Avlite Keeps Adelaide Skies Safe with Obstruction Light

Background

The South Australian (SA) Athletics Stadium was the first opened on Australia Day, 26 January 1998. It is an extensive, modern athletics facility located 10 minutes by car from the Adelaide CBD.

The athletics facility offers a national standard nine lane running track and field complex. The complex includes training and warm-up areas, lighting, photo finish and modern timing equipment. The infield converts to a FIFA regulation-sized quality turf pitch for soccer and other turf related sports.

In October 2019, the South Australian Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing began a $2.3 million upgrade. It was signed off in conjunction with the Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure.

The update included six new 38 metre LED sports lighting towers. These towers allowed the venue more opportunities to hold national and state-level events, specifically for athletics and football (soccer). It has seating for 1,200 and a maximum capacity of 6,000 people.

The Challenge

The project scope called for the following factors:

• A customised lighting solution to work in conjunction with the Adelaide Airport.
• Lighting with minimal maintenance by the SA Athletics Stadium.
• Three day back up power system for emergencies.

This system needed to be designed in line with CASA guidelines to meet the domestic obstruction lighting regulation. The lights also needed to be easy to install and operate.

The system had to report directly to the nearby Adelaide Airport. The airport required the obstruction lighting to work reliably to manage the airspace. This would protect any aircraft approaching and departing Adelaide’s only major airport.

Solution

CME Group were the contractors commissioned to install the lighting for the SA Athletics Stadium. They had a tight deadline and needed a custom obstruction solution, including GSM monitoring and an Uninterruptable Power System (UPS).

At the highest point of the tallest light tower, an AV-OL-MI CASA Medium Intensity Obstruction light was installed. This obstruction light is incredibly bright, energy efficient and cost-effective.

The light fixture is also available in two configurations: Universal DC or AC. The advanced light optic uses multiple LEDs for efficient operation. The corrosion-resistant acrylic lens is specially designed for use with LEDs to maximise light intensity and uniformity.

The system installed also contained an external GSM module. This is a cost-effective option for monitoring an obstruction lantern, giving operators critical data on the light.

The system can be configured to send out alarm SMS text messages to designated cellular phone numbers. It can also connect into our new Star2M remote asset, monitoring, maintenance and control portal. For more information about Star2M click here.

Included in the system was a three day backup Uninterruptable Power System (UPS). The UPS is designed to keep the system running in case of emergencies. The system comprises multi-step charging and is fully automatic for optimal output when required.

Outcome

This project was installed successfully and on-time. The SA Athletics Stadium’s monitored obstruction lights are compliant to the latest CASA regulations and reporting requirements.

The Athletics Stadium now has the lighting it requires to be a world-class sporting venue while keeping the skies over Adelaide safe.

“(We had) superb support from the sales and engineering teams at Avlite,” said Leon Bowley, Electrian Leading Head at CME Group. “We required a quick turnaround and the Australian team made it happen, producing a custom system for us swiftly. We hope to partner again soon with Avlite on another project.”

Avlite’s Product Manager for Aviation and Digital, Wade Evans, said custom obstruction lighting in Australia is becoming larger as cities expand.

“Our obstruction lights are designed specifically to comply with the CASA regulations, are feature-rich and built to last,”