It is not uncommon for air traffic control to pose this question to pilots on IFR flight plans approaching certain airports when the weather is VFR. In daylight, when the visibility is good, the winds calm, and the pilot familiar with the airport—and the approach is a straight in—the visual is no big deal.

But throw in weather, fatigue, low light, pilot unfamiliarity, and a circle to land, and it’s a different event.

Honeywell Aerospace is trying to mitigate these risks, expanding its navigation database to offer flight management system (FMS) guided visual procedures as a stand-alone option.

According to Jim Johnson, senior manager of flight technical services at Honeywell, the visual approaches are created in collaboration with Jeppesen. The instructions for the guided visuals look like Jeppesen approach plates but carry the caveat “advisory guidance only” and “visual approach only.” In addition, the symbology on the approaches differs in a handful of ways.

“The FMS-guided visual provides a lateral and vertical path from a fix fairly close to the airport all the way down to the runway,” says Johnson. “You can hand fly them or couple them to the autopilot.”

Visual into KTEB

One of the first guided visual approaches was created for the descent to Runway 1 at Teterboro Airport (KTEB) in New Jersey.

The airport sits in a very industrialized area with the runway blending into warehouses and business parks. Honeywell provides a video of the visual approach on its website that illustrates the value of having that helping hand. Having the extra vertical and lateral guidance from a mathematically created visual procedure allows pilots to better manage their approach, configuring the aircraft in an expedient manner to avoid “coming in high and hot” in an improperly configured aircraft.

• READ MORE: Going with Glass: The Mother of All Panel Upgrades

This is quite helpful when the aircraft needs to circle to land, says Carey Miller, pilot and senior manager of technical sales at Honeywell.

“Going into Runway 1 at Teterboro on the visual, you are not aligned with the VASI,” Miller says. “There is no vertical guidance, which can lead to a dive to the runway. Add a moonless night or gusty winds, and it can be quite challenging. Not being able to see the airport is a detriment to your energy management. The visual approaches, when coupled to the autopilot, eliminate the guesswork and the overbanking tendency that can lead to stalls.”

Adds Johnson: “The aircraft will fly constant radius turns, [and] you will be on the same ground track every time because the computer knows how to manage the vertical and lateral path. It gets rid of the pilot drifting down or turning early because of the winds.”

Airspace Guidance

The guided visual procedures created thus far have come from suggestions from Honeywell customers, including a visual approach to Chicago Executive/Prospect Heights Airport in Wheeling, Illinois (KPWK). KPWK is in Class D airspace, 8 nm from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (KORD). The Class B airspace for KORD sits above KPWK. There is a V-shaped cutout with various altitudes over KPWK.

The guided visual can help the pilot avoid clipping the Class B airspace during the circle to land—and the dreaded phone call with ATC that results.

The Creative Process

Each approach is created using software tools that take into account the airspace and terrain at the airport, then test flown in simulators to check for flyability.

According to Johnson, the suggestions for where to offer the guided visual approaches come from their customers.

“There are a lot of secondary and regional airports in the U.S. that have both terrain and airspace considerations that make visual approaches very challenging,” says Johnson. “For example, Van Nuys, California [KVNY], has both airspace challenges and a ridge nearby.”

• READ MORE: All Flight Jackets Tell a Story

In some cases, the team may opt to create a visual approach as an overlay to improve safety at airports where closely spaced simultaneous approaches are in use. As this issue was going to press, Honeywell was working on an approach to Runway 28R/L at San Francisco International Airport (KSFO). The visual approach has a briefing sheet with textual guidance, and Honeywell has literally drawn a picture of it.

During development each procedure is flown in a simulator, using a specific briefing sheet that is checked and double-checked for accuracy and usability. Each approach has the ability to be coupled with the autopilot.

Miller cautions it is important to recognize that the visual procedures are not considered instrument approaches in the traditional sense.

“Do not request it as an approach, because ATC will not be aware of it,” Miller says. This information is emphasized on the procedure briefing sheet that accompanies each guided visual approach.

The guided visual approach is loaded in the FMS just like an instrument approach. The pilots can access them with a few pushes of a button, just as they do Jeppesen approaches.

“To use the visual approaches, the customer needs to have a Honeywell-equipped aircraft, and in addition to the FMS database, for an additional $2,000 per year they receive the visual approaches,” says Miller.

To request an approach, contact Honeywell at FTS@honeywell.com. It takes approximately four weeks to put one together.

