In spite of a laudable safety record, recent airframe and engine incidents have together raised concern about whether we might be taking the vast improvements in safety over the last two decades for granted. Certainly, the series of high profile engine failures have caught the attention of many. What’s going on and what can be done to address these mishaps?
About the time the CFM 56 engine experienced its uncontained engine failure on Southwest 1380, killing a passenger in the direct line of fire of the rocketing engine parts, the industry was already in the thick of a series of engine failures.
These incidents culminated in twin incidents on February 20. United Flight 328, a 26-year-old 777 powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines experienced an engine failure during taking off from Denver, cascading engine parts across the landscape. The same day, a PW4000 powered 747-400 cargoliner, operated by Longtail Aviation, experienced a mid-air explosion and fire on a PW4000 engine, similarly raining parts over its flight path.
These two incidents and several both before and after Southwest 1380 raise concerns about maintenance and even design and manufacturing and whether our laudable safety record on crashes is in jeopardy.
The Big Picture
We know most things went right during these events. Like those before them, the United crew, who oddly remain unnamed despite the wide-spread coverage, were able to safely land the aircraft. In its March 5 incident update, NTSB reported the spar valve, which stops fuel flow to the engine worked. But examination of the engine accessories showed multiple broken fuel, oil, and hydraulic lines and the gearbox was fractured, all feeding the dramatic fire caught in passenger images.
“It must be pointed out the aircraft landed safely,” The Giles Group’s Carol Giles, shown below, told Aerospace Tech Review. “The good news is the reliability and piloting skills that come into play, mitigates what could have been a huge catastrophe.”
Carol Giles
Unprecedented Safety
At a time when the industry has delivered unprecedented safety, one is right to ask what might be going on. While crashes have occurred overseas and remain achingly few and far between, we do have numerous airframe and engine incidents that, together, raise concern and begs the question whether we are taking the vast improvements in safety over the last two decades for granted.
Certainly, the series of engine failures have caught the attention of Congress.
“Two senior U.S. lawmakers said the FAA has failed to turn over a report to Congress on airline engine safety required under a 2018 law,” reported Assurance Ltd. “Without the report it was impossible for anyone ‘to know whether the best practices and recommendations to improve airline engine safety could have helped to prevent the engine mishaps that have taken place since the October 2019 safety review.’ Recommendations to improve airline engine safety have been languishing for well over a year. Even more concerning is the potential missed opportunity to address similar airline engine safety issues before they occurred again.”
Adam Pilarski, Avitas senior vice president, shown right, thinks the problem is more systemic than just isolated incidents affecting airframes and engines.
Adam Pilarski
“It’s not just the 737 Max,” he told Aerospace Tech Review. “Every manufacturer has problems. Every single one and I think they tried to do too much too soon because of demand. We tried to go too fast into large production. The manufacturers, unfortunately, didn’t get their stuff together before producing record numbers of engines or aircraft. Their only approach was to ask how they can squeeze out another few cents through minor tweaks not how to produce the vast numbers of engines needed. We saw similar problems with the OEMs both Boeing and Airbus.”
Pilarski noted engine issues are not unique to Pratt having affected CFM, GE and Rolls Royce.
“The problem is,” Pilarski added, “manufacturing is not sexy. Manufacturers only wanted to push out more products rather than focus on the boring stuff.
“This has been happening for years and is not new,” he continued. “They were looking at market demand rather than thinking of how to produce thousands of units. I think they didn’t focus on how you actually put it together – the boring things. They didn’t make the right effort.”
He also questions whether manufacturer emphasis on aftermarket service came at the expense of production capabilities. He has previously noted manufacturers don’t make money on engines but make it up in aftermarket service programs.
“I don’t know if the current issues are systemic from design all the way through to manufacturing,” Giles added. “It’s hard to think that every manufacturer would have a systemic issue. But it’s good to question whether or not we are going too fast.”
Leadership Test
Pilarski sees these problems as a test for the new leadership.
“We don’t know how the new leaders at these companies will address these issues,” he said, noting Pratt is now under Raytheon after its merger with UTC. “John Slattery, who I respect and admire as much as I did David Joyce, is now heading up GE. He’s a brilliant marketing guy but his strength is not in the boring development and delivery of engines. But using baseball language, he has a good bench.”
He also sees how Covid could benefit the industry. “To some degree the disaster we have now with Covid gives manufacturers breathing room since no one is pushing for new aircraft immediately,” he pointed out. “Now is a good time to do the boring stuff, figure out what went wrong with design and actually delivering one unit after another in the thousands.”
Giles also agrees Covid is an opportunity to examine what is happening with new engines and the engine/airframe combination.
“We should be asking ourselves these questions,” she concluded, noting United 328 prompted internal company discussions whether it was about bad maintenance or, perhaps, a design issue.
“You don’t know until you do the investigation,” she told Aerospace Tech Review. “I’m not sure what the root cause is of the engine events, but they are major.”
Perhaps the point is that whether the company is run by marketing, bean counters or engineers, it can still go astray as the industry has already seen.
Serious Issues
While the 737 Max may be the latest poster child, there have been serious issues with aircraft design and production with every new aircraft and, in the past 20 years, few have been delivered on time owing in part to development and production problems.
Even after delivery some, like the 787, have been grounded because of battery fires. Similarly, Pratt’s Geared TurboFan, powering the A320new, A220 and Embraer E190 has struggled through the engine problems. The question is whether what we are seeing is normal teething or a systemic problem.
Of course, there is Air Force and 787 quality issues and now the electrical system problems on 106 737 MAXs built in 2019 that is now complicating the MAX’s return to service.
Problems with Rolls Royce’s Trent 1000 prompted a redesign of the turbine blades and replacement owing to premature wear, disrupting global 787 operations. In mid 2020, EASA issued an airworthiness directive prompted by another issue, unrelated to the Trent’s previous problems. It called for one-time, ultra-high sensitivity fluorescent penetrant inspection of seal fins and replacement of parts if cracks are identified. It prompted the company to revise its inspection regime on the low-pressure turbine and focused on the disc seal fins. Rubbing wear between discs and interstage static seals could prompt cracks in the front seal fins and lead to disc cracks in the low-pressure turbine discs.
Problems have also occurred on GEnx-powered 787s after an inflight failure in 2016. The GEnx-1B-PIP2 engine suffered substantial damage when ice on the fan blades broke loose, causing the FAA to order engines replaced or repaired because it feared failure of both engines in flight.
The list goes on.
New SMS Requirements
All this is happening against a backdrop of international requirements for manufacturers to implement the Safety Management Systems (SMS) that have been widely adopted throughout the industry and is considered a significant contributor to improving safety.
SMS is a decision-making system based on proactively identifying, assessing and controlling hazards and safety risks before they result in accidents and incidents, and analyzing performance data for continuous improvement, according to the Aerospace Industries Association, involved in developing voluntary SMS standards.
Work within the industry has been ongoing since the first decade of the century culminating in the adoption of ICAO Annex 19 requiring SMS development for design and production approval holders. The FAA embraced this effort, reporting in 2018 on its Manufacturers SMS (MSMS) Pilot Project and the Part 21/SMS Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), as part of an effort to develop a rulemaking package. The Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) was tabled in 2018.
Simultaneously, however, the manufacturing industry developed a standard for voluntary SMS programs known as National Aerospace Standard (NAS 9927) or Safety Management Systems and Practices for Design and Manufacturing. NAS 9927 was approved by the FAA, which encouraged industry to implement the voluntary program.
The publication of the international industry standard developed by the world’s leading aerospace designers, manufacturers and maintenance organizations, promises improved safety performance and enhanced safety culture.
Implementing a Safety Management System for Design, Manufacturing and Maintenance Providers is available free.
The team that spent two years developing the standard and included the AeroSpace and Defense Association of Europe (ASD), Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA), Aerospace Industries Association of Brazil (AIAB), the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). It enables the global aviation industry to implement a SMS consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Annex 19. The organizations continue their work to ensure future revisions are effective.
“Development of an internationally-recognized SMS Standard that is consistent with Annex 19 means that we now have a tool to implement key safety measures in a consistent manner up and down our industry, which ultimately results in a more accountable safety system,” said David Silver, AIA’s vice president for civil aviation at the time.
“SMS for manufacturing is coming down the pike very fast,” Giles indicated. “MROs have implemented SMS because regulators around the world are requiring it.”
United Flight 328, a 26-year-old 777 powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines experienced an engine failure during taking off from Denver in February 2021. The crew was able to safely land the aircraft. Engine issues aren’t unique to one manufacturer as CFM, GE and Rolls Royce have experienced safety events as well. NTSB mage.
