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Kings Custom Tailors Installation For A Low Cost TAWS Solution For Jet Aircraft
Sometimes, it seems there is only one solution to a problem. But if one asks, "What if...?" and digs a little deeper, another answer may present itself. That's what happened recently when Million Air, a world-wide charter operator based at Salt Lake City International Airport, assigned Kings Avionics to bring a Hawker 800 into compliance with the FAA TAWS mandate.
Normally, a Hawker and other jets in its class have installed at completion, high-end Honeywell or Collins avionics which include MFD and EFIS systems. These systems are normally intended to support high cost add-ons such as TCAS I or TCAS II and Class A TAWS (EGPWS). The TAWS rule provides that turbin-powered aircraft configured for 6 to 9 passenger seats and operated as an FAR Part 135 aircraft can meet the requirement by installing Class B TAWS. In that case, why spend the money for Class A TAWS, typically $75,000... obtain a supplemental type certificate (STC) from the manufacturer or some other installation facility at a cost of $5,000 to $7,000... and then upgrade the MFD if necessary, typically another $20,000... when a Class B TAWS can be installed with lower cost equipment, around $25,000 with no STC required, but only field approval?
Bendix/King offers two popular EGPWS systems that meet the Class B TAWS requirements for general aviation aircraft--the KGP 560 and the KGP 860. Both are fine systems, but the KGP 860 has been described as about a half-step between a Class A and Class B TAWS and offers multiple EFIS interface capabilities.
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The Honeywell MFD already installed in the center panel of the Hawker is far more than adequate to work with a Class B TAWS system. To make it interface with the KGP 860, Kings technicians designed a special installation with custom wiring and special switching, at a considerable cost saving. |
The Honeywell MFD in the Hawker displays all information as a rectangular display except radar, which is presented as a standard radar V-shape display. When we interfaced the KGP 860 with the high-end Honeywell MFD, we designed a specially tailored custom interface and special switching to allow sharing of the standard radar display and the TAWS display and allowing for range control and pop-up displays if the MFD is displaying some other mode when a terrain conflict occurs.
Sometimes digging deeper pays off. If you operate a turbine powered aircraft that is subject to the TAWS mandate, we would like to talk with you about how to meet the TAWS requirement at the most cost effective price consistent with your needs. Call Doug Hayden or Jim Goodrich at 801-539-8412. Or drop in and see us.
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