Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Cockpit technology aids aviation efficiency drive
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 25 - 07 - 2010

Flying over the white cliffs of Dover, the two pilots of a Gulfstream 450 jet keep their eyes glued to a flight-deck display, ignoring the almost cloudless sky over the southern coast of England on their descent to a nearby runway.
Honeywell International Inc. pilot John Tuten and his co-pilot Paul Mrocka are testing what the US aviation company calls the “cockpit of the future” - designed not just to improve safety but to boost fuel efficiency as well.
The new cockpit does that by aiding pilot vision, enabling a straighter, shorter path and less time burning fuel.
Instead of conventional screens filled with technical data that pilots have to interpret, the company's Synthetic Vision System converts the data into a three-dimensional “virtual” view of what's outside. The graphical representation of the surrounding terrain, nearby aircraft and runway approaches means that even in zero visibility - in thick cloud, complete darkness or fog - the pilot should be able to see where he's going just as easily as if flying conditions were perfect.
Combined with Honeywell's smart landing technology, which alerts crew if an approach is unstable or at a risky angle, that means faster landings and take-offs - getting planes in and out of the air quicker.
The goal is simple, says Carl Esposito, Honeywell vice president for marketing and product development.
“If you want to reduce emissions, what you need to do is fly less - so the faster you get to where you're going, the more direct you fly, the less emissions,” Esposito says as the jet heads back to Farnborough airport, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of central London.
Both the rising cost of fuel and demand for more environmentally-friendly flying are putting pressure on the aviation industry to come up with advances.
Aircraft makers and technology companies are battling each other to bring ever more efficiency to the market after pledging last year to cut emissions to 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
The issue has become so urgent that organizers at this week's Farnborough International Airshow - the industry's premier event - devoted one of its five days to environmental issues.
And the star of the biennial show outside London was Boeing Co.'s 787 jetliner, a plane that the Chicago-based company says will use 20 percent less fuel when it enters service later this year, thanks to the lightweight composite materials that make up its frame instead of the traditional aluminum and titanium.
“Airlines are saying to us, we want less noise, we want the same speed, we want the range, but we want the environmental performance,” Boeing's chief technology officer John J. Tracy said when he updated the industry on the long-delayed 787's progress this week.
In the next few years, both Boeing and arch rival Airbus expect to roll out new turbofan engines which promise 10-15 percent better performance, while Canadian plane maker Bombardier is marketing its C-Series single-aisle jet as a fuel-efficient alternative to the current duopoly's offerings.
The spotlight is now turning to additions to the plane's frame - the technology that goes aboard the lightweight aircraft to streamline efficiency gain even further.
Honeywell expects to roll out its cockpit technology, currently only available on business and executive jets, to commercial airlines over the next year.
“It's just one of a number of products offered by technology providers in the aviation industry, and with all the implications that cockpit technology has for safety and cost efficiency, it's no surprise that providers are fighting for a share of the marketplace,” says Aviation Week analyst Ed Hazelwood.
“I think the new technology in all of the new aircraft helps the pilots a lot in terms of the amount of workload that they have to do when they're flying the aircraft,” he adds. “So when the airplanes can give them the data and the information, and convert that data into information so that they can action on it, that's going to make it a lot easier for the pilot to fly the aircraft safely and efficiently.” The Honeywell technology also aids attempts to integrate air traffic control systems in Europe and end the current criss-crossing - and fuel burning - routes that planes must currently fly over the Continent. It could also reduce the amount of time they spend in so-called “stacking,” or holding patterns as they wait to land. Analysts say those two measures could improve efficiency on some routes by 10-20 percent.


Clic here to read the story from its source.