Finding Root Causes
But SMS is a pro-active solution while other programs dig to find the root cause of problems and, according to Pilarksi, that may be what is needed.
In the late 1990s, the FAA developed a safety system requiring airlines to identify problems and follow them back to the root cause which could be as simple as the wrong tools or inadequate training. This system then requires corrections ensure the issue does not arise again. It is like a safety investigation designed to prevent the crash, not determine what went wrong and why after the fact.
Trends
There seem to be four trends colliding. The first, as Pilarski noted, the rush to meet demand. Second, are industry efforts to reduce maintenance costs by increasing time between overhauls and inspections.
Pilarski has noted in the past that it is harder to predict component lifecycles and repair costs with new designs and materials.
The question is whether the intervals between those maintenance events are really what they should be.
The infamous issues with the Rolls Royce Trent engine powering the 787 prompted the company to reduce the time between servicing as did the two United and one JAL incidents.
After a previous engine failure caused by a fractured fan blade on a United Honolulu-bound flight in 2018, United’s inspections for the 777 were set at 6500 cycles but United 328 had flown only 3000 cycles. Pratt then reduced it to 1000 cycles before the FAA mandated immediate inspections which grounded the aircraft.
After the Honolulu incident the National Transportation Safety Board cited insufficient training for Thermal Acoustic Image (TAI) inspections developed by Pratt & Whitney. It said maintenance technicians misdiagnosed a problem with the blade. In response Pratt created a more formal inspection training curriculum after which the FAA issued an AD requiring stepped up inspections.
Assurance Ltd. Director Andy Evans explained TAI causes movement between each side contacting any inclusion in the metal, creating heat by friction which is then detected by a thermal sensor.
Evans said TAI is rare in the MRO industry which relies more heavily on conventional ultrasonics which, like sonar develops an acoustic reflection for internal defect detection.
Fuselage damage resulting from the shedding of pieces of the engine from United Flight 328 is shown above. NTSB image.
Nacelles are supposed to contain engine failures but clearly do not, says Adam Pilarski, Avitas senior vice president. NTSB image.
“It’s a current MRO issue,” Evans told Aerospace Tech Review. “The concern from the 2018 NTSB investigation is there were shockingly big flaws in the PW process in the early days.
Hopefully, inspections have been much more tightly controlled in recent years, but the JAL event suggests the FAA airworthiness directive compliance times may have been too generous.”
Evans found it surprising that the NTSB investigation on the 2018 incident yielded no recommendations. “It again — like Sioux City did a generation earlier — highlights the critical nature of NDI in engine overhaul shops, the importance of properly specifying the technique, ensuring competent inspectors, considering the human factors and ensuring the process is quality assured.”
Last July, Assurance published an analysis of NDI process failures in United’s Honolulu incident shortly after NTSB published is report identifying a low-cycle fatigue fracture. The engine had been overhauled by Pratt’s Overhaul and Repair facility in 2015. Blades received a fluorescent penetrant inspection as well as TAI, developed by Pratt in 2005 to inspect interior surfaces of the hollow core fan blade, according to the NTSB.
Interestingly, the 2015 and earlier 2010 TAI inspections revealed a thermal indication in the same location as the low-cycle fracture. This was attributed to flaking paint which affected about 25% of blades, said the board.
The report further noted that Pratt identified TAI as a new and emerging technology meaning it didn’t have to develop a formal initial and recurrent training program, certify TAI inspectors or have Level 3 inspector on staff in conformance with normal NDI practice. Despite the time between development of TAI and the 2018 engine failure, the inspection process was still categorized as new and emerging despite being used on over 9000 blades.
While the manufacturer had developed formal training on TAI the two inspectors working on the engine were not permitted to attend in favor of clearing out a backlog of blades in the shop.
“So,” said the Assurance report, “clearing the backlog appears to have been more important than formal training on the inspection. It also noted the backlog resulted in overtime begging questions about personnel fatigue. One inspector complained the procedures were ‘written for the lab rather than the shops and had lots of gaps.’”
The board also noted environmental problems in the inspection room that was bathed in sunlight that could throw off the TAI scanners. The Assurance report also questioned the frequency of FAA visits to the inspection facility.
After post-incident inspection revealed the thermal indications at the location of the fatigue crack, Pratt initiated an “over-inspection of all digital images of the TAI’s accomplished on the PW4000 112-inch fan blades according to the NTSB findings. That prompted the AD requiring an initial and recurring TAI inspections of the hollow core blades.
Preliminary findings from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination identified multiple fatigue fracture origins on the interior surface of a cavity within the blade. Efforts to further characterize the fracture surface, including identifying the primary origin, are ongoing says the NTSB. NTSB image.
Nacelle Failure
Another issue focuses on nacelles that are supposed to contain engine failures but clearly do not and may have fallen victim to the tweaks Pilarski spoke about.
Manufacturers and FAA have been struggling with this issue for years. They are trying to develop more robust designs beyond protecting against fan blade break up and expanding to protect against disintegration of disks such as happened to an Engine Alliance powered Airbus 380 over Greenland in 2017.
Boeing is also working on solutions for when fan blades fly forward, according to FAA, which said the work relates to the 737 and will result in mandating a design change.
Evan expects a modification to make the nose cowling attachment more robust to emerge as an AD. He also noted the aircraft in service are dwindling with the retirement announcement of JAL’s 777 fleet recently. Even so, United expects to return its 777s to the fleet “in the near future,” according to statements on its earnings call.
The numerous engine incidents also begs questions about the generosity of ETOPs operations. However, it is early days yet to suggest changes will come especially with 40 years of ETOPS operational experience in the industry.
Given the issues running through both engines and airframes, it may well be time to pause and take stock to ensure advancements made in the last two decades in materials and design are not somehow becoming counterproductive to safety.
Great strides have been made worldwide as air navigation service providers (ANSPs) leverage several technologies to increase air traffic management efficiency both in the air and at airports.
Indeed, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Central America and the Caribbean are using Aireon’s space-based ADS-B air traffic surveillance system joining 12 other ANSPs in 37 countries.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is using Aireon successfully across Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata’s oceanic airspaces, providing an additional layer of surveillance for the world’s third largest airspace.
Airservices Australia is using data sharing to become the first ANSP to implement Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) at multiple locations using data sharing to become the first ANSP to implement Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) at multiple locations — Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane — using a Saab Sensis system expected to save $52 million in fuel and emissions by 2030 by increasing airport efficiency.
In November, Aireon partnered with FAA to explore its use in validation and integration into air traffic control automation platforms, airspace safety analysis, accident investigation data analysis, airport surface applications, air traffic management support, remote situational awareness and commercial space.
The agency reported it continues to develop and deploy new systems or system enhancements to improve operations and fuel efficiency, including ADS-B, Data Communications, Time-Based Flow Management and Terminal Flight Data Manager technologies to expand coverage in the Gulf of Mexico and remote areas of Alaska. It is using ADS-B to reduce separation from five to three nautical miles en-route below 23,000 feet.
In addition to ADS-B, said Aireon, industry’s toolbox includes such technologies as digital voice, trajectory-based operations, virtual towers, autonomous monitoring, ACAS-Xu (providing both collision avoidance and detect and avoid capability for UAS), dynamic routing, continuous data exchange and AI.
North Atlantic Results Show Reduced Emissions
“In my judgement, the most important real contribution to increased ATM efficiency is space-based ADS-B,” Reason Foundation Director of Transportation Policy Bob Poole told ATR.
A year past FAA’s mandate for ADS-B Out, it is clear leveraging its data is a powerful tool for innovation.
In 2019, NAV Canada became the first ANSP to use satellite-based surveillance to track aircraft over the North Atlantic, previously a dead spot in radar-based surveillance, and has since partnered with UK’s NATS to cut emissions on Atlantic routes.
Covid-related reductions in air traffic allowed NAV Canada and NATS to experiment with using the Jetstream, which can soar between 100 and 200 knots, to improve efficiency. A test analyzing around 35,000 flights between December 1, 2020 and February 29, 2021, showed changes to current ATC practices increases efficiency between New York and London.
Authors of Reducing Transatlantic Flight Emissions by Fuel-Optimized Routing, said Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, coupled with technology, enabled them to test fuel optimized routes.
“These new routes take greater advantage of the prevailing eastward winds when flying east and reduce the negative impact flying west,” they said. “The conveyor effect of winds saves a significant amount of air distance and thus fuel and emissions by adopting the Optimized for Winds (OFW) routes. Using ICAO’s carbon emissions calculator, we determined a return flight between London and New York generates 670 kg of CO2 per passenger for a potential saving of over 6.7 million kg of CO2 emissions across the winter period of each year alone.”
