Does Trailer / Vehicle Bounce affect accuracy?
The MALMS trailer has been specifically designed to provide a stable platform for the sensor arrays when measuring both inset and elevated AGL services. However, any vehicle or trailer will bounce if the surface is bad – especially where there are drains / gullies on the runway edge. The MALMS measurement technique, using multiple readings with a minimum measurement distance in excess of 4m, minimises the impact of any bounce. At these distances, a movement of 75mm (a really extreme bounce) equates to less than 1 degree difference in location within the beam. Therefore, for MALMS bounce has only a minor impact on accuracy. In comparison, a system that measures nearer to the light source will find bounce a significant factor. A system with a small array must measure close to the light – at 1.2m only 20mm of bounce equates to 1ยบ.