Coming Full Circle

In many ways, the visual approach procedures represent a modern treatment to the first approaches created by Elrey Jeppesen—yes, that Jeppesen—who became a pilot in 1925 at the age of 18. At the time, there was no such thing as maps purpose-built for aviation. Pilots relied on road maps—which often weren’t terribly accurate, following railroad tracks from town to town or by pilotage and dead reckoning.

In 1925, Jeppesen went to work as a survey pilot and by 1930 was working for Boeing Air Transport, the precursor to United Airlines. This was decades before air traffic control and electronic navigation systems were created. Jeppesen bought a small notebook and filled it with information about the routes he flew. In it there were drawings of runways and airports and information that pilots needed to know, like the elevation of water towers, telephone numbers of farmers who would provide weather reports, and dimensions of the runway and its distance from the nearest city.

In 1934, this evolved into the Jeppesen Company and the notebook into the en route charts and terminal area procedures we know today. Much of Jeppesen’s flying was done in the Pacific Northwest. The Museum of Flight in Seattle is the keeper of the Elrey B. Jeppesen Collection, and for many years there was a replica of his first notebook on display in the Red Barn.

We think Captain Jepp would appreciate how far the approaches he inspired have come.

This column first appeared in the January-February 2024/Issue 945 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Honeywell Crafts Safer Approaches Through Technology appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The agreement includes CMC supplying the heads-up display, or HUD, and flight management systems as well as a GNSS receiver. The contract award follows Spain’s purchase of an additional PC-21 single-engine turboprops, bringing its total PC-21 fleet to 40 aircraft.

• READ MORE: CMC Electronics Partners with Sikorsky on FMS for Black Hawks

“CMC Electronics and Pilatus have had a longstanding collaboration spanning over two

decades, with more than 300 HUD subsystems as well as more than 500 FMS and 300 GPS already delivered to Pilatus,” said Brad Nolen, vice president of sales and marketing at CMC Electronics. “The selection of CMC Electronics for this contract demonstrates Pilatus’ continued trust in CMC’s avionics solutions.” 

• READ MORE: Spanish Air Force Buys 24 Pilatus PC-21s and Training System

CMC Electronics also said the contract agreement “further solidifies its position as a trusted provider in the industry” as it looks forward to delivering its avionics systems to support the operations of Pilatus and the Spanish Air Force.

The post CMC Electronics Signs Contract to Supply Avionics for Pilatus PC-21s appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Both U.S. military and international operators will take delivery of the updated helicopters, including the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, to perform missions such as search and rescue, troop and personnel transport, medevac, disaster relief, aerial firefighting, and border patrol.

The CMA-2028MC integrates radio management along with the FMS functionality. Its reduced weight, low cost, and small size make it a flexible choice for the range of Black Hawks it is intended to serve.

Brad Nolen, vice president, sales and marketing, said in a statement, “Sikorsky and CMC have been collaborating for more than 25 years to ensure that the Black Hawk flight management system provides a highly reliable navigation solution with the capabilities needed to enable war fighters to complete crucial missions and save lives. CMC is excited to partner with Sikorsky on this latest program.”

CMC Electronics is based in Montreal, Quebec, while Sikorsky—now a Lockheed Martin company—is based in Stratford, Connecticut.

The post CMC Electronics Partners with Sikorsky on FMS for Black Hawks appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The company has been pursuing the STC for several months, according to Jamie Luster, Genesys Aerosystems director of sales and marketing. They expect FAA approval by Q1 2023.

Genesys expects to acquire the STC for its avionics suite on the PC-7, and thus add the aircraft to its approved model list (AML) for the suite. Once that is in place, because of similarities between the Beech Model 3000 and T6 Texan II and the PC-7 and -9, Genesys projects approval on the STC for the suite in those aircraft to follow.

Pilatus PC-7 Genesys PC-7 Avionics 2 The initial installation is being accomplished in Genesys’ Pilatus PC-7, upon which the PC-9 and Beech Model 3000 are based, according to the company.

“The similarity of the PC-7, Beech 3000, and T-6A Texan II models lend themselves ideally to an AML STC,” Dean Boston, chief certification engineer, said in a statement. 

“This approach allows us to easily modify the design as needed to meet the T-6A’s unique requirements as well as a variety of similar trainer fleets around the world,” Boston said.

