Cloud-connected aircraft cockpit system transforms flight
The Honeywell Anthem flight deck, says the company, offers unprecedented levels of connectivity, an exciting and intuitive interface modeled after everyday smart devices, and a highly scalable and customizable design. The flight deck is powered by a flexible software platform that can be customized for virtually every type of aircraft and flying vehicle, including large passenger and cargo planes, business jets, helicopters, general aviation aircraft, and the rapidly emerging class of advanced air-mobility (AAM) vehicles.
“Honeywell is not just launching a new flight deck today,” says Mike Madsen, president and CEO, Honeywell Aerospace. “We are changing the way pilots operate aircraft and creating a more intuitive experience than ever. In the same way we moved from flip phones to smartphones, Honeywell Anthem will transform the pilot experience with customizable controls operated quickly and easily with a few swipes of the finger.”
Cloud connectivity
Honeywell Anthem is designed to solve two problems facing the aviation industry: First, it creates ways for increasingly complex aircraft to function with more autonomy, relieving stress on pilots and promoting safety and efficiency; Second, it enables the disjointed systems that support an aircraft to work together more seamlessly to deliver critical information to pilots.
Honeywell Anthem supports growing levels of aircraft autonomy, leading to complete autonomous capabilities in the future as regulations allow. Enabling increasing levels of autonomy – whether it’s automating manual tasks for single-pilot operation or automating more complex processes to reduce workload across all pilots, maintainers, and other service providers in a large fleet – depends heavily on improving connectivity across aircraft systems, says the company.
Historically, mechanics and pilots had to be on board aircraft with wired connections to transfer critical data like maintenance status and flight plans. Honeywell Anthem allows for this data transfer without anyone needing to be physically near the aircraft.
In addition, individual support systems (fuel, maintenance, catering, etc.) have also been disjointed, forcing pilots to interface with multiple third-party apps, websites, and businesses both pre-flight and post-flight. The pilot used to be required to integrate all this critical incoming information and then provide notifications to numerous support personnel prior to, during and after completing a flight.
As an always-on, cloud-connected avionics system, says the company, Honeywell Anthem generates and transfers data from ground-based servers so those involved in a flight’s operations have the information they always need. An aircraft doesn’t even need to be powered on for pilots and maintainers to see the information they might need prior to launching a flight.
“Everyone who touches a flight is able to get information that matters to them when they need it,” says Vipul Gupta, vice president and general manager, Avionics, Honeywell Aerospace. “The aircraft becomes accessible via the cloud computing infrastructure, and things like maintenance data, flight plans and overall aircraft status are stored automatically by the avionics or via ground-based applications used by support personnel. This means data is accessible by any authorized user from anywhere.”
Honeywell Anthem’s connectivity capabilities dramatically reduce pilots’ preflight preparation time, including wasted time in the cockpit, by up to 45 minutes per flight, says the company. The system seamlessly integrates with popular electronic flight bag planning applications to let pilots create, store and retrieve flight plans from anywhere.
After pilots load the flight plan remotely, it will be ready and waiting when they arrive at the aircraft. This remote flight plan loading is an industry first, enabled by the connectivity built into Honeywell Anthem. Prior to engine start, flight deck setups are also faster because many routine tasks can be accomplished off board before getting to the aircraft.
Beyond the benefits experienced by pilots and operators, says the company, service providers from maintenance personnel to caterers will benefit by having a higher level of visibility into real-time flight details than before. For example, prior to traveling to the airport, pilots can set up automatic notifications managed via the new Mission Manager function so that fueling teams, ground transportation and caterers are aware of the mission plan, even if the plan has to change due to unexpected weather. If the pilots are connected to Honeywell Anthem, they’re connected to everything they need.
Smartphone-like user interface
Beyond its cloud-connected avionics, Honeywell Anthem’s smartphone-like, easy-to-use interface is more intuitive than any other flight deck, says the company. It provides pilots and operations personnel with several capabilities that dramatically improve access to data, improving operational efficiency and safety.
For example, pilots or operators – whether in the cockpit or on their device at home – can customize the layout of digital displays within the cockpit to their preference. With a few finger swipes, pilots can reconfigure a screen or cluster of information just like they would on their personal smart device. Additionally, unlike traditional interfaces based on limited text-entry or basic graphical menus, Honeywell Anthem uses visualization and modern graphical and gesture-based methods, making the flight deck much easier to use and more fun to fly.
Honeywell Anthem’s display design also allows aircraft manufacturers to achieve new, modern aesthetics comparable to those in the high-end automotive market. Its 2K resolution displays showcase the most advanced safety features available today.
Additionally, says the company, Honeywell Anthem can significantly reduce the potential for ground collisions, runway incursions and runway excursions by 50% with several new features that provide pilots with unprecedented situational awareness. Those features include the 3D Runway Overrun Alerting and Awareness System (ROASS) and 3D Airport Moving Maps.
Honeywell Anthem is also offered as providing the cleanest, most functional symbology available today, a track-based Synthetic Vision System, plus the industry’s best Integrated Navigation Map and Vertical Situation Display. Honeywell Anthem is designed to fit a wide variety of aircraft both now and in the future, making advanced features that traditionally require a large amount of computing power accessible to smaller business and general aviation aircraft for the first time.
Another unique feature is a web browser that allows third-party applications and websites to run in the Honeywell Anthem cockpit. For example, pilots, via a third-party app, can display live weather cameras from the airport they are currently traveling to. Right next to that, they could display live radar imagery above the airport. Having more of this type of information at pilots’ fingertips, says the company, helps them make better decisions more often.
Honeywell Anthem also integrates with Honeywell Forge, a software platform that includes in-air and on-ground solutions for flight operations, flight efficiency, and connected maintenance in a single user interface. This integration enables operators to make proactive decisions about in-flight routing that save fuel and help avoid flight interruptions because of maintenance.
Urban air mobility
In addition to use on general aviation aircraft, rotorcraft and business jets, Honeywell Anthem will be available to future aircraft platforms in the emerging AAM market segment. Honeywell Anthem has already been selected by Vertical Aerospace and Lilium for their vertical takeoff and landing, all-electric aircraft, the VA-X4 and 7-Seater Lilium Jet, respectively.
Vertical’s VA-X4 is a piloted, zero emissions electric battery-powered aircraft. The aircraft takes off vertically, travels at a top speed of 200 miles per hour while carrying up to four passengers and is 100 times quieter than a helicopter.
The Lilium Jet is the world’s first electric jet that takes off and lands vertically. It seats six passengers and has one operator, with a cruise speed of 175 miles per hour and a nonstop range of approximately 155 miles. Both innovative aircraft will take flight in the coming years with Honeywell Anthem onboard.
“One of the many great things about Honeywell Anthem is its ability to fit any aircraft – both literally and figuratively,” says Stephane Fymat, vice president and general manager, Urban Air Mobility and Unmanned Aerial Systems, Honeywell Aerospace. “It’s scalable and customizable, meaning we can bring this into almost anything that’s currently flying or will fly in the future. That’s great news particularly for our UAM customers. The VA-X4 and 7-Seater Lilium Jet will revolutionize urban and regional air travel, and those will be some of the first platforms in the world to use Honeywell Anthem, which will, in turn, completely change how we pilot aircraft.”
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