Watts Antenna Company News Releases
Watts Antenna Company President reports The bounds of safety are being pushed because of the FAA’s lack of interest in upgrading the ILS
Monday, February 1, 2021 – WXYZ’s The 7 Investigators were the first to expose an unsafe landing system at Detroit Metro Airport. John H. Johnson Sr., president of Watts Antenna Company contributed to their most recent report. Here is an excerpt from the report. Now an industry leader is coming forward, alleging that the FAA’s refusal to invest in better landing systems both in Michigan and across the country could be putting airline passengers at risk. “The bounds of safety are being pushed because of our lack of interest in upgrading the ILS,” said John H. Johnson Sr., president and CEO of Watts Antenna Company. Following is the link to the report and video. “It’s a Safety Issue”
Watts Antenna Company joins Airports Consultants Council
Friday, January 8, 2021 – Watts Antenna Company is pleased to now be members of the Airports Consultants Council. This esteemed group of industry professionals provides the expertise relied upon by airports of every scale.
Though 2020 was a disappointing year for most especially for those in the aerospace industry, we are very optimistic about the outlook for 2021. In fact we immediately are look forward to working with consultants to inform them of the capabilities of Advanced ILS Antennas so they can better advise their clients as air travel rebounds. Knowledge of these uniquely capable Advanced ILS Antenna Systems will help planners and consultants to reimagine airport designs to exceed the goals of their client’s Master Plans, and to rethink and write Airport Layout Plans (ALP) for more successful AIP funding.
65th Annual ATCA Conference and Exposition
Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – Watts Antenna Company, a proud 2020 Sponsor and Exhibitor at the 65th Annual ATCA Conference and Exhibition would like to thank everyone that visited our exhibitor’s booth December 7th – 11th, 2020. The conference was held in an entirely virtual setting and provided an opportunity to develop our virtual exhibit presentation skills which will be of benefit should we need to continue social distancing into the future.
At the conference, we held a drawing and gave away a DJI Mavic 2 Pro Quadcopter with 4K camera and remote. The winner of the drawing was Lawrence Major of Annapolis, MD. Congrats Larry!
If you happened to have missed the event, we would still like to share with you why we believe that an Instrument Landing System (ILS) utilizing our Advanced ILS Antennas becomes operationally superior, more reliable and financially beneficial to airports, their surrounding communities and the broader aviation community. Contact us to examine the financial opportunities our antenna systems afford.
COVID-19 News
Thursday, March 26th, 2020 – While many within our industry are experiancing serious disruptions to services due to COVID-19, Watts Antenna Company remains on schedule with all orders and expects no delays in deliveries of our antenna systems at this time. Although we too now have staff working from home, sufficient critical components are kept in stock to mitigate supply issues that arise from unexpected circumstances such as what we now face.
It is our hope that all industry stakeholders recover quickly from the effects of this pandemic and most of all that their families and friends remain safe. We sympathize with all who are fighting this terrible virus and extend our condolences to those who have suffered the loss of loved ones.
World ATM Congress in Madrid, Spain Cancelled Over Coronavirus Concerns
Wednesday, March 4th, 2020 – Plans to exhibit at the World ATM Congress in Madrid were brought to an official halt today after notification was received that the event was being cancelled related to Coronavirus Concerns.
Watts Antenna Company Exhibits at AAAE/ACC’s Airport Planners, Design & Construction Symposium in Reno, NV
Thursday, February 27th, 2020 – Watts Antenna Company’s exhibit was well attended and received last week in Reno NV at the Airport Planning, Design and Construction symposium. Our success there, we attribute to the planning that went into the event by sponsors and the recognition that airport planners and designers have a great deal of influence among airport executives as to recommending possible ways to accomplish the goals of their airports and surrounding communities. From our prospective, this was a top contender for the most beneficial airport improvement conference we have attended in a long while. Nice work everyone!
Watts Antenna Company Congratulates Recently Trained & Factory Certified EFGS Installers, Maintainers & Instructors Course Graduates.
Thursday, January 2nd, 2020 – Watts Antenna Company Manufacturer’s End-Fire Certification is required for installers of our antenna systems to preserve the manufacturer’s system warranty. This course ensures and certifies that an individual knows how to install and tune up our system. We feel that this will save everyone time and money during the installation, tune up, commissioning, and maintenance of our system. Among those who successfully completed the course, testing and demonstrated their understanding of End-Fire Glide Slope Antenna Systems from December 9th-13th, 2019 were:
- Enrique Abeirus Jr. Installer, HYPOWER
- Jorge Ferret Installer , HYPOWER
- Brian Harper Installer/ Maintainer, FAA
- Douglas W. Lowe Jr. Installer/Maintainer/Instructor, NAVCOM
- Roger Patterson Installer/Maintainer/ Instructor, NAVCOM
Congrats all!
