In late 2015 Av-Comm completed the installation of an ADS-B receiving station on behalf of Flightradar24 to provide the first ADS-B coverage of the Solomon Islands. The equipment allows aircraft movements in and around Honiara to be viewed and tracking via the Flightradar24 website and smartphone apps. The Solomon Islands has approximately 10 local aircraft movements per day and also sees several international flights over fly the nation on their way to and from Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The ADS-B equipment is installed at a communications transmission site located just outside the capital, Honiara. The receiving antenna is installed atop a 25m tower providing excellent coverage from the already elevated site with coverage reaching out to approximately 230 nautical miles.
Automatic Dependant Surveillance Broadcast or ADS-B is a real-time broadcasting system utilised by aircraft that transmits a variety of data such as an aircraft’s location, altitude, speed, and call sign. The ADS-B broadcasts are received by ground stations which are linked together via the internet and provide a visual display of global aircraft movements. ADS-B ground stations are limited in the distance from which they can receive an aircraft’s broadcasts to an approximate radius of 250 nautical miles. This limitation of terrestrial based ADS-B receive stations means complete global coverage requires many thousands of receiving stations. In addition to networks created by enthusiasts, ADS-B is utilisation by civil aviation authorities worldwide to compliment other tracking technologies such as radar.
Flightradar24 is a network of aviation enthusiasts who host ADS-B equipment that make up the network of receive sites whose data is collated and presented to the public via the Flightradar24 website. Flightradar24 also provides access to the ADS-B data via smartphone applications including iPhone and Android. The Flightradar24 concept was launched in 2006 and the network was opened to the public in 2009. The network continues to grow on a daily basis with Flightradar24 recently commissioning one of their more interesting ground stations located in Antarctica.
To view Flightradar24 and the coverage in the Solomon Islands visit: www.flightradar24.com
For more information on how ADS-B works visit the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority
