Honeywell’s Primus Apex® integrated avionics suite has received Technical Standard Order (TSO) approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the new Viking Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft.

Primus Apex is Honeywell’s integrated avionics platform for customers that desire an industry standard solution that offers navigation and situational awareness capabilities similar to those offered in global business jets.  Honeywell’s Interactive Navigation (INAV®) graphical flight planning with detailed terrain and sensor overlays is standard on Primus Apex and provides unparalleled situational awareness with the ease of point and click navigation.

The DHC-6 Twin Otter is the largest-selling 19-passenger commuter aircraft in the world, with more than 40 years of operations.

For more information, read the press release.

Honeywell’s technologies related to Air Traffic Management, including navigation, guidance, communications, and surveillance technologies, were recently featured on FastCompany.com. 

The feature story, “How Honeywell is Redesigning the Skies for Quicker, Greener, Less Painful Flying,” explains how these emerging technologies will dramatically improve Air Traffic Management systems worldwide by enabling airplanes to safely fly closer to each other while giving pilots and air traffic controllers the ability to minimize passenger discomfort and land aircraft on time.

According to the article, tarmac delays and route inefficiencies waste 11% of an airplane’s fuel burn.  All of that inefficiency could be eliminated by Honeywell’s technology, says Dr. Bob Smith, Honeywell Aerospace’s Chief Technology Officer.

“The inefficiencies we have today cause damage to the environment, and they put the airlines in trouble. So what you need is to rethink how we use airspace,” said Smith.  “I grew up on the Jetsons. I’m waiting for my flying car. I’m waiting for piloting to become much more natural. And, now we have the technology to do that. We’re going to be changing the way people fly and actually touch an aircraft.”

For more information, read the full article.

Honeywell announced the appointment of Pritam Bhavnani as President of Honeywell Aerospace in India. Pritam will relocate from Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where he was most recently the Vice President of Customer and Product Support. He will be based in Gurgaon, India.

In his new role, Pritam will work to provide direction to the various operations and to drive Honeywell initiatives and strategies for aerospace and defense.  Over the last five years, Honeywell’s Aerospace business in India has been growing rapidly, driven by strong capabilities in new technologies that are committed to India’s safety and security. 

Pritam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University in Wisconsin and an MBA from University of Phoenix in Arizona.

For more information, read the press release.

Honeywell has been awarded a contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop mature technology for Fuel Burn Reduction and test aviation biofuels for use in Honeywell Gas Turbine Engines.

The agreement is valued at approximately $27 million over the five-year life of the agreement, cost shared with the FAA. Honeywell will use its TECH7000 turbofan test engine as the basis for its research. The TECH7000 is a turbofan technology demonstrator that is based on Honeywell’s HTF7000 propulsion engine. The five-year contract, awarded under the FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) Program, covers a 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods.

CLEEN is a joint FAA-industry program focused on reducing current levels of aircraft noise, greenhouse gas emissions, and fuel burn and advancing alternative fuels for aviation use. CLEEN will accelerate maturation of engine and airframe technologies to meet NextGen environmental goals and enable greater mobility. Fuel burn reduction technologies matured in this contract will enable higher engine cycle efficiency through increased operating pressure and turbine inlet temperature.

For more information, read the press release.

Photo credit: Paul Bowen

Honeywell’s Boeing B757 flying testbed is featured on the cover of the May 24 edition of Aviation Week magazine along with the feature story, “Use of Commercial Engine Flying Testbeds Rising to New High.”

The feature article discusses how an increase in new air transport and business jet engine development programs has led to the growing use of flying testbeds.

Honeywell’s Boeing 757 is the only aircraft of its type configured as a testbed.  The aircraft currently has Honeywell’s HTF7000 business jet turbofan engine in a special mounting. The B757 is used to test new engines and technologies, and a new series of test flights on business jet engines will begin in June.

“The use of flying testbeds is increasing – it’s not going down,” said Ian Bell, Honeywell 757 testbed flight-test engineer, in the Aviation Week article. “A flying testbed is an excellent tool for this work since it permits full evaluation of the engine throughout its operational envelope.”

For more information, read the article.

More than 300 of Honeywell’s key customers, partners, leaders, and employees attended Honeywell China’s Technology Day, an opportunity for visitors to learn about the company’s great positions in good industries and differentiated technologies.

Honeywell’s products and solutions related to building and industrial controls, energy efficiency and generation, turbocharging, and aerospace were exhibited and interacted with at the event.

Shane Tedjarati, President and CEO of Honeywell China and India, spoke at Technology Day and emphasized the company’s expanding global presence to bring new product development, manufacturing, and service closer to customers.

“The world is placing great importance on China as the platform for global growth and this offers us good opportunities ahead,” said Tedjarati. “Together with all of you here, we have braved through the difficult times and will definitely do the same to capture the great opportunities that are to come.”

Honeywell’s guests were also invited to the Shanghai World Expo where they were introduced to the Honeywell safety, security, and energy efficiency technologies chosen to protect the properties at the World Expo 2010. A VIP tour was conducted at the USA Pavilion, where Honeywell is a sponsor and is enabling the 6,000 square meter venue to optimize energy efficient technologies for visitors’ comfort and safety.

For more information, watch Shane Tedjarati on CNBC discuss Honeywell’s presence at the World Expo and how China is the fastest growing region for the company.