Based on the results, NATS announced in its blog it was disbanding the Organized Track Structure on days where ATC supervisors don’t believe it necessary.
ICAO’s Cost-Benefit Calculating Tool helps ANSPs analyze the costs and benefits of implementing CNS/ATM systems. The agency said a broad economic study indicated that, globally, benefits greatly exceeded the costs and called the replacement of the existing line-of-sight systems with satellite-based air navigation services, a quantum step forward.
Collins Aerospace Director of FAA & Government Programs Gene Hayman indicated the calculator, developed in the mid-2000s, is a good tool and relevant to making sure the right questions are asked. But, like any tool, it must evolve.
Transformational Change
“More flights received requested flight levels, speed and routes,” said NAV CANADA President and CEO Neil Wilson in a blog. “Since March 2019, longitudinal standards have been reduced from approximately 40 nautical miles to 14-17 nautical miles, and lateral separation reduced from 23 nautical miles to 15-19 nautical miles for equipped aircraft. The deployment of space-based ADS-B is the beginning of a global revolution that is already showing its promise by delivering enhanced safety, efficiency and environmental benefits. This is expected to reduce overall safety risks by approximately 76% in the North Atlantic. Based on a study conducted by NATS and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) CO2 emissions are estimated to be reduced by approximately two tons per oceanic flight.”
Time to Experiment
Hayman reported industry and government are looking for other ways to leverage reduced traffic to demonstrate technology.
“Now is the perfect time from a safety perspective,” he said. “The next 12-24 month is a great opportunity to start looking at new technology and concepts.”
He pointed to the industry/government Blue Skies Initiative (BSI), sponsored by Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), which is looking at emerging technologies, commercial space and advanced air mobility.
“The question is how do we make these new capabilities happen and what science needs to happen to integrate these new technologies quicker,” he said. “It could have significant impact on space launch windows. Today a wide area of airspace is closed to accommodate the increasing number of launches, but with more data on how launches impact the system, it could provide better predictability and significantly shorten airspace closures.”
Another bright spot in ATM efficiency is the gradual increase in free-route airspace in Europe applied at upper altitudes where it has been negotiated between adjacent ANSPs, Poole added.
“That is definitely saving time, fuel, and CO2,” he said. “Some visionary ideas are being discussed in Europe, such as unified upper airspace regardless of national boundaries, and virtual en-route centers, but I don’t see any of this moving beyond the talk stage.”
Creating a Connected Aviation Ecosystem
Moving from an ATC-controlled information stream to delivering that information directly to pilots, controllers, airports and aircraft operators is perhaps one of the system’s greatest promises; one that could include collaborative decision making.
Honeywell Aerospace Senior R&D Manager, Don Kauffman explained one goal is to add capability to the flight deck to increase operations under instrument and marginal meteorological conditions to those of visual conditions to increase capacity. He pointed to the collection of flight deck applications that make use of ADS-B messages and Required Time of Arrival (RTA) capability available on all Honeywell Flight Management Systems (FMS) that are FANS-capable. It can deliver an aircraft in cruise to a waypoint with an accuracy of +30 seconds. Honeywell’s FMS for the Boeing 787 also extends RTA capability into all phases of flight.
“Ideally,” said Kauffman, in discussing the challenges of merging two arrival streams, “aircraft arrive at the merge point spaced exactly at the minimum, safe separation distance. Fundamentally, the goal is to keep aircraft spaced sufficiently such that interventions to breaches can be taken in time. RTA applications tracks performance to the RTA goal and continually makes minute adjustments to the aircraft speed.
Kauffman added Flight deck Interval Management (FIM) applications automatically calculate speed commands easing pilot workload by “capturing” the designated traffic, either speeding up or slowing down to achieve the desired spacing.
In addition to Honeywell’s systems, Flyht Aerospace Solutions offers its AFIRS SatCom solution for FANS and ATC/ATS Safety Service Voice.
“A leading U.S. Airbus operator demonstrated by using AFIRS, a return on investment could be achieved in approximately 15 weeks, using SATCOM voice/datalink to fly direct routing from the US to the Caribbean,” Vice President, Sales & Marketing Derek Taylor told ATR. “This reduced sector flight time, fuel burn, crew duty time and eliminated the need for overnighting and associated logistical costs. Flyht’s technology connects the aircraft to the ATM network while over remote areas, out of VHF range, and/or in oceanic airspace.”
Pro-Active ATM Management
“This will turn air traffic management from reactive to pro-active using historic and current data to look out days in advance to make better predictions about the airspace and better models for air traffic flow, all to create better decision support tools to help the system become more efficient,” said Hayman. “Automated data sharing gives everyone the same information so routes can be optimized for fuel and airspace. Fifteen years ago, the industry suggested making the aircraft another node on the network. The whole concept of the fully connected aviation ecosystem is now a reality because the operational technology is being integrated with information technology, and being transmitted digitally to transform air traffic management (ATM).”
Honeywell’s FMS for the Boeing 787 also extends RTA capability into all phases of flight. Honeywell image.
L3Harris Director Business Develop Mission Networks Chris Collings agrees. “In today’s ATM environment, efficiencies are gained by combining technologies with updated procedures to modernize air traffic management,” he told ATR. “Technologies like GPS navigation, terrestrial and space-based ADS-B, Data Comm’s Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC), improved weather information products for optimal routing, and System Wide Information Management (SWIM), all enable new ATM procedures that drive efficiency. As rollout and adoption of these technologies increase, as it has in recent years in the U.S., we are now beginning to see those efficiency benefits.”
FAA said its surface surveillance system provides controllers and operators with surface information at major airports via SWIM. For operators, the information supports more efficient ground/gate operations and better fleet management. The Surface Visualization Tool provides information about current surface operations, improving the ability to integrate departing aircraft more seamlessly into the airspace.
Collings said from L3Harris’ perspective, it is entirely possible the improved situational awareness provided by SWIM could enable airspace users to upload their information to share with ATC for collaborative decision making across the airspace and surface operations.
In the en-route environment, Collings explained, Data Comm’s Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) enables controllers to send revised routes that are not feasible using voice alone such as precision latitude/longitude and complex place-bearing distance instructions. These clearances enable controllers to send shorter and more precise re-routing for flights.
“Operators using Data Comm’s Departure Clearance capability have reduced gate delays and shortened taxi times from the efficient digital route clearance that pilots load into their flight computers,” he said. “Not only does data transmission reduce readback errors but pilots avoid lengthy voice channel wait times to get route revisions. This can really save time during busy weather delay events. Combining ADS-B information with Performance Based Navigation (PBN) capability of the aircraft, enables ATC to develop new procedures replacing separation to more efficiently route aircraft, dramatically increasing fuel savings. Terrestrial ADS-B also provides broader surveillance coverage than the radar-based surveillance ATC system it replaces, which opens new, less congested routes for operators.”
L3Harris Director Business Develop Mission Networks Chris Collings says efficiencies in the ATM environment are gained by combining technologies with updated procedures to modernize air traffic management. L3Harris image.
Industry Frustrations
Poole sees only modest improvements from CPDLC in the U.S. where it is used for expediting tower departure clearances with little or no impact en-route. Similarly, he reported slower progress in Europe.
“The mostly good news is that the first steps of phase two — equipping en-route centers with Data Comm capability — is operational at Indianapolis and Kansas City [and Washington Centers],” said Poole. The pandemic has caused deployment delays.
Poole is not alone in his criticism. Airlines for America (A4A) pointed to the Total Delay Impact Study — conducted by a consortium of universities and funded and updated by the FAA.
“U.S. flight delay costs to airlines and passengers have exceeded $20 billion every year since 2007 and that number has increased to $30 billion in the last few years,” the organization told Aerospace Tech Review. “NextGen promised between 5% and 12% fuel and emissions savings and is an unrealized promise. Even a 5% savings in 2018 would have eliminated nearly 10 million metric tons of CO2, equivalent to taking more than 2.1 million cars off the road for an entire year. PBN is an example of a foundational capability that enables an aircraft to navigate using precise performance standards on a desired flight path. However, its deployment has been delayed consistently and the intended goals — added safety, lower emissions, less total noise exposure, improved airport access during bad-weather and improved predictability benefits — have not been achieved.”
That may be so, but technology has existed since 2001 — independently validated by FAA, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, GE Aviation, Delta and Georgia Tech — proving that if airlines managed their aircraft in real time, from gate-to-gate, making adjustments in flight, they could have lowered emissions (CO2/NOX/noise) and reduced costs, while improving ATC efficiency, on-time performance and schedule reliability. The technology is ATHGroup’s GreenLandings solution, developed by former United Captain Michael Baiada and his partner Lonnie Bowlin. Airlines counter with “it can’t be done,” while advocates, like Aviation Consultant Robert Mann, say, instead of waiting for the long-promised benefits from NextGen, airlines could have solved congestion problems years ago with this low cost, self-help solution.
