FAA To Subsidize Some Electronic Flight Bag Installations

Five projects will equip airliners with runway safety systems

The FAA is taking the unusual step of offering to subsidize the installation of electronic flight bags and aural alerting systems on airliners to help avoid runway incursions at key airports.

The agency says the two systems targeted in this initiative provide the “best near-term opportunity for the U.S. to reduce the risk of runway incursions,” a leading safety hazard. Twenty-one airports were chosen after a study of where such technology is most likely to be helpful in avoiding incursions. The FAA has been under pressure from Congress and the NTSB to take more action (AW&ST Feb. 18, p. 62).

The FAA’s Office of Runway Safety plans to select five projects that would equip 20 or more airplanes each for this program. Up to $15,000 per electronic flight bag and up to $4,000 for each aural alerting system will be offered. Honeywell makes the Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS), while there are several hardware suppliers of Class 2 and 3 EFBs that can be approved to work with airport moving-map software that displays an aircraft’s “own ship” position on a taxiway or runway.

Honeywell’s RAAS gives pilots audio alerts, such as the number of the runway they’re taxiing onto and the distance remaining during an aborted takeoff. Jeppesen and Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems (a Thales and L-3 company) make airport moving-map software.

EFBs with airport moving-map displays that mark an aircraft’s location on a taxiway or runway have been viewed as a key tool in curbing runway incursions since 2003, when the government- industry Commercial Aviation Safety Team urged using the systems (AW&ST Apr. 21, 2003, p. 60).

However, Class 3 EFBs are expensive and are being installed only on new production aircraft, while less expensive Class 2 EFBs are being retrofitted on older airliners. The FAA did not authorize airport moving maps to be presented on Class 2 EFBs until last year.

Meanwhile, Jeppesen has become the first airport moving-map system provider to receive an FAA TSO (minimum performance standard) for a Class 2 EFB. Continental Airlines is deploying the system on its Boeing 757s, 767s and 737s. The carrier is spending about $40,000 per aircraft for the Class 2 systems, according to John Witala, senior director of engineering. Continental is using navAero t-BagC22 on the retrofits and is installing Boeing Class 3 EFBs on its new 777s. Air Canada also plans to equip its fleet of Embraer regional jets with EFBs and Jeppesen airport moving-map software.

Jeppesen is providing airport moving-map software on a variety of electronic flight bags, including the navAero Class 2 system in a Continental Airlines Boeing 757. This EFB and the one to the left show views of San Francisco International Airport. Credit: JEPPESEN

Rick Ellerbrock, an enterprise strategist with Jeppesen, says his company had been talking with several airlines about retrofitting Class 2 EFBs on existing fleets, so the FAA initiative is stirring a lot of interest. He also expects foreign airlines to pay more attention to EFBs with airport moving maps.

And some U.S. airlines that are very close to a decision may now go public with their plans, according to Ellerbrock.

The FAA first talked about this project in April, and the fact that it became an approved program by July was remarkable, says Ken Crowhurst, executive vice president of navAero Inc. “I was surprised that [the initiative] moved forward so quickly.” By adding performance and weight-and-balance software to an EFB system, an airline can immediately begin to burn less fuel and save on engine wear, he adds.

Meanwhile, Flight Deck Re­sources’ electronic flight bag business is likely to benefit from the FAA’s endorsement of EFBs with airport moving maps for enhanced situational awareness, asserts President/CEO Keith L. Lockwood. That’s because the move should help to jump-start airlines’ EFB installation plans, he says.

http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?fromChannel=mro&pubKey=awst&issueDate=2008-08-11&story=xml/awst_xml/2008/08/11/AW_08_11_2008_p51-71829.xml&headline=FAA+To+Subsidize+Some+Electronic+Flight+Bag+Installations

Fonte: Flight Safety Information 13/08/2008.