The first Type A production T-VASIS was commissioned at Hobart Airport, Tasmania, in 1964. A contract had been let to Reinforced Plastics Pty Ltd to produce six systems of the Type A design - a complete system required 20 fibreglass light units disposed on either side of the runway. Click here to read about the functioning of the system.
This photo shows the first production T-VASIS shortly after commissioning, at Hobart on 1 January 1965. One wonders what they were doing, working on a Public Holiday! The four boxes in the shot form the transverse part of the 'T', in this case on the right hand side of the runway abeam the touchdown point, and are continuously visible as a horizon reference.
The photo below shows a Type A 'closed box' T-VASIS unit from a different part of the array, photographed at Hobart in April 1964.
Click here
to compare the early light units with more
modern types.
(Photos: Top-CAHS/Will Heitbrink collection, bottom-CAHS/Byron Sullivan collection)
Click here to read about the history of T-VASIS
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