The Genesys avionics being certified on these tandem-seat trainers includes Genesys electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) displays with integrated flight management system (FMS), terrain awareness warning system (TAWS), military-grade head-up display (HUD) symbology, integrated digital flight recording, and a host of other features for tandem-seat training aircraft.

The STC architecture also includes the Genesys Digital Radio software-definable integrated VHF and UHF nav/com radio, ultra-compact sensors, engine/airframe indications, integrated radio management, and an integrated voice-warning master caution system.

Genesys Aerosystems is a Moog Inc. company, and it is a leading provider of integrated avionics systems for military and civil customers.

The post Genesys Aerosystems Pursues STC for Military Trainers appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The company said it applied for and gained approval from the FAA earlier this summer, as FLYING previewed during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In a statement, Avidyne said the technical standard order approval (TSOA) and supplemental type certificate (STC) approval from the FAA for the AviOS10.3 now allows the company to begin shipping new units, as well as upgrades for the large base of existing Avidyne customers.

“We have faced several challenges in getting AviOS10.3 to market,” said Avidyne president and CEO Dan Schwinn in a statement, “including, of course, the global pandemic and supply chain crises. Avidyne has continued to innovate, and we are pleased to bring these new capabilities to our current and future customers.”

Schwinn said the update included “several significant new functions and features” that FMS customers will find helpful.

New Features

The product’s visual approach feature provides stabilized guidance into any runway in the database, even if there is a published approach to the runway.

“In addition, our implementation of visual approaches allows pilots to select straight in, base, or downwind entries, plus glideslope angle with intuitive operation,” said Avidyne’s vice president of worldwide sales, John Talmadge.

The software update also has features for helicopter pilots. Talmadge said those included RADALT display, power line database, half-mile zoom range, and a three arc-second high-definition terrain database option.

Other key features of the system include:

• Visual approaches
• VNAV (advisory on IFD5XX)
• Support for tandem/remote VHF COM/NAV tuning in dual installations.
• CDI scaling for oceanic mode
• GI275 interface
• Map zoom down to 1/2 mile
• Power lines added to the database
• RADALT display (via 429)
• RF legs
• Additional ADS-B weather products
• Display of ADS-B traffic and weather from portable devices
• Extended support for flight operational quality assurance (FOQA)
• Support for twin-engine aircraft on fuel calc page
• Ability to import user waypoints from CSV file
• Improved Wi-Fi configuration to ease integration with Stratus, Foreflight, and other Wi-Fi-connected devices.
• Improved pilot setup and configuration pages
• Up to 10 user profiles
• Weight calculator
• Certified TAWS (option)
• 3-arc second HD terrain data (option)

Field Loadable

While the new IFD and FMS units will ship with the new software already integrated, the company said AviOS10.3 is available as a field-loadable upgrade through authorized Avidyne dealers for existing owners. However, while the AviOS10.3 software is available from Avidyne at no charge, the company said customers should note that dealer installation labor is not included. The upgrade allows customers to enable an approved terrain avoidance and warning system (TAWS) for the new IFD and ATLAS systems. The TSO’d TAWS feature for new IFD, and Atlas systems is a $7,999 option per aircraft, including the higher resolution three arc-second terrain database.

The post Avidyne’s AviOS10.3 Software for Inflight Displays Gains FAA Approval appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In 1982, this twin-engine classic was the fifth 757-200 to roll off Boeing’s assembly line in Renton, Washington. After beginning its career as a narrow-body passenger airliner with launch customer Eastern Air Lines in 1983, the jet was acquired by Honeywell in 2005 to help develop, test, and qualify Honeywell engines, avionics, and communications systems.  

During its 17 years with Honeywell as tail number N757HW, the airplane has played a critical role in making flying more efficient.

Technicians can test engines on the ground in a test cell, but Honeywell says there’s really no substitute to running an engine where it was meant to run—in the air. Acquiring the 757 as a testbed has “proven to be a really good decision,” said Captain Joe Duval, director, flight test operations, Honeywell Aerospace.

Duval—a former pilot for the U.S. Air Force and later American Airlines—has been flying N757HW since Honeywell first added it to its fleet of test aircraft.

Honeywell’s flight-test program goes back to the mid-1960s. The company flew a Boeing 720 as a testbed until it began looking for a successor. 

A team evaluated the Airbus 320 series and the 767 and even the 747 from Boeing, Duval said. Based on the performance capabilities they were looking for, they arrived at the 757. N757HW is propelled by two Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 turbofans.