The L3Harris Herndon ADS-B Operations Center. L3Harris image.
Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS)
“The pioneers who envisioned NextGen as a transformation of U.S. air traffic control, assumed that aircraft would be guided to airports by RNP precision approaches linked to all-weather GPS-based landing system, replacing legacy instrument landing systems (ILSs),” said Poole, adding GPS-based landing systems are not included in NextGen leaving airlines and airports including United hubs Houston and Newark, to buy and install the systems themselves.
Poole cited several benefits to GBAS such as no signal interference and blind spots that plague ILS. GBAS also does not require a separate system on every runway end.
“Honeywell’s latest GBAS version can serve up to 48 runway ends from a single system,” he said. “It offers the standard 3-degree ILS glideslope, but also offers a 3.2-degree glideslope, reducing noise by keeping planes somewhat higher as they approach the runway. There’s no business case for ripping out current ILSs with many years of useful life remaining, but for airports with serious fog problems like San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA), GBAS offers considerable potential, especially once more-precise CAT II and Cat. 3 systems are certified, which in now close.”
Poole sees the same business-case for large European airports, noting the chicken-and-egg problem of aircraft equipage driving airport equipage has been overtaken by an upward trend in equipage.
“At the ICAO GBAS/SBAS workshop in Seoul, Boeing reported that more than 3,000 of its airliners are GBAS-equipped, with 72% of deliveries having GBAS,” Poole reported in Aviation Policy News. “GBAS was an option on the A320, A330, A350 and A380. The GBAS Alliance was created by GBAS producer Indra Navia and Airbus and its nearly two dozen members include airports, airlines and ANSPs. They are targeting key airports and ANSPs. Indra’s NORMARC GBAS completed flight tests at Hong Kong and the company says its home country, Norway, has used GPS-based landing systems at 17 airports for years. Germany’s DFS (which pioneered CAT I GPS at Frankfurt in 2012) is now actively planning for CAT II and Cat. 3 systems, with the first evaluations set for Bremen Airport. DFS expects that by 2030 only 20% of its ILSs will still be in operation, mainly as backups for GPS outages. ICAO has approved GBAS CAT II/3 standards.”
Poole noted Honeywell’s development of a CAT II modification to its CAT I GBAS ground equipment so planes equipped with its Smartpath CAT I avionics can fly CAT II approaches. As soon as FAA approves operating specifications for this, he said, American, Delta, and United airliners will be able to fly CAT II GBAS approaches at Houston and Newark.
FAA says they see machine learning and artificial intelligence as key technologies for improving safety.
Leveraging Big Data
Aireon sees ubiquitous data exchange as the basis of all future operational paradigms with AI fundamental to the ability to transition to a big data environment.
Collings agrees. The biggest role that big data provides today to ATM is the ability to measure improvements and identify areas of optimization. For example, by analyzing thousands of flight plans filed and comparing to actual routes flown, aircraft operators can avoid a lengthy route revision process before departure resulting in a more efficient process and reduced delays.
Big data could play a larger and larger role in ATM, by measuring improvements and identifying areas of optimization.
FAA also sees machine learning and artificial intelligence as key technologies for improving safety. It already incorporates AI and machine learning into weather forecasting improving both tactical and strategic weather strategies. The Offshore Precipitation Capability uses machine learning to improve traffic management around convective weather between Florida and the Bahamas and is being extended to other areas where there is no coverage.
“Big Data is definitely here to stay,” Hayman concluded. “Having a previously disconnected aviation eco-system and building out Internet of Things, I truly think that will give us seamless ATM because you are allowing all the information to flow to all the stakeholders in real time.”
How will the current market impact the passenger cabin? We reached out to learn what trends some of the major players in cabin IFE and connectivity are seeing and how they are responding.
Now that we are well into the pandemic, airlines are moving to long-term strategies that signal passengers the cabin experience has really changed. Some are even re-defining the airline-passenger relationship, capitalizing on technology and new apps to become the life-style brands that have made Amazon and Starbucks so successful.
Companies – including Safran, AERQ, Panasonic and Collins Aerospace – are deploying a variety of solutions and, acknowledging the industry’s lack of funding, are investing in making the business case for changes in the cabin and connectivity as airlines plan ahead.
Airlines, they said, are in different stages but much of what is happening is touchless and, in the cabin, that means using passenger personal electronic devices (PEDs) to connect to IFEC and integrating them into catering and serving. Therein lies what may be the biggest immediate change – increased reliance on PEDs. Even as PEDs have become extensions of our beings, IFEC systems have largely ignored wider integration and that is now changing, Jace Hieda, Panasonic product marketing manager explained.
AERQ aims to create a very simple Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth pairing for an upscale entertainment experience for passengers. AERQ image.
“Airlines have certainly reduced spending on IFEC, the most obvious area is in the monthly operational spend,” Safran Passenger Innovations COO Joe Winston said. “We are seeing airlines refresh content on a less frequent basis, although recently this has started to increase. Some airlines have stopped offering connectivity, while others are now charging more, or more aggressively looking for sponsors. We are still seeing IFEC RFP’s for new aircraft installations, albeit less than before.”
Hieda agrees. “Some airlines are able to focus on both the ‘now’ and the ‘tomorrow – whenever that may be,” said Hieda. “For those airlines which historically have been innovators, we’re seeing interest in both existing and emerging technologies that take on a different utility or positioning in today’s context.”
Panasonic is focusing on passenger wellness. Its Welcome Aboard Collection consists of eight existing and emerging products and update its wellness offerings.The collection consists of both inflight entertainment elements and other solutions designed to help augment airline efforts to create a safer and healthier travel experience. Panasonic image.
One example might be Panasonic’s focus on wellness, suggesting heightened passenger stress could lead to more emphasis on well-being programming encouraging rest and relaxation such as its Slow TV, fielded by British Airways and designed to mesmerize passengers into relaxation. The company has baked wellness into its inflight product offerings since 2018 when it noted globetrotters made 830 million wellness trips in 2017 alone, citing the 2018 Global Wellness Economy Monitor which estimated the market at $650 million.
Originally designed for the health-conscious traveler, the product takes on new meaning today.
Panasonic’s Welcome Aboard Collection of eight existing and emerging products update its wellness offerings. The collection consists of both inflight entertainment elements and other solutions designed to help augment airline efforts to create a safer and healthier travel experience.
Another offering from the Panasonic collection aims to help airlines to reduce touchpoints through smarter “less touch” technology such as their Onboard Reader that digitizes print publications and the Companion App to integrate personal electronic devices. Panasonic image.
Other solutions in the collection help airlines to reduce touchpoints through smarter “less touch” technology such as Onboard Reader to digitize print publications and Companion App to integrate the PEDs.
The collection also includes the nanoe Air Cleanser. This improves air quality by generating nano-sized electrostatic atomized water particles that suppress odors and inhibit certain viruses, bacteria, and allergens. There is also Active Surfaces for easy wipe-down and ZeroTouch services, which updates content remotely. Active Surfaces replaces buttons by embedding screens beneath wood or surface veneers and incorporating proximity touch. It also offers anti-microbial UV lighting.
Leveraging PEDs
“We are seeing airlines evaluating how much it costs, weighing that against restoring passenger confidence,” said Collins Head of Strategic Growth & Business Development in the Strategic Programs Division Alexis Hickox. “Our wide-ranging portfolio of products to support seat hygiene and Cabin Connect wireless inflight connectivity system is designed to support connectivity and the touchless experience via PEDs to access the internet and streaming services.”
Hickox noted suppliers are focusing on how airlines can introduce applications and services to support contactless communications for both passengers and crew.
“Our Rave IFE is already offering a completely touchless experience via PEDs with the RAVE IFE Mobile App,” said Arthur Glain, who heads up Safran Seats -Strategy & Innovation explained. “The passenger can already control IFE content, lighting and seat position thanks to the phone. Additionally, we are looking into extending our range of touchless interaction with the seat. Actuated doors with proximity sensors for business class and latch-less meal table for economy class are currently being studied.
“The pandemic is affecting the overall seat design,” Glain continued. “Allowing each passenger more individualized space, reducing the number of shared surfaces and minimizing forced interaction between passengers such as stepping-over for exiting the seat, were already trends before Covid-19 but the pandemic took it to another level and we are now designing our next generation of seats with ‘passenger individual space’ as one of the key criteria.”
