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Honeywell SmartPath(TM) Precision Landing System First to Receive FAA System Design Approval

Written by thomas · Filed Under Commercial 

September 23, 2009

thomas

Technology Allows Airports to Increase Capacity, Reduce Delays, Improve Energy Efficiency

PHOENIX, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced that its SmartPath(TM) Precision Landing System, a technology that increases airport capacity for a fraction of the cost of new runways, is the first and only ground based augmentation system (GBAS) to receive the Federal Aviation Administration’s System Design Approval.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080425/LAF040LOGO)

Honeywell’s technology supports precision approach and landings by using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite data and transmits digital guidance signals to aircraft systems. SmartPath ground-based systems provide differential GPS corrections to replace or supplement the Instrument Landing System (ILS) currently used at airports. ILS is an older technology with technical and operational limitations that impacts flight path flexibility and airport throughput. ILS is also susceptible to signal interference by weather and obstacles, which can result in significant disruptions to airport traffic, causing delays.

Replacing ILS with GBAS technology has been identified in the FAA’s NextGen system and Eurocontrol’s Single European Sky ATM Research Programme as critical enablers for improving air traffic capacity.

“Honeywell is a pioneer in this technology, having first demonstrated the ability to use GPS for aircraft landing in the early 1990s,” said TK Kallenbach, Vice President of Product Management. “Our GBAS technology in SmartPath, demonstrated at more than 25 airports around the world, is ready for implementation now to enable airports to increase capacity without expensive runway expansions. Coupling SmartPath with precision arrivals can also save airline operators fuel and lowers emissions.”

A single Honeywell system can support landing operations on multiple runways simultaneously, eliminating the need for multiple ILS systems at airports with more than one runway.

“One SmartPath system installed in a typical airport can yield annual maintenance savings of up to $400,000 compared to a single ILS,” said Vicki Panhuise, Honeywell Vice President, US Defense Customers. “Honeywell’s technology offers airports improved efficiency and capacity, while offering operators greater navigational accuracy and fewer weather-related delays.”

Airservices Australia, with whom Honeywell has worked on SmartPath GBAS in a coordinated effort, has been actively engaged in the use of GBAS technology since 1999 and has been operating the Honeywell SmartPath GBAS ground station in Sydney since November 2006. In Australia, more than 1,400 revenue landings have occurred using SmartPath.

Honeywell’s SmartPath is operating at early adopter airports across the globe, including Bremen, Germany; Malaga, Spain; Memphis, Tenn.; and Atlantic City, N.J. Additional installations are planned at airports in the U.S., Asia, South America and Europe beginning in late summer 2009.

To achieve FAA System Design Approval, Honeywell’s SmartPath system has been fully audited, reviewed and inspected by the FAA in a multi-year process.

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Honeywell’s aerospace business is a leading global provider of integrated avionics, engines, systems and service solutions for aircraft manufacturers, airlines, business and general aviation, military, space and airport operations.

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