In addition to testing engines, the jet is also used to analyze performance of avionics, safety, and communications systems. Other interesting facts about N757HW: 

• It has performed more than 800 flight tests and logged more than 3,000 flight-test hours around the world.
• Honeywell says it’s likely the only existing 757 that has traveled to more than 30 countries across five continents—places like Thailand, Malaysia, French Guiana, China, Australia, and Yellowknife, Canada.  
• It has played a critical role in development of Honeywell’s HTF7000 engine series.
• The jet has also successfully tested next-generation flight management systems.
• It was instrumental in testing advanced 3D weather radar systems such as IntuVue RDR-4000 Weather Radar and IntuVue RDR-7000 Weather Radar.
• It also has tested wifi systems, such as Honeywell’s JetWave and JetWave MCX.
• The jet was used to test satellite communications systems such as Aspire 350 and 400.

About the Aircraft

Most of the 1,050 757s that Boeing produced until 2004 have served out their working lives as medium-haul, single-aisle airliners that carry about 200 passengers.

Based at Arizona’s Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (KPHX), Honeywell’s 757 is hard to miss, with its extra engine pylon and the giant slogan “The Future Is What We Make It,” emblazoned across its fuselage in bright red lettering. 

When you first board N757HW, you notice the passenger cabin is limited to 25 seats, which makes room for a wide variety of flight test engineering stations.

An onboard data collection system gathers and records metrics for analysis by engineers. Sensors measure temperature, pressure, and other variables inside each engine attached to the test pylon. 

The typical flight test crew varies depending on the mission, but often numbers seven or eight crew members including:

• two pilots
• a flight test engineer or test director
• onboard technicians monitoring two dozen computers and three to four computer networks
• engineers and/or systems engineers

Typically, the jet tests engines in level flight at FL450. Getting to that altitude is quick work for a 757 that has a relatively small flight crew and equipment.“We have this extra performance,” said Duval. “The vertical velocity indicator only goes up to 6,000 feet per minute. We can usually peg that thing.”

“In fact, sometimes when we’re going to 45,000 feet, we actually have weight limits,” he said. “I have to be below about 170,000 pounds gross weight for us to be able to get to 45,000 feet and operate there.”

The test pylon is surrounded by an aerodynamic fairing that helps with the airflow. It was intentionally attached to a point as near as possible to the center line of the aircraft’s fuselage to incur less drag. 

Also, a universal test engine nacelle is sometimes used—which is about 4-8 inches larger in diameter—to allow engineers to place more components around the test engine inside the nacelle. 

“We did a lot of work trying not to impact the operating envelope of the airplane.”

“If we operate the airplane at a nominal climb and nominal cruise speed—like 0.8 Mach—you barely notice that the engine is attached,” he said. “If we go faster—say 0.85 Mach—at lower altitudes, we do see the drag. We see some yaw to the right, and we counter that with rudder or rudder trim.” 

The air flowing over the vertical tail is somewhat asymmetric, because of the influence of the pylon,” Duval said. “As you get slower, your rudder becomes more of a roll device than a yaw device. Technically, you have a higher angle of attack.”

After four decades of service, the airplane isn’t scheduled to be put out to pasture any time soon. Although many other 757s have already been decommissioned from airline fleets, Honeywell says it has no plans to retire N757HW. 

The post Honeywell’s Boeing 757 Testbed Turns 40 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The new product will combine multiple current FMS models for Airbus into a “single standardized hardware and software platform” designed for Airbus A320, A330, and A350 airliners, the company said, with expected entry into service by the end of 2026. 

“Importantly, the new FMS hardware is 15 times more capable than current hardware and enables a path to future enhancements without hardware changes,” said a released statement by Jim Currier, president of electronic solutions for Honeywell Aerospace. 

The announcement comes in the wake of Honeywell’s improved 2022 profit forecast released in April, partly driven by increased commercial air travel. 

New Honeywell FMS Details

According to the release, Honeywell’s new FMS will include “enhanced modularity, advanced functionality, and a multi-core processing platform. At the completion of development, the new FMS will be a standalone federated system, making it easier for operators to support the fleet.”

The new FMS also will incorporate external connectivity including electronic flight bags (EFB), “to ease pilot workload and enhance fuel savings with the use of real-time data.”

Also in the pipeline at Honeywell: A retrofit solution based on the same core hardware and common software that can be used on A320s and A330s. 

The post Airbus Chooses New Honeywell Flight Management System appeared first on FLYING Magazine.