Safran Cabin VP Marketing Nathan Kwok explained how the company is working on a variety of onboard surfaces.
“There is an increased emphasis on hygiene, but it is important to implement this hygiene in a way that is reassuring and not intrusive,” he said. “This is what makes touchless amenities popular – they are hygienic, but also more convenient. There is also a strong intersection between a smart cabin design and a hygienic cabin. Safran Cabin has analyzed all touchpoints for both passengers and crew – including making some common touchpoints touchless, such as faucets, flush buttons and waste lids. For touchpoints that cannot be made touchless, we are studying how to make these surfaces antimicrobial.”
Safran’s Rave IFE is offers a completely touchless experience via personal electronic devices with the RAVE IFE Mobile App. Safran image.
Safran says there is clearly an increased emphasis on hygiene since the pandemic, making touchless amenities popular like these shown in an A350 lavatory. Safran image.
Powered by light, NanoSeptic surfaces use mineral nano-crystals to create a powerful oxidation reaction so the surface continually oxidizes organic contaminants. The NanoSeptic surface uses no poisons, heavy metals or chemicals. Shown here is their NanoSeptic self-cleaning travel placemat. NanoTouch image.
Such technology has been available since 2018 when NanoTouch Materials launched its products to turn dirty, high traffic, public touchpoints into continuously self-cleaning surfaces. Powered by light, NanoSeptic surfaces uses mineral nano-crystals which create a powerful oxidation reaction. Working 24/7, the surface continually oxidizes organic contaminants. Unlike traditional disinfectants and cleaners, the NanoSeptic surface uses no poisons, heavy metals or chemicals, and nothing is released from the surface since the nano-crystals are molecularly bonded to the material.
Futureproofing the Cabin
One of the biggest challenges is rapidly changing consumer technology. From RFP to installation is a multi-year process, meaning equipment is obsolete before it is installed. Thus, the interest in future-proofing the cabin.
“Some airlines are looking for long-term solutions that would be efficient not only for this pandemic but in future-proofing their cabin for the next global crisis,” Glain told Aerospace Tech Review.
Airlines, said Hieda, are looking for partners in development, exploration and innovation in creating a system that is future-proof, scalable and nimble.
As a joint venture between LG Electronics and Lufthansa Technik, this is exactly AERQ’s sweet spot. “Our investors have deep experience in the industry,” said managing director Arnd Kikker. “There are a lot of expectations for innovations in this space. We entered the market in order to bring the cabin experience into the digital age and to allow airlines to leverage everything for a more sustainable business model whether for higher brand awareness of operational efficiency or increased ancillary revenues.”
With the core of its product an Open IT platform, AERQ enables airlines to take control of their onboard experience.
AirAsia is not wasting the crisis. The company says they are using the time to unify the user experience and accelerate their digital business. They have expanded airasia.com’s product offerings from travel to everyday life and hope to emerge as a “super app” for travel and lifestyle.
Currently, according to Kikker, the process of digitalization is barely controlled by the airlines, meaning aircraft are not integrated into the overall travel chain. AERQ, is designing the future by fielding cutting-edge consumer electronics in the cabin and giving airlines control on how to develop their inflight product.
Panasonic is exploring potential partnerships with Detalytic to integrate health advisory applications into seatback systems and passengers’ mobile devices. Panasonic image.
“This gives airlines a playing field,” said Kikker. “It creates a digital ecosystem throughout the cabin. Airlines can then deploy the technology when and where they need and address the touchpoints they are concerned about such as having apps on board that you don’t have today. We want airlines to have better access and leverage cabin operations including the passenger experience to build brand awareness and loyalty.”
In AERQ Managing Director Sang Soo Lee’s mind it is the ability to connect every point at once. “The AERQ Platform connects the dots between passengers, crew and developers and enables the airlines to gain control over all digital touchpoints and to have a choice in look and feel, use cases and applications.”
AERQ suggests, as a new startup still developing its technology, it has an edge on its competition because it can be more flexible and, with its joint venture, more to invest in futuristic product development.
“Airlines are thinking and discussing what we are about to deliver,” said Kikker. “We think the industry is trying to design the future. Airlines will need access to ancillary services more than before. Covid pushed increased digitalization on board. Airlines are saying they can’t spend the money now but once they recover, they are researching what they want to spend money on. That fits our timeline anyway. We have new ideas and concepts coming and we will be ready two years from now when the market is ready.”
Its open platform could also address the much-needed change in ancillary products from the unbundled services such as baggage and seat-selection fees that only annoy passengers. Developers across the travel spectrum have apps enabling airlines to sell ancillaries passengers want to buy such as ground transportation, concert tickets and tours offering the much-desired authentic experience. They urge airlines to become travel partners across the entire trip rather than just a ticket transaction. Talked about for a decade, it has never deployed as airlines focused on the physical passenger experience.
App developers are enabling airlines to finally become digital retailers that promise more ancillary revenue than ever before. Given the fiscal disaster of the pandemic, airlines may be forced to finally embrace this technology.
A perfect example is AirAsia X. With the airline in hibernation, the company is restructuring itself into a lifestyle brand that has made Amazon and Starbucks so successful and includes leveraging airasia.com for logistics, ecommerce and financial services.
“We have not wasted the crisis, in fact we’ve been using the lockdown period to fine tune our platform, unify the user experience and simplify our payment to a one-click checkout,” said AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes. “We have accelerated our digital business and expanded airasia.com’s product offering from travel to everyday life. Airasia.com will emerge as the Asean super app, your best travel and lifestyle companion.”
Products, according to airasia.com CEO Karen Chan, include AirAsia Unlimited Pass, a buy-now-fly-later model. “We understand customers’ pent-up desire to travel, so we launched SNAP, our best-price guaranteed flight and hotel bundle,” she said. “We understand consumers’ want to shop in the comfort of their own home, so we offered home delivery for duty free, fresh food and meals.”
While behavior and priorities have shifted, however, Hieda illustrated one thing hasn’t changed. “Passengers are still idle in an aircraft seat for long lengths of time and current options have become commonplace,” said Hieda. “Entertainment remains a major passenger-experience driver, even with shifting priorities around one’s environment or safety.”
Even so, Hieda indicated airlines are asking what suppliers can do to help them show customers they are safe.
“An important part is informing passengers about the safety measures implemented and steps passengers should take while onboard,” said Safran VP Products and Strategy Ben Asmar. “This is where IFEC systems can perform a critical communication role by showing procedures taking place to ensure the aircraft is clean and protects their safety. While this is not a new enhancement, it is an example where airlines can leverage existing investments in IFEC to communicate vital information to passengers.”
But is more than the on-board experience, said Hickox, noting passenger concerns about the boarding and pre-boarding environment. Their desire for social distancing and visible hygiene practices including toilets are driving many Collins’ initiatives.
“Airlines must ensure they are sharing their sanitization policies and practices by pushing out that information on PEDs,” she said. “Reducing shared surfaces and passenger interactions.”
Collins has three Emerging Technology teams charged with implementing leading-edge, ready-now technology needed for passengers to move safely and confidently through the various travel touchpoints.
Collins efforts fall into two main categories – biometrics and the self-service technologies aiming to get passengers into and through the airport as quickly as possible.
With no application installation necessary, and part of a suite that is the first full-contactless airport experience, its Kiosk Connect enables users to scan a QR code with their mobile device to complete check in. It has coupled this technology with its secure biometric solutions.
Collins’ ARINC SelfPass system completes a passenger’s contactless journey through the use of a single token ID driven by secure biometrics. SelfPass can be applied check-in, immigration and security, lounge access and boarding. Each step can be completed in a matter of seconds with no need to present traditional boarding and identification documents. Travelers simply step up to the camera for a facial match against the biometrics database to determine whether they are authorized to board. When the image matches, the gate opens.
Airlines Still Need Time
Glain said airlines need to have clearer skies before making big investments to meet new pandemic-related passenger expectations. With the confusion surrounding vaccine distribution, some analysts expect vaccine distribution to take well into 2022.
Panasonic is exploring potential partnerships with Detalytic to integrate health advisory applications into seatback systems and passengers’ mobile devices.
It already has monitoring equipment in its seats and introduced analytics to help normalize sleep patterns and light therapy to help passengers adjust their body clock faster. Seat-back screens could be paired with software and a camera to enable the monitoring of passenger mood, stress and other potential inflight emotions and problems.
AERQ is also studying health monitoring. “We are considering how we can monitor passenger health conditions because this is not just about Covid-19 but personal health conditions might have risks at a later time,” said Lee. The silver lining here is difficult times tend to diminish the this-is-how-it-has-always-been-done mentality.