Honeywell announced that in less than two years, 30 percent of Gulfstream operators have elected to install Honeywell’s SmartView synthetic vision in their PlaneView equipped aircraft.

Gulfstream’s Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD) is based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic integrated avionics suite and is in Gulfstream G350, G450, G500, and G550 aircraft.

The latest PlaneView upgrade has several new features including the use of range rings that allow the flight crew a ground reference to gauge the distance of terrain and obstacles from the aircraft, and high resolution runway detailing that allows the crew to clearly identify visually the runway they are taking off from, reducing the risk of a runway incursion.

For more information, read the press release.

Honeywell attended the largest European business aviation event in the aviation industry – the 10th annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) – in Geneva, Switzerland from May 4 to 6. 

EBACE brings together business leaders, government officials, manufacturers, corporate aviation department personnel, and many others involved in business aviation. Nearly 300 companies from around the globe exhibit at EBACE and attendees enjoy more than 60 aircraft that are on display at the show. 

At the show, Honeywell provided an internationally focused revisit of its 18th annual Business Aviation Outlook, incorporating recent industry performance data. Honeywell’s 2009 operator survey showed that over the next five years, up to 34 percent of all new jet purchase plans in the world would come from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Other Honeywell press announcements at the show included:  

Honeywell’s TFE731-50R turbofan engine will power the Hawker Beechcraft aftermarket retrofit Hawker 800XPR. In the Hawker 800XPR configuration, the installed engine will deliver 4,660 pounds of thrust.

Honeywell’s HTF7000 engine fleet has reached a new milestone, surpassing the 700,000 fleet-hour milestone while delivering 99.95 percent reliability. More than 550 engines are now in service on the Bombardier Challenger 300 aircraft.

The Honeywell MCS-7120 Satellite Communications System has been type certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on the Dassault Falcon 7X business jet.  Honeywell’s MCS7120 Satellite Communications System is an integrated communication system for both cabin and cockpit communications that provides fast, reliable, and global connectivity via the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband or classic satellite network.

In less than two years, 30 percent of Gulfstream operators have elected to install Honeywell’s SmartView™ synthetic vision in their PlaneView® equipped aircraft. Gulfstream’s Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD) is based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic® integrated avionics suite and is in Gulfstream G350, G450, G500, and G550 aircraft.

Honeywell has named India-based Air Works as a regional forward-stocking location partner for key mechanical and avionics parts.  The agreement allows Honeywell to expand its support capabilities for Gulfstream and Dassault operators in India and the Middle East regions by positioning LRUs intended for AOG support in Bangalore, India.

Honeywell has introduced Runway Analysis to its suite of pilot service offerings. Runway Analysis provides aircraft performance data that maximizes efficiencies and delivers reliable information that helps improve flight safety.

Honeywell’s latest software upgrade for its Primus Apex® integrated avionics system is now available for new production and fielded Primus Apex equipped aircraft.

Honeywell introduced an upgrade to its original business jet satellite TV system that will allow operators to receive free-to-air satellite TV in three additional regions: China, India, and Russia.

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that it is the first OEM to receive a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), in conjunction with Honeywell, to install Primus Elite DU-875 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) upgrades for Global 5000, Global Express, and Global Express XRS aircraft. The new STC system is now available for in-service global aircraft customers and will also be offered as an option on new aircraft.

For more information, visit Honeywell Aerospace’s website.

This Earth Day – and every day – Honeywell is committed to addressing some of the world’s toughest challenges linked to energy efficiency, production, and management.

In fact, roughly 50 percent of Honeywell’s portfolio delivers energy efficiency benefits, including: 

• Avionics that allow planes to use more efficient flight profiles that burn 10% less fuel, while safely doubling the capacity of the skies.
• Building controls and programmable thermostats that help reduce energy usage by 20-30% without sacrificing comfort.
• Demand response technology that enables utilities to remotely lower home thermostats to reduce energy demand during peak periods, a key component of the Smart Grid.
• High-quality, drop-in replacement Honeywell Green Diesel™, which can be used within today’s fuel infrastructure and offers up to 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Turbochargers that allow engines one-third smaller to produce the same power as full-size engines, but with 25% less fuel and emissions.

And, that is only a small sample. In fact, if the U.S. and Europe just aggressively adopted existing Honeywell technologies – nothing that would have to be invented, just products and services already in existence – they could save 20-25% of current energy consumption.

Being a responsible steward of the environment is important to Honeywell’s global growth.  We’re committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30%, increasing energy efficiency by 20%, and reducing hazardous waste generated per dollar of revenue by 15% by 2012. And, we are on target to meet these goals. 

For more information about the importance of sustainability and energy efficiency at Honeywell, visit the company’s Sustainability or Energy Efficiency websites, or watch Honeywell Chairman and CEO Dave Cote’s message to the Business Roundtable about the company’s commitment to a sustainable future.

Honeywell launched “Add Honeywell,” a new website that demonstrates how the company’s technologies and innovations are making the world safer and more secure, more comfortable and energy efficient, and more innovative and productive.

Through the use of 3-D animation, dynamic videos and photos, and easy navigation, the site demonstrates Honeywell’s technologies in aerospace, homes, refineries, commercial buildings, automobiles, and a broad range of other sector-specific applications.  “Add Honeywell” features hundreds of facts and statistics about the company’s differentiated technologies.

For more facts and information on Honeywell, visit www.AddHoneywell.com.