New Navigation System Takes Pilots On Wild Ride

One of the highest airports in the world has been virtually unreachable by commercial airlines --until now. An Air China Boeing 757 has been testing a new navigational system developed by Seattle-based Naverus Systems.

At 9,700 feet, Linzhi airport in Tibet lies not only one-third as high as nearby Mount Everest, but is virtually hidden year round by constant clouds and is of course, surrounded by very high mountains.

Naverus, has developed an automated navigation system, using GPS and inertial on-board instruments to automatically guide the aircraft through the mountain ranges and into a twisting valley that is the only possible approach into Linzhi.

The Seattle Times reports Chinese aviation authorities are deploying the Naverus system -- a sophisticated version of technology that's broadly known as Required Navigation Performance (RNP).

You can't just plug the box in and go, though. Naverus had to design the approaches into Linzhi after months of gathering data about the airport, the surrounding terrain, weather conditions, the 757's performance, its flight-deck systems, the airline's training procedures and government regulations.

Pilots marvel as the plane descends, turns, twists, and maneuvers -- all automatically -- and then presents a perfect final approach for the last 500 feet.

Capt. Chen Dong Cheng, an Air China pilot rode as an observer on the inaugural flight. He said the approach into Linzhi by a large passenger jet would be completely impossible, without the sophisticated navigational maneuvering the Naverus system offers.
He calls it, "the future of the aviation navigation industry."

The Naverus system must be pre-programmed for each specific airport and so far is only installed on Boeing 757s, but the precise navigational technology involved may make navigation for more conventional approaches even safer and more precise.

"We are making impossible things possible," Capt. Chen said.

FMI: www.naverus.com