Honeywell Aerospace and Boeing last week reported that they have successfully demonstrated GPS-based Category III precision landing on a 787 airliner. Flights were conducted back in December 2014, using Honeywell’s SmartPath ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) and upgraded reference receivers at the airframer’s Moses Lake Airport in Washington state. The tests established that aircraft can safely land in weather conditions that allow for no decision height and a minimum visual range as low as 150 feet.
According to Jared Louwagi, Honeywell’s senior manager for navigation and sensors, GBAS is set to be a key enabling technology for the U.S. NextGen and European Sesar modernization of air traffic management. The digital system is set to replace instrument landing systems and promises to be more flexible and less expensive for airports to maintain. It will increase airport capacity by giving the option for aircraft to land further down the runway and so exit to the taxiway sooner.
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