“Embracing the new realities of how passengers want to fly, new product introductions and new experiences onboard will continue to change the offerings available,” concluded Hieda. “We do believe that designing a digital ecosystem that incorporates all of the airlines’ touchpoints not as isolated, discrete parts but as engagements that flow, blend, and transfer from one to the next, will begin to take shape as we incorporate the IFEC system into that thread. That frictionless experience enables, if airlines want, the introduction of things like personalized offers, suggested experiences, and meaningful transactions – all sprinkled throughout the journey.”
Signaling Real Change
“We are developing technology that will signal to the passenger that returning to the skies is now completely different,” said Lee. “There will be new protocols and new cabins but new experiences need to evident immediately.”
Perhaps nothing signals a changed cabin experience than AERQ’s OLED ceiling panels depicting the night sky or auroras. The technology created a splash and comes far in advance of Airbus transparent hull concepts and brings a whole new meaning to the sky interior.
Collins Aerospace and Safran Aerosystems are also looking at this technology. Panasonic offers short-throw projectors enabling airlines to project starry skies, sunsets, sunrises and other time-of-day lighting onto the cabin ceiling.
As AirAsia illustrates, Covid offers airlines the opportunity to create a new relationship with passengers beyond personalizing the on-board experience. The question is, will they grab it.
Once designed to eliminate 40 pounds carried in a pilot’s flight bag, Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) have, in 10 years, morphed into essential tools improving efficiency and safety and shrinking costs and the time to get new tools to pilots.
But equally important, advances in EFB technology are changing how manufacturers think about technology on the flight deck.
“EFBs have been a significant disruption, enabling new capabilities for flight operations efficiency, productivity and safety,” Tyson Weihs, Foreflight cofounder and CEO, told Aerospace Tech Review. “This has been a revolution, allowing pilots to get a substantial amount of functionality on a relatively low-cost device they may not otherwise have had.”
This is a vast change from EFB beginnings when they were integrated into flight decks as “ships libraries,” storing operations and maintenance manuals to charts and maps, according to Collins Aerospace.
ForeFlight’s co-founder, Tyson Weihs, says the EFB has been a revolution. Shown here are flight planning and hazard modules. Other functions include checklists, documents/manuals, procedures previews and more. ForeFlight images.
“As the applications for the electronic library grew, so did the complexity and cost of the integrated EFB,” Gary Anderson, Collins senior engineering technician, explained. “Tablet devices became more capable and the ability to go paperless, with all its advantages, became more cost-effective and easier for airlines to manage.”
As EFBs migrated to GA and business aviation aircraft they have afforded unprecedented advancements.
“The EFB is no longer just about digitizing documents, it’s about creating a digital copilot to support the pilot during different phases of flight and in high workload situations,” Honeywell Connected Enterprise Product Manager Sarah Weinhardt told Aerospace Tech Review. “We are seeing a trend in EFBs focusing on AI providing more predictive/contextual support based on phase of flight and outside conditions. Taking this leap is big, with some regulatory hurdles, but it is definitely where the EFB market is going.”
It is also about speed, said Weihs. “We’ve taken the minutes to locate and understand information and reduced it dramatically increasing safety, allowing pilots to focus on flying rather than flipping through books. Now every pilot can access enroute weather. This increased situational awareness speeds decision making and that improves safety. Apps now deliver information on frequency, airport maps, NOTAMS, and even FBO information.”
Astronautics Corporation Director of Connected Aircraft Solutions Ed Callahan noted EFBs are moving into flight plan optimization. “This empowers pilots to make faster, better decisions based on weather and aircraft performance,” he said. “It also enables pilots to work more effectively with ATC because they don’t have to rely on it for situational awareness.”
Room for Failure
“The EFB gives aviation technology companies like Honeywell ways to iterate fast, work with crews, and provide new technology fast,” said Weinhardt. “But it also provides the opportunity to fail fast. Not every new technology works or is a good idea. Being able to test in non-certified software allows the technology to be perfected before it goes into an aircraft or before investing millions of dollars.”
Craig Burfeind, director software Engineering at Garmin, indicated EFBs also provide features once only available to large operators. “Wireless features include streaming engine data from select avionics such as the TXi flight displays and the Garmin Pilot,” he said. “Pilots can view engine data in real-time providing more visibility to overall engine performance within the app, or can download engine data for post-flight analysis, potentially saving on costly maintenance repairs.”
Garmin Pilot leverages system data in which pilots view the most often filed routes between airport pairs, reducing complex reroutes or delays in-flight.
Information Overload
“Apps are developed very fast,” said Weinhardt, “which can mean really cool technology gets introduced in the market all the time. But it also means clutter and confusion for pilots to know what to use. Our customers ask for more and more features they see in other apps in a single EFB app.”
EFBs are moving into flight plan optimization says Astronautics Corporation. Pilots are empowered to make faster, better decisions based on weather and aircraft performance. Astronautics Images.
Anderson agrees. “We have to be careful with information overload,” he said. “We are listening to our customers and ensuring that we provide relevant applications that have a strong value proposition, including operational, technical, commercial and of course safety parameters. We are currently investing in Flight Profile Optimization (FPO) and Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) apps. At the same time, the value of aggregated data being shared through a data exchange is a key element of our current roadmap.”
The Course Validation Check module of Collins Aerospace ARINCDirect’s Plotting Chart app detects navigation errors while operating in oceanic areas. ARINC image.
Still, said Collins Aerospace ARINCDirect Mobile Apps Product Manager Benjamin Lynn, growing functionality is key which is why it launched the increasingly popular Plotting Chart.
“It allows flights to operate in oceanic areas without old paper plotting charts and is the first of its kind in the industry,” he said. “Plotting Chart reduces pilot workload. Its Course Validation Check module specifically simplifies the task of detecting gross navigation errors.”
App consolidation is the new frontier. “Customers want one application to fulfill as much as is reasonably possible and practical to meet their needs,” Weihs explained. “They are also seeking flexibility and more automation. What we are developing is the delivery of information that is anticipatory of things that affect the flight such as airport changes, disruption management or if you are flying into a congested airport which requires more fuel.”
OEMs Rethink Tech
“The EFB has also changed how aircraft manufacturers are looking at technology and how to use much shorter cycle times to advance the industry,” said Weinhardt. “Historically, anything in aviation took five to 10 years before a pilot used it, but with the rapid change in technology over the past decade, we are seeing a paradigm shift with OEMs and avionics providers trying to adapt how certified technology is done and released to the market.”
Manufacturers, she added, are looking at technology once required in embedded avionics, realizing it can be made available in EFBs for a fraction of the price.
But, she added, “EFBs are not to make it cheaper but about making flight safer and reducing the pilot’s workload so they can focus on their core job…flying the mission safely. Some capabilities, while able to be put on an EFB, really are better suited for the forward display such as Synthetic Vision (SV). SV on EFBs is not now approved for use in IFR conditions for commercial operations. This capability is incredible and can make a difficult approach in the heavy cloud coverage fairly easy, allowing the crew to virtually see the terrain and airport environment around them. But this doesn’t belong on an EFB and almost every commercial pilot would agree.”
EFBs will never replace certified instruments required for aircraft navigation, said Weihs. “But it could change how much users spend and on what,” he said. “Rather EFBs augment the avionics and connect to the panel for updating navigation information wirelessly to transfer data to and from tablet. That complements the significant workflow improvement in planning and preparing for flight.”
The increasing tablet-to-aircraft connectivity brings its own dangers, however, according to Astronautics’ Callahan, whose company enables secure communication in both aircraft and outside-the-aircraft arenas. Astronautics is working with global regulators to establish requirements for securing aircraft communications and strategies for mitigating threats.
“In order to continue developing innovative EFB apps, you need enhanced connectivity and that means a higher degree of security,” he said. “I think the continued innovation in the EFB space will be limited unless security plays a bigger and bigger role. It is one thing to use the cabin WiFi but another to connect the tablet to the aircraft. Our server enables secure connectivity and works on the assumption all portable devices are already compromised when we do a security analysis of the connectivity on board.”
Airlines Lead the Way
Wienhardt has seen a recent uptick in airline R&D. “They have programs testing different new weather and efficiency apps, as well as actually developing their own technologies internally,” she explained. “This is another paradigm shift in the industry where the airlines are on the leading edge of technology use in the cockpit and the business aviation is taking notice.
Delta Flight Weather Viewer aggregates National Weather Service data with analysis by Delta’s in house meteorologists and aircraft in the air to help pilots avoid turbulence. Delta Air Lines image.
