Aviation Services

SHANNON AIRPORT
Location:
52°41'31" N
8°55'8" W
6M above mean sea level
Shannon Airport is located 25 Km from Limerick and Ennis.

History:
Shannon Airport was opened in 1942. In 1944 a synoptic station was established at the airport for the Meteorological Service. In October 1945 the first scheduled flight passed through Shannon. In 1947 the world's first duty-free shop opened at the airport.

Shannon Airport's location was chosen because of its favourable topography for aircraft. Many airlines use Shannon as a training venue for new pilots because of the ideal conditions at the airport.

Weather radar was installed at Shannon in May 1996. It is arguably the most important radar in Ireland as it is the first to detect weather from the south-west. It can show rainfall to a range of 240 Km and wind to a range of 100 Km. A high frequency pulse (freq. 5.6 GHz) is transmitted at a typical rate of 570 pulses per second (normally referred to as the PRF or pulse repetition frequency).

This pulse is reflected back to the radar if it hits rainfall and it is then processed by computers to display the rainfall in colour code for easy recognition. The T.V. weather presenters also use this when showing the extent of the daily rainfall. Wind is detected by the movement of rain that follows the wind in speed and direction. However, if there is no rain the radar cannot measure wind speed either.