29-JUL-1993 17:38
FAX TRANSMISSION
BRITISH TRADE COMM
P.02
Our Reference: "A" MET/O
29 July 1993
Professor C G Collier Metstar Consultants
Fax no 344 854024
Page 1 of 2
British
Trade Commission Hong Kong
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Dear Infessor Wither
Thank you for your fax of 28 July in response to my fax of the same date.
Today I called on Patrick Sham (Royal Observatory) and Peter Lok (Civil Aviation Department) in that order to try to smoke them out a little on your chances of winning the Windshear Warning System contract for Chek Lap Kok. Patrick Sham went to great lengths to explain that the Royal Observatory and the Met Office had had a close and very useful working relationship for very many years. I interpret his high regard for the Met as a comforting backdrop to your bid. He did however say that there
was serious competition for this contract and that your meetings next week would be important.
Peter Lok on the other had was a little more forthcoming and seemed to take a harder line. While not making light of the Royal Observatory's ability to assess the bids, he did say that the key element in the bids as far as CAD are concerned was the speed at which information on windshearing conditions could be relayed to the pilot. It was important also he thought to monitor conditions and collect data at the Chek Lap Kok site from a jet powered rather than propeller driven aircraft, since the new airport would be used mostly by jet aircraft and the recovery response time for a jet powered aircraft in difficulty was considerably longer than for a propeller driven aircraft. I think he may have been hinting as strongly as he could that your competitor would collect the data using a jet powered aircraft whereas you were opting for a propeller driven one? He might also, by emphasising the need for speed in the transmission of information to the pilot, have been hinting that your competitor (presumably NCAR) is promising a quicker response time than you are? I think CAD are more interested in
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