Compass Swing Base Measurement

Airplanes need to check their magnetic direction sensing elements: a flux valve or a magnetic compass. Compass swing bases at airfields serve for this task. The compass swing base need to be magnetically sufficiently clean and the direction of the magnetic field at the base need to be known.

The Nurmijärvi magnetic calibration and test laboratory has equipment and knowledge to make these measurements at airfields. A usual procedure is to start the research with a regular grid of total field measurements with a proton magnetometer. The geographic azimuth is measured with two GPS satellite receivers and the magnetic declination with two DI-theodolites.

Brochure of compass swing base measurement and of compass calibration (pdf)