ALTO General Aviation services - News May 2009

ALTO General Aviation Services GmbH, from Eltville am Rhein, Germany’s leading company for landside airport planning, intensifies their activities in Europe.

At present ALTO has built the world biggest two rotating parking decks for jets up to 10t MTOW at Grenchen Airport in Switzerland. So far the biggest parking decks of this kind, with a diameter of 30m, had been implemented at Frankfurt – Egelsbach Airport, Germany, from ALTO as well.

After having calculated various options for the airport at Grenchen, ALTO has come to the conclusion, that the existing surface can be exploited at its best with a parking deck with a diameter of 32m of which  the whole surface can be used. With a selective strengthening of the structure, the parking of heavier jets will be possible as well.

ALTO’s proven and tested parking ring system at Grenchen consists of a steel construction that looks like a lying spoke wheel and a wooden lagging, supported by wooden beams. The whole system is driven by six electric motors. An electronic control turns every jet precisely to the door per fingertip.

Rotating parking systems for small aircrafts – either rings or decks – can be found in more than 150 hangars in Germany already. ALTO General Aviation Services, leading provider of turnkey hangar solutions in Germany, has adapted this rotating parking system for heavier jets.

As there are only a few hangars with rotating decks outside from Germany, Peter Nikolaus Fries, ALTO’s Managing Director, is strongly convinced that Grenchen will be a sign post for this system. “We design and build hangars in any variations and in many situations, rotating floor systems provide a more than substantial benefit to the projects in terms of efficient land use, easier aircraft handling and overall cost advantages.”