Precision ATM was contracted by Lagan Aviation Construction Ltd (LACL) to install two new runway approaches at RAF Northolt, Ruislip, North London. They selected Pollite to manufacture the approach poles for the RAF Northolt due to their expertise in this market sector.
Precision ATM have successfully installed Pollite UK manufactured poles on other runway projects, RAF Marham being the most recent project prior to the RAF Northolt contract.
Precision ATM have built up a good working relationship with the Pollite management, designers and engineers over recent projects and we were confident that Pollite would deliver the best product to meet the needs of the project on time and at a competitive price and on budget.
Precision ATM have found that the quality of the product to be of a very high standard and wish to continue working with them on future projects.
The runway 07 approach design was for a three bar Calvert approach which consisted of two inset approach luminaires and fifty elevated approach luminaires. The elevated approach luminaires were supported on Pollite frangible poles above 3.3 metres tall and on aluminium poles between 0.78 and 2.52 metres tall.
Predominantly the poles were installed in a farmer’s field on concrete bases installed with M16 ground rods installed in the concrete bases.
One approach pole was sited in between the crash barriers on the central reservation on the A40 dual carriageway. The pole was erected onto an existing concrete base where the new M16 ground rods were fixed into holes cored out by the main contractor LACL. The M16 ground rods were fixed in position with an Epoxy resin chemical anchor. The pole was installed during a partial night-time closure of the carriageway lanes either side of the central reservation. A tower scaffold was erected to access the top of the pole so that the luminaire could be aligned and angled to the required position to meet the design angle for approaching aircraft.
One approach pole was installed between the public footpath/cycle path and the A40 dual carriageway in a strip of grass. The crossarm on the pole protruded over the public footpath/cycle path. A tower scaffold was used to align the elevated luminaires.
The poles in the farmer’s field consisted of single poles with crossarms to support the elevated luminaires, these poles were straight forward to install and achieve the desired light heights for the approach angle as specified by the AGL designers.
The runway 25 approach design was for a three bar Calvert approach which consisted of fifty-six elevated approach luminaires. The elevated approach luminaires were supported on Pollite frangible poles above 2.53 metres tall and on aluminium poles between 0.87 and 2.5 metres tall.
The first cross bar at 150 metres from the runway threshold was sited inside the RAF Northolt boundary fence.
The poles between the 150 metre cross bar and the Odyssey Business Park were installed in a grass field on concrete bases installed with M16 ground rods installed in the concrete bases.
The runway 25 approach poles were installed through the car parks in the Odyssey Business Park. The bottom section of the existing poles and concrete bases were utilised to mount the new Pollite pole sections.
The new frangible poles were manufactured with a metal flange plate at the base of the pole which was the same diameter as the existing pole flange. The new section of the pole was lifted into position with a telescopic forklift and lowered until the two flanges were joined together with stainless steel M16 nuts, washers and hex bolts.
An all-terrain genie boom was used to make the final adjustments to the lights and brackets on the poles.
Two further poles were erected outside the Odyssey Business Park to replace the existing wooden poles. A new pole with a cantilever cross arm at the top was designed by Pollite to extend the cross arm from the pole location so that the light positions could be mounted in line with the other approach lights.
The pole was offset from the axis of the runway centre line so that the footprint of the pole was outside the building line of the building.
An internally lit airport size windsock was also supplied by Pollite.