Watts Antenna Company Urges Trump Administration to Modernize U.S. Airports
Thursday December 5, 2019 – In an ongoing effort to gain the attention of decision makers in Washington, D.C., Watts Antenna Company President John H. Johnson Sr. wrote to U.S. President Donald J. Trump, his administration and all members of the 116th U.S. Congress, urging them to consider that under previous FAA leadership and government direction, U.S. airports have fallen behind the rest of the world in operational efficiency, growth opportunities and safety.
Further, Mr. Johnson pointed out that U.S. airports are congested due to the decades long (30+ years) attempt to replace the Instrument Landing System (ILS) with more “advanced” technology, while failing to support ILS improvements, now being embraced by the rest of the world.
Over 550 certified letters were mailed to the Trump administration, the U.S. Congress and other industry leaders.
For a transcript of the redacted letter and the distribution list click here.
Watts Antenna Company President Presents Evidence At the 64th ATCA Annual Conference & Exposition Showing US Airports Falling Behind In Advanced Instrument Landing Systems (ILS)
Tuesday October 22, 2019 – Evidence was given by company president John H. Johnson Sr. showing that under current and previous FAA leadership and direction, with the exception of our new FAA Director, Steve Dickson, the United States is rapidly moving to the “back of the pack” on Advanced Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) when compared to the rest of the world. He noted that U.S. Airport efficiency has been, and currently is, suffering due the FAA’s 30 + year attempt to replace the ILS with more “advanced” technology while pulling the rug out from under ILS support and funding. It was pointed out that although a U.S. manufacturer (Watts Antenna Company) produced the world’s widest aperture ILS localizer, commissioned Category III in 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland, the FAA is adamant not to invest in advanced ILS antennas despite the substantial improvements to airport capacity.
Mr. Johnson brought up that though the U.S. military employs remote flight inspection capable ILS’s, this concept is not supported by FAA to avoid investment in ILS. Meanwhile, the rest of the world moves on to develop advanced ILS technology. He presented proof that as early as 2015, Airports worldwide began to install advanced ILS antennas superior to any in the U.S.
Reports indicate a 10 to 20 percent increase in operations during IFR conditions, substantial development opportunities previous thought not possible, and an increase in safety from the advanced ILS antennas.
Click the following lint to view the original presentation: “Increasing Airport Capacity is Easy; The Politics of Opposition is Another Matter “
“Critical Approach”
October 13, 2019 – An article featuring Watts Antenna Company written by Dave Hughes entitled “Critical Approach” for issue 3: 2019 of the UK’s Air Traffic Management publication comes off the press in time for the 64th ATCA Annual Conference and Exposition in Washington DC.
The article describes issues related to ILS Critical Areas and the benefits of Watts Antenna Company’s wide aperture Advanced ILS Antennas in mitigating those issues to increase capacity and operational safety. Read the article here or click on the title above.
Dave Hughes also authored an additional article in the same issue in which he quotes Watts company President John H. Johnson and describes the benefits and specs, particularly of our model 201 super-wide aperture ILS Localiser Antenna commissioned in Geneva, Switzerland since 2005.
From his research, Mr. Hughes reports in his article “Making the Case” that rumors of the demise of ILS are much exaggerated.
Watts Antenna Company Congratulates Recently Trained & Factory Certified EFGS Installers, Maintainers & Instructors Course Graduates.
Monday, June 3rd, 2019 – Watts Antenna Company Manufacturer’s End-Fire Certification is required for installers of our antenna systems to preserve the manufacturer’s system warranty. This course ensures and certifies that an individual knows how to install and tune up our system. We feel that this will save everyone time and money during the installation, tune up, commissioning, and maintenance of our system. Among those who successfully completed the course, testing and demonstrated their understanding of End-Fire Glide Slope Antenna Systems on May 15th-22nd, 2019 were:
- Edwar Giovani Cepeda Installer, Aerocivil
- Javie Vargas Prada Installer, Maintainer, Aerocivil
- Acosta, Alvaro Andres Peña Installer, Maintainer, ENTELCOM
- Andrea Ricaurte Installer, Maintainer, ENTELCOM
- Orozco, Fermin David Niño Installer, Maintainer, ENTELCOM
For a complete list of factory certified installers, maintainers and instructors, visit the following link. https://wattsantenna.com/watts-end-fire-glide-slope-manufacturer-certified-professionals
Full Time Marketing Director Acquired
Monday, May 26, 2018 – Robert A. Johnson has joined the staff of Watts Antenna Company as Marketing Director. He has over 35 years of small business marketing, sales and management experience and will be responsible to oversee the development of domestic and international marketing campaigns as well as to consult with industry professionals and stakeholders about the benefits of Advanced ILS Antennas.
Mr. Johnson can be reached by phone at 1.740.856.5271 or by email at Bob.Johnson@wattsantenna.com
Company Relocated Manufacturing Facilities to Ohio
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 – Watts Antenna Company has moved its Manufacturing Facility to Ohio. This will allow the Watts Antenna Company to serve its customers around the world well into the foreseeable future.