SAAB SKIDDOMETER

The SAAB skiddometer, designed to measure runway friction and for possible future use on icy roads, has completed a year's testing. A fifth wheel lowered from the luggage compartment of a SAAB 99 car is connected to the normal (non-driven) rear wheels. Forces acting on the wheel and the distance travelled are fed to a digital computer, which is programmed to give integrated mean values for pre-selected sections of the runway as well as for the complete length. A dashboard read-out is provided and the information is also recorded on tape. SAAB claims a number of advantages of the skiddometer over previous equipment; installation in a fast car rather than a trailer allows aircraft landing speeds to be simulated more realistically, the runway is out of action for a shorter period, and the risk of jack-knifing is eliminated. The measuring equipment can be declutched and retracted when not required, allowing the car to be used for other purposes. SAAB estimates that some 1500 airports need continual access to runway friction-measuring instruments. /TRRL/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/02624079
• Corporate Authors:

  IPC Magazines

  66-69 Great Queens Street
  London WC2E 5DD,   England 
• Publication Date: 1977-6-16

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 648
• Serial:
  • NEW SCIENTIST
  • Volume: 74
  • Issue Number: 1056
  • Publisher: REED BUSINESS INFORMATION LTD
  • ISSN: 0262-4079

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport runways; Digital computers; Friction; Ice; Landing; Measuring instruments; Simulation; Skid resistance tests; Speed
• ITRD Terms: 2567: Black ice; 5460: Coefficient of friction; 6136: Measurement; 8109: Sweden
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Highways; Pavements; Terminals and Facilities; I23: Properties of Road Surfaces;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00164298
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Analytic
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 7 1978 12:00AM