ending within a day and an inspection not done before the first movement are alerted in the dashboard.

Rule packs

Each site chooses a pack. Values marked to confirm are confirmed with each customer before they are relied on.

  • Australia: Part 139 MOS, Compilation 7. At least two inspections a week, 48 hours apart; one each day with scheduled air transport; two on days with a scheduled international movement on a code 3 or 4 runway 6 hours apart; the nine NOTAM triggers of 12.04; inspections kept 2 years and reports 3.
  • New Zealand: Part 139 and AC139-3. Daily before flying, and again at evening civil twilight when further operations are expected; the ten NOTAM triggers of 7.3.3.
  • Papua New Guinea: Part 139. Once a day at code 1 and 2, twice at code 3 and 4.
  • Singapore: Air Navigation (139-Aerodromes) Regulations 2023 (to confirm). The five notification triggers of regulation 13 and the retention periods; inspection frequency follows the ICAO default until confirmed.
  • Malaysia: CAD 14 and CAD 1405 (to confirm). The CAD 1405 notification trigger; cadence and lighting follow the ICAO default until confirmed.
  • ICAO default (Annex 14 and PANS-Aerodromes). Inspections by runway code number. For Fiji, Hong Kong and markets with no pack of their own.
  • Remote strip. An inspection before each use. No NOTAM log by default: the owner records who was told.
  • Helicopter landing site. Profiles for NSW, Queensland and Victoria: daily, before each movement, and maintenance and audit where the profile asks. Other states and New Zealand start from the NSW profile, which the owner edits.

Lighting rules

  • Australia: MOS 139 lighting outages. By system size: any light out of a system under 4; 2 of 4 or 5; 3, or 2 next to each other, of 6 to 13; above 13, more than 15% or 2 next to each other. A PAPI or T-VASIS with a lamp out is to be switched off. A breach also raises NOTAM required (12.04(1)(c)) unless the outage is recorded as fixed before the next use.
  • ICAO: lighting serviceability objectives. Serviceable percentages by element for CAT I and CAT II and III, no two next to each other, and the stop bar and taxiway centreline rules below 300 m RVR. Elements with no objective use the facility’s own.
Aerodrome boardEach site Open (from records), Open with restrictions or Closed (from records), the operator’s own state beside it, the lanes, and each facility with its NOTAM state.
Open changesEach change with its cause, acknowledged with what is being done and who outside was advised, and escalated if nobody does.
Lights outLights recorded out by number, from the phone or the dashboard, and the fix recorded by a supervisor.
NOTAM logEach request, its number, every review and the cancellation; at strips and landing sites, who was told, how and when. Never deleted.
Closures and the operator’s statePlanned closures of a facility or the whole site, marked planned with no change alert, and the operator’s own state with a reason.
Runway conditionRunway condition reports per third with the suggested code, the reported code and where each was sent, and braking action reports.
WorksWorks windows, the MOWP, the works NOTAM, the works safety officer, start and handback photos, and the restore timer.
WildlifeObservations, strikes and their report reminders, attractants within 13 km and the plan review.
Aerodrome inspectionsThe period’s inspections, findings, open defects and what is overdue, with the findings map: each failed item pinned where it was found, by severity.
Inspector packOne site over one period, every record an aerodrome inspector asks to see, with the SHA-256 of the data download.
Drills and exercisesThe aerodrome drills from the library in your plans with your own intervals, runs recorded on the phone, corrective actions, everyone’s signature and the drill pack.
Aerodrome setupEach site’s type, rule pack, lighting rules and HLS profile, the technical inspection programme, and the facility register with light counts in order.

22 aerodrome, strip and landing site templates in the catalogue

Aerodrome (15)

  • Aerodrome serviceability inspection
  • Safety-critical inspection before the first departure
  • NOTAM review
  • Night lighting inspection
  • Pilot activated lighting and AFRU test
  • Wind direction indicator inspection
  • Stand-by power test
  • Portable runway lights
  • The day’s movements
  • Apron inspection
  • Runway inspection after an event
  • Works area / works safety officer inspection
  • Wildlife patrol
  • Perimeter fence and gate patrol
  • Technical inspection (annual)

Remote strips (2)

  • Owner’s airstrip inspection
  • Night set-up of an airstrip

Helicopter landing sites and heliports (5)

  • Helicopter landing site daily inspection
  • Helicopter landing site arrival and departure inspection
  • Helicopter landing site three-monthly maintenance
  • Helicopter landing site yearly audit
  • Heliport serviceability inspection

Each template is copied in as a draft. Your aerodrome validates it against its own procedures and aerodrome manual, changes it to its own wording and publishes it.

8 aerodrome drills and exercises in the drill library

Each is added to your plans as a draft, put in your own words and published with your interval. An interval is filled in only where the source states one, and you confirm it for your operation.

  • Full-scale emergency exercise. At intervals of no more than 2 years (MOS 139 24.05(1); NZ 139.109; PNG App I.1.13).
  • Partial exercise (for example a tabletop). In each year between full-scale exercises (MOS 139 24.05(1)).
  • Modular test in a 3-year cycle. In a cycle of 3 years, ending in a full-scale exercise.
  • Plan review with local responders (tabletop). At least once a year (MOS 139 24.05(3)).
  • Responder familiarisation visit. Every 2 years (CASA AC 139.C-18).
  • Portable runway lights deployment. Set by your aerodrome manual.
  • Crash alarm and direct line test. Set by your aerodrome manual.
  • Apron fuel spill response. Set by your risk assessment or procedures.

What Escudo Aviation never does

Records only. Escudo Aviation keeps the records, works out the board and reminds people. The decisions stay with your reporting officers, your aerodrome manager and the pilots. More on Aerodrome.

  • Issue, draft, change or cancel a NOTAM: it records the request, the number, the reviews and the cancellation
  • Send a runway condition report: it suggests the code and records where the report was sent
  • Lodge a strike report or a technical inspection report with the ATSB, CAAS or any regulator: it reminds, and records the date and reference
  • Decide whether the aerodrome is used: the operator decides
  • Decide whether a strip or landing site is suitable: the pilot decides
  • Set a night lighting layout for a strip: the owner’s own layout is the reference
  • State that a site meets a standard: the board shows what the records say
  • Use the name of a body whose guidance a template draws on, without its written agreement

Put one aerodrome on the board

Send us your serviceability inspection and your facility list. We will set up the site and show you the board working.

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