Two days of test flying are all that remain before the FAA can put its stamp of approval on T2CAS, the combined TCAS and TAWS product from Phoenix-based ACSS. Pilots from the FAA’s Long Beach, Calif. certification office plan to evaluate the system for the final time in ACSS’ King Air C90 test aircraft later this month. If all goes according to plan, TSO authorization should be in hand within the next few weeks, clearing the way for initial STCs and first installations later this year.
ACSS–Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems, a joint-venture company owned by L-3 Communications and Thales–claims its new TAWS is “demonstrably better” than conventional terrain-alerting products on the market, specifically Honeywell’s EGPWS, the enhanced successor to the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), mandated for inclusion in certain commercial transport airplanes since the 1970s. While it’s difficult to say that any one TAWS device has proven itself a safer or better system, ACSS’ concept has gained attention from a number of large-fleet operators, including FedEx, Northwest Airlines, Aeromexico and the U.S. Customs Service. Now, with certification so close, the company hopes to build on its early momentum.
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