The FAA Monday gave approval to Honeywell's Smartpath
Precision Landing System, clearing the way for increased safety and
efficiency at airports by providing precise navigation service
based on GPS. The first U.S.-approved system is located in Memphis,
TN and will become operational early next year.
"The approval of Honeywell's system marks the successful completion
of a partnership between the FAA and Airservices Australia to build
and certify a ground based augmentation system (GBAS)," said FAA
Administrator Randy Babbitt. "We expect GBAS to become an asset to
airports around the world." Airservices Australia is expected to
approve their system soon at Sydney Airport, Australia.
GBAS augments the GPS to provide precision approach guidance to all
qualifying runways at an airport. It monitors the GPS signals to
detect errors and augment accuracy by transmitting correction
messages to aircraft via local radio broadcast. GBAS will initially
supplement the legacy Instrument Landing Systems currently used at
airports.
The FAA's NextGen Implementation Plan identifies GBAS as an
enabler for descent and approach operations to increase capacity at
crowded airports. The Honeywell system is approved for precision
approach operations down to 200 feet above the surface. GBAS will
be improved over the next few years to guide an aircraft down to
the runway surface to support zero-visibility operations and
provide precise positioning service to enable performance-based
navigation, area navigation (RNAV) and required navigation
performance (RNP) operations.
RNAV enables aircraft to fly on any desired flight path within the
coverage of ground or spaced-based navigation aids, within the
limits of the capability of the self-contained systems, or a
combination of both capabilities. As such, RNAV aircraft have
better access and flexibility for point-to-point operations. RNP is
RNAV with the addition of an onboard performance monitoring and
alerting capability.
Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System ODALS consists of seven omnidirectional flashing lights located in the approach area of a nonprecision runway. Five lights are located on t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
Also: 1800th E-Jet, Uncle Sam Sues For Landing Gear, Embraer Ag Plane, Textron Parts A friend of the family reported that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Glenn Rutan flew west on Friday, M>[...]
Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]
“Our aircrews are trained and capable of rapidly shifting from operational missions to humanitarian roles. We planned to demonstrate how we, and our BORSTAR partners, respond>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.05.24): Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System
See All