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| Rendering of Honeywell’s SmartPath precision landing system. Photo: Honeywell |
[Avionics Today 04-30-2015] The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Air Traffic Management Bureau completed its first flight demonstration of next generation GPS-based precision landing capabilities using Honeywell Aerospace’s SmartPath precision landing system at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The demonstration highlights how GPS-based precision landing systems, called Ground-Based Augmentation Systems (GBAS), can improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations, especially throughout poor-weather conditions. Precision landings use both lateral and vertical information of an aircraft’s position to provide accurate approach and landing.
Honeywell partnered closely with Hughes Aerospace Corporation to develop procedures for the trial at Pudong International Airport. By using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), SmartPath provides a highly accurate position based on digital data, which enables aircraft to fly flexible approach paths that support more efficient terminal operations, while also avoiding common interference issues that are inherent with the analog Instrument Landing System (ILS) technology. This is imperative, especially for airports where terrain, obstacles or restricted airspace limit the optimum use or installation of ILS.
“China’s air traffic has grown exponentially over the years, driven by domestic and international travel,” said Brian Davis, vice president of airlines, Asia Pacific at Honeywell Aerospace. “The adoption of Honeywell’s SmartPath at Shanghai Pudong International Airport marks a milestone for the modernization of air traffic management in China, where this new technology can ease aircraft delays, reduces emissions and improves airport efficiencies in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.”