“The adoption of new technology is much faster at the general and business aviation space than at airlines owing to both costs and crew training. In a business aviation operator with three aircraft, a change if procedure means training is fairly easy and cheap. But, if an airline changes procedures or adds a new weather app, it requires training for every single crew member on that fleet before it can become standard.”
A perfect example of airline R&D efforts is Delta’s turbulence app designed to address the $100 million turbulence costs airlines annually, according to NASA’s Weather Accident Prevention Project.
Leveraging its Gogo WiFi network instead of ACARS datalink, the Delta Flight Weather Viewer uses real-time information anticipating and avoiding turbulence by aggregating National Weather Service data with analysis by Delta meteorologists and aircraft in the air. Delta hopes to reduce its carbon footprint by helping pilots avoid altitude and speed changes.
Delta touted its app on its Delta News Hub, explaining it was developed in partnership with Basic Commerce and Industries (BCI) and allows pilots to plug in their flight plan and view where turbulence is and how it’s being encountered on a 3-D, color-coded map. Delta even customizes the data by aircraft type to account for how turbulence affects aircraft differently.
“The system uses special algorithms, developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), from existing avionics sensors, to combine vertical accelerometer data with atmospheric data, which includes pitch, roll and wind speed to generate turbulence reports,” the airline explained. “These reports are fed back into forecast models, also developed by NCAR, and made available to the app in real time. Pilots can set threat index alerts, which trigger audible and visual notifications signaling when an area of turbulence lies ahead, when the seat belt sign should be turned on and when the cabin needs to be secured.”
Predicting the Future
EFBs of the future will streamline functions into a single app and provide predictive data for unprecedented safety, flexibility and efficiency. They will also likely offload technology from panel to tablet to a degree. As tablet computing power rises so too does the functionality of EFBs.
The deployment of the Future Air Navigation System 1/A is necessitating an upgrade of non-airliner aircraft in order to use the global air navigation system despite its being voluntary in some regions. In addition, according to SITA, the airline industry needs to stay vigilant in order to optimize the equipment.
“The world is flying more, with an increasing number of data laden, new- generation aircraft taking off every day,” SITAONAIR head of Cockpit Communications Portfolio Andy Hubbard told Aerospace Tech Review.
“This not only puts pressure on Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to manage limited airspace but also manage the world’s aircraft communications infrastructure across increasingly limited bandwidth. Additionally, the industry is facing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, as well as adapting to regional regulatory activity. Fortunately, a digital shift in aircraft communications is already well underway. There are dedicated IP links for the flight deck that offer secure, global and higher-throughput channels for vital air-to-ground and ground-to-air exchanges, as well as an uptake of 3G and 4G cellular networks which offer cost-effective options for expanding ground coverage. However, conventional VHF/VDL will remain key to delivering safety communications for the foreseeable future.”
The technology essentially allows digital communications between aircraft and controller by text instead of voice for clearances and reducing pilot and controller workloads. The increased accuracy also significantly expands airspace by reducing separation requirements. Benefits include reduced delays and more efficient routes, improved controller and pilot efficiency, reduced operational errors, reduced ground delays owing to congestion and weather and reduced fuel burn and emissions.
“FANS 1/A+ was established in certain North Atlantic airspace while Aeronautical Telecommunications Network Baseline 1 (ATN B1) was its European equivalent,” explained Universal Avionics in its white paper. “In the US, Controller-Pilot Data Link (CPDLC) and CPDLC Departure Clearance (CPDLC DCL) more effectively manages airspace, addresses communication frequency congestion and improves safety. Data Comm FANS today uses automatic position reporting and CPDLC to directly communicate to ATC over VHF using VDL Mode 2 or SATCOM (Inmarsat or Iridium) in lieu of ACARS, to enable more efficient communications between the aircraft and ATC.”
And it is this automation that is attracting users. With the best-equipped, best-served philosophy of air traffic management systems, it is now in the operators’ best interest to upgrade their aircraft. Airliner manufacturers are well along in equipage and while business aviation OEMs have been preparing for this brave new world and avionics manufacturers such as Collins Aerospace, Universal Avionics (UA), GE Aviation, Honeywell and others, developing equipment, the onus is now on operators.
Understanding Data Comm Systems with FANS 1/A+, CPDLC DCL, and ATN B1. Universal Avionics image.
“We’ve seen a lot of focus so far on the benefit of equipping airline and Part 121 operations,” said Dan Reida, vice president sales and support for Universal Avionics. “However, there is substantial operational improvement for business aviation operators who take advantage of CPDLC DCL and en route capabilities.”
Chuck Wade, Collins Aerospace principal marketing manager, agreed. “Unfortunately, in business aviation, because they are used only 300 to 400 hours a year, sometimes the cost/benefit doesn’t add up,” he said. “But the value proposition is in the participation in the National Airspace System (NAS) and as this technology unfolds throughout the 2020s, it will just be a cost of doing business. For business aircraft to remain relevant, especially in busy areas such as Southern California, Florida and the Northeast, CPDLC will be an expectation and you won’t be able to manage without it. But you will also see cost effective solutions come to the market. I know that is top of mind at Collins.”
The FAA successfully completed the first phase of FAA’s NextGen efforts to deploy CPDLC at 62 of the busiest airports in the US two years ahead of schedule. Universal Avionics image.
For those doing that cost/benefit analysis Wade offers this. “Put yourself in the controller’s position,” he said. “The controller has 60% of the fleet they are handling equipped. So, where do you think that puts an aircraft that isn’t equipped? The FAA is deploying all this new technology to benefit NAS so the priority will be on those who will help them achieve the efficiencies they are after. As far as the FAA is concerned everything about flight deck connectivity is about NextGen Data Comm. Eventually, it will get to the point if you want to participate in the NAS, you are going to need this equipment. We are experiencing increased conversations around this technology and the benefits associated with it.”
SITA has been a key enabler for a number of ANSPs and aircraft operators to help unlock the benefits with its FANS managed service but still the cost/benefit analysis is complex because it also includes carbon emissions and that isn’t necessarily top of mind in business aviation operations.
“There are several operational factors at play, at the heart of which is airspace productivity,” Hubbard explained. “In this sense, coordination and exchange of flight data between systems on the flight deck and ATC is rapidly becoming a key factor in unlocking further airspace productivity. The ultimate panacea is the enablement of free routing airspace through Trajectory Based Operations and applications like Extended Projected Profile (EPP) and 4D Trajectory coordination (4DTRAD) brought over the next generation of data link services. EUROCONTROL estimates the benefits of the shift to free routing airspace at 10,000 tons/day in reduced C02 emissions and a daily saving in fuel bills of around €3 million. Other regional campaigns put the savings estimate at between 200 and 500 kg of CO2 per flight from optimized arrivals and approaches based on RNP and 4D Trajectory coordination over data link.”
Brave New World
For a growing number of ANSPs, the suite of technologies supporting FANs is a requirement, according to a Universal Avionics.
“Data Comm systems have matured over the past three decades from an aircraft OEM cost-saving feature to a necessity for effective worldwide airspace management and communication advancements,” it said in its white paper. “Several areas are mandating Data Comm capabilities and excluding non-equipped aircraft from airspaces with the most-desirable and cost-saving routes. Equipping for FANS 1/A+, CPDLC DCL, or ATN B1 operations can meet regulatory requirements and provide a substantial return on investment for aircraft dependent on those airspaces. The addition of FANS Domestic initial capabilities such as CPDLC DCL at major U.S. airports can virtually eliminate wait times for aircraft clearance delivery, potentially reducing operating costs significantly over time.”
Besides CPDLC, FANS Oceanic requires Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADSB-C), VDL Mode 2 data link radio and/or satellite communications, and of course ADS-B, required in the U.S. since January 1, for domestic operations.
UA noted VDL Mode 2 network, a high-speed and high-capacity digital communications network, provides a massive increase in message capacity – roughly 20 times that of ACARS – and is more cost efficient and reliable than traditional VHF.
FAA image.
CPDLC Deployed
The FAA successfully completed the first phase of FAA’s NextGen efforts to deploy CPDLC at 62 of the busiest airports in the US two years ahead of schedule and is now deploying it to centers having completed Kansas City and Indianapolis centers.
However, a 2019 DOT Office of Inspector General report on the aircraft equipage noted this phase will likely take longer and be paced by equipage of non-airline and regional airline fleets. The schedule calls for the balance of en route centers to be operational by the end of 2021 and then the full set of Data Comm capabilities will be brought on in 2025.
