Navigation system from Honeywell to fly on COMAC's C919 aircraft

Posted by John McHaleSHANGHAI, 10 Sept. 2010. Aircraft navigation products from Honeywell (NYSE: HON) will be part of China's new C919 commercial airliner. Honeywell's inertial reference and air data systems are the most recent selections by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) for the new C919 single-aisle commercial airliner.The Inertial Reference System provides the aircraft's fly-by-wire system with location data, enabling precision approaches and highly accurate positioning during flight. The advanced navigation accuracy is a key component for next-generation air traffic management capabilities, enabling more direct routing and flying precise satellite-based navigation approaches to airports, reducing flight delays and fuel costs. Earlier this year, COMAC selected Honeywell's auxiliary power unit, flight controls, and wheels and brakes for this new plane.The air data system meets all requirements for Reduced Vertical Separation (RVSM) operation, and is configured with Honeywell's Air Data Modules."The Honeywell LASEREF VI has 50 percent less volume and 30 percent less weight and power consumption than similar systems," says Mark Howes, president of Honeywell Aerospace, Asia Pacific. "These improvements in weight and power reductions will drive lower fuel consumption over the life of the aircraft."The LASEREF VI Inertial Reference System is an all-digital, high- performance Ring Laser Gyro system. The advanced features of the system enable more precise landing and reduce operational and maintenance costs. The system also contains an automatic mode control and Align-in-Motion technology, which eliminates complicated control devices in the cockpit, improves safety, and reduces crew training costs, Honeywell officials say.The air data modules have a proven reliability of more than 500,000 hour mean time between failures, while the LASEREF VI Inertial Reference System has a proven reliability of more than 40,000 hour mean time between failures. The LASEREF VI provides 100 percent availability for required navigation performance (RNP) 0.1, which allows the most accuracy available today, enabling advanced air traffic management (ATM), meaning more flights and better routing. The system can withstand a total loss of global positioning system (GPS) signal for more than seven minutes without exceeding the tightest RNP 0.1 integrity requirements.The Air Data System measures critical air data parameters and provides information for cockpit display and to the flight control and flight management systems. Honeywell operates 10 facilities throughout China, including aerospace maintenance and manufacturing facilities in Xiamen, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. The Asia Pacific business is based in Shanghai.

Navigation system from Honeywell to fly on COMAC's C919 aircraft

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Military Aerospace, create an account today!

Latest in Commercial Aerospace

Airbus Racer helicopter tops 250 MPH in demonstration

NASA releases first integrated ranking of civil space challenges