LED PAPI NG™

The ongoing effort to modernize and upgrade America’s National Airspace System will bring a host of benefits not only to the traveling public, but also provide long term benefits to the taxpayer and to our environment while stimulating small business growth. One such program that can do this is the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plan to replace its legacy visual approach slope indicator (VASI) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) systems,with new Light Emitting Diode (LED) systems.

First designed in the 1970s, PAPI systems assists pilots in landing aircraft by providing visual glide slope guidance indicating if an aircraft is too high or low, on approach.

These systems – which are critical visual aids for landing of aircraft – are currently powered by antiquated incandescent lamps. These older lamps run continuously and burn hot and often need to be replaced. These systems are no longer efficient and have generated costs and impacts for the FAA making them less and less efficient to continue to operate.

First, regular disposal of incandescent bulbs creates both costs and environmental impacts in terms of disposal. Second, replacement of bulbs requires a significant number of service hours by personnel which must do so by hand. Third, the energy costs associated with incandescent bulbs are significantly higher than their newer LED counterparts. Lastly, U.S. based minority owned small businesses have played a significant role in the legacy PAPI program and are expected to play a key role in the new PAPI LED program and as such represents an opportunity for both job growth and equity going forward. Lastly, these new systems also perform better and are more reliable than their predecessors.