“The introduction of FANS is big step for the industry in terms of easing the communication between pilots and ATC,” Gary Thelen, director, Navigation & Guidance for GE Aviation, said. “However, FANS is just the first step in the roadmap of capabilities to make this communication seamless for the pilot and ATC. The wide adoption of tablets in the flight deck, high-bandwidth/high-reliability connectivity, and growing applications really enable and encourage a tighter integration among the pilots, ATC, and operations. With our new connected FMS – TrueCourse FMS and Connected FMS, we expect significant improvements in situational awareness, seamless/automated communication, optimization of routes, additional/automated safety checks, just to name a few.”
Last year, Lufthansa Systems and GE Aviation became the first providers in the airline market to offer a solution that allows for the inflight synchronization of the flight plan between the GE Aviation flight management system (FMS) and Lufthansa Systems pilot applications directly on-aircraft.
“Utilizing capabilities of a connected FMS is a true milestone for digital navigation in aviation, because it automates the daily manual data entry processes of pilots, which are prone to error, and enables the data flow between different applications,” said Dr. Bernd Jurisch, head of flight & navigation products & solutions at Lufthansa Systems. “This synchronization of valuable flight-relevant data between the FMS and pilot applications reduces pilots’ workload and greatly improves their situational awareness, while also significantly mitigating errors through incorporated cross checks that are even graphically visible for the crew.”
The IG’s aircraft census revealed 7,800 aircraft currently equipped. “Of these, 3,166 are domestic airliners, 1,946 are international airliners, and 2,688 are business jets,” the IG reported. “The equipped domestic airliners are 72% of the domestic fleet that can be equipped with Data Comm. Most Boeing and larger Airbus models are equipped, but many mid-size Airbus planes and regional aircraft are not. Other airliners either don’t have a flight management system that can be upgraded or are close enough to retirement that airlines won’t spend the money to upgrade. Nearly all international airliners, of course, are already equipped for FANS equipment that includes data link.”
The fact that more than 2,500 business jets are equipped is a testament to a proactive industry in which OEMs have prepared and flight departments understand that there are benefits to be had.
On the airline side, Wizz Air recently became Europe’s first airline to deploy SITAONAIR’s pioneering ACARS over IP service using terrestrial cellular networks. This flexible channel for on-ground data transmission offers increased capacity and coverage, and higher data throughput, as well as an ample on-ground alternative to VHF/VDL-sparse locations. The service also brings enhanced resilience through the interoperable use of cellular and ACARS networks.
Similarly, Cebu Pacific also uses the platform because it flies to a number of airports that are surrounded by high terrain and that have no VHF Ground Stations (VGS). However, they do have 3G connectivity. ACARS over IP enables their operational ACARS traffic to be sent normally when previously this would have had to wait until a VGS/RGS was in range. Cebu’s aircraft have moved 33% of their VHF Datalink traffic to Cellular.
“The shift to new IP-based datalinks offer new, largely unchartered potential for connecting applications in the cockpit,” said Hubbard. “Dedicated broadband connections enable airframers to maximize the capability of onboard communications management and enable real-time connectivity for updates on graphical weather or fuel optimization. Greater value can also be achieved through the enabling of connected aircraft tracking applications such as SITAONAIR’s AIRCOM FlightTracker which, in conjunction with ACARS, Aireon’s space-based ADS-B and FlightAware’s ground-based data, supports ICAO’s Global Aeronautic Distress & Safety System (GADSS) recommendations.”
Hubbard noted, however, cost barriers and the complexity of making changes to avionics means that datalink advances have not been as swift as required. “With new aircraft continuing to be equipped with conventional ACARS technologies, which are still core to aircraft communications operations, some carriers might not yet feel motivated to upgrade. SITAONAIR’s VHF Data Link mode 2 (VDLm2) proposition overcomes these issues. VDLm2 requires only changes to the ground network – essentially to allow ground stations to pick up messages addressed to other stations in their vicinity – and allows the avionics to remain unchanged. Implementing VDLm2 amounts to deploying a virtual ground station, in addition to the existing ground stations that will continue to operate in the normal point-to-point ‘virtual cable’ mode.”
GE image.
Mandates on the Horizon
Ultimately, it will not be a matter of choice, UA indicated. “Operators not equipped for FANS 1/A+ capabilities will be excluded from airspace which requires it, increasing total trip distance, time, emissions and ultimately more money,” its white paper explained. “The fact is that some aircraft simply do not have the range to get across the Atlantic without operating on the NAT at optimum altitudes. Operating outside of those optimum altitudes may mean not being able to make the trip nonstop. With the additional requirements in the North Atlantic, even aircraft that would normally fly a random route above or outside of the affected tracks will not be allowed to transition through the NAT if they are not equipped for FANS. This trend will continue as equipage rises and demand for more operations in the airspace increases.”
Satcom Direct agrees. “FANS brings great benefit to business aviation, providing operators the ability to use optimized transatlantic routes,” said Nick Cook, SD director of flight deck services, adding SD offers the FlightDeck Freedom (FDF) datalink service, enabling FANS 1/A and other advanced datalink capabilities for many airframes previously unable to use FANS 1/A. “Upgrades to the FDF datalink offering have been put in place to support multiple FANS retrofit and upgrade options for legacy aircraft. This is all part of our strategy to deliver the latest technologies to reduce pilot workload and contribute to more efficient aircraft operations.”
FlightDeck Freedom supports aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins CMU-1000 datalink systems as well as aircraft equipped with a Universal Avionics UniLink UL-800/801 Communications Management Unit (CMU) operating simultaneously with Honeywell’s AFIS DMU, providing a simplified upgrade path for legacy AFIS DMU equipped aircraft to become FANS compliant. FDF supports all FANS/LINK 2000+ equipment and will be compatible with all future upgrades to other avionics. The UniLink UL-800/801 CMU upgrades are certified for installation on Gulfstream models GV, GIV, GIVSP and additional aircraft types will be certified in the future. The mode of communication is flexible and can be adjusted to meet the needs of the individual aircraft. Certification of the CMU-1000 system is expected late this year for Falcon 50EX/2000/2000EX and Challenger 604 aircraft.
“Our role really is ensuring a channel is available and users know up front if there are any problems or gaps with coverage,” Cook told Aerospace Tech Review. “Customers get an alert during trip planning on gaps or problems. This information is updated en route. In addition, alerts are sent as reminders as the aircraft approaches a gap, how long it will last and when they are reconnecting with a coverage area. We also provide a means to test an aircraft’s systems and do familiarity training before flight. In addition to bringing automated alerts on gaps, the SD technology monitors hazardous weather and helps with flight crew workload. SD also provides real-time security alerts alerting crews to any attempted cyberattacks or geopolitical issues that would require changing the flight plan or diverting to alternative airports.”
Safety First
While all this is geared toward improved communications and expanding airspace, it also has a safety benefit in eliminated language barriers by establishing a standardized message set. It also eliminates HF problems during solar flares and reduces HF traffic.
Hubbard cautioned not all communication networks are created equal. “Different networks are required within a safe and sustainable service across each operational domain in order to support diverse needs, from high-traffic continental areas to remote oceanic areas,” he said. “To serve these needs, new IP-based technologies must be highly integrated and industrialized into a single, seamless delivery model, to be market-ready, and bring significant advantages for airlines and airspace management service users.”
There has been an uptick in interest. “A number of our customers have seen the benefits,” Wade, told Aerospace Tech Review, “so we have a good volume of queries from unequipped customers. FANS/CPDLC was built on the backbone of ACARS and airlines have been using that for 30 years. Now we can bring different operational benefits to business aviation. The EFB world continues to expand, leveraging the ACARS network, providing a nice incremental value to customers. Users of super mid-sized aircraft and up are anxious to adopt this technology. The smaller aircraft users, however, are not traditional data link users and so they are less familiar with the technology. However, the value proposition of CPDLC is there and they are responding. We don’t have a lot of these users moving from voice to text, but it will be natural to see crews want to use text.”
Wade also spoke of the financial benefit in being more efficient inflight. “You get quicker clearances with data comm, so you spend less time taxiing and you get more efficient re-routes,” he explained. “Since it is built on the backbone of ACARS we can bring different operational benefits. For instance, this would mean the expansion of EFBs leveraging the ACARS network which will give users an incremental value such as routing messages through ACARS. More will be added to the data stream that can be coupled with pilot logs and scheduling. That hasn’t resonated yet with small flight departments. It is just a matter of getting more value for the same costs and that argument is starting to gain traction.”
As for the future, Wade is anticipating changes will be needed. “As ATC evolves and finds new use cases, it will help us react to the market if updates are needed,” he said. “Towards the end of the decade there may be use cases FAA might find that would help them and could have an impact to products possible. As far as new product or systems, not a lot is being talked about. If you look at FAA road map, the discussions are about upgrading and getting more bandwidth but all that is pretty much using the same backbone on which to build.”
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