Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) has achieved a significant milestone with the successful completion of the first flight using its Honeywell Anthem integrated flight deck. The historic flight was conducted on Honeywell’s Pilatus PC-12 test aircraft. While Honeywell Anthem has been in flight testing for over a year and accumulated more than 120 hours of flight time, this marks the first instance of the next-generation avionics system managing the flight.
First announced in late 2021, Honeywell Anthem leverages the company’s extensive aerospace expertise and introduces Honeywell’s first cloud-connected cockpit system. This innovative system can be customized for nearly any aircraft type, including passenger planes, business jets, defense aircraft, general aviation, and advanced air-mobility (AAM) vehicles.
The PC-12 aircraft’s one-hour flight over Phoenix was operated using Honeywell Anthem’s fully integrated flight deck, featuring an advanced display system and processing platform. The flight crew comprised Ed Manning as pilot in command, Bill Lee as co-pilot, supported by lead flight engineer Paul Carter, and flight engineer Will Quinn.
The Honeywell Anthem’s core architecture offers a 50% reduction in size, weight, and power consumption, along with enhanced installation flexibility compared to Honeywell’s already advanced Primus Epic integrated avionics system.
“This is a historic milestone as Honeywell Anthem is poised to change the way aircraft are piloted,” said Jim Currier, president of Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace. “Throughout the flight, the pilot and crew tested various aspects of the modular and customizable system, and it performed exactly as designed. Honeywell Anthem is simple, smart, and intuitive, taking little to no time to feel comfortable with. Moving forward, flight tests on the PC-12 aircraft will focus on real-life operational scenarios to provide critical feedback for robust final red-label designs.”
Ken Hurt, vice president of Engineering for Honeywell Anthem, added, “Honeywell Anthem is breaking new ground in avionics design and the pilot-machine interface, aiming to make pilots’ jobs easier and safer. This flight clearly demonstrates the maturity of the Honeywell Anthem system and positions us strongly on a path toward achieving Federal Aviation Administration certification.”
Honeywell Anthem, the sixth generation of avionics developed by Honeywell and a winner of the Good Design Award, continues Honeywell’s legacy of innovation. Building on features like the SmartView Synthetic Vision system (SVS), Honeywell Anthem introduces a revolutionary flight deck with an intuitive user interface, unprecedented situational awareness, unparalleled connectivity, and a modular, highly scalable design.
The PC-12 test aircraft featuring Honeywell Anthem’s integrated flight deck will be showcased at AirVenture 2023 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from July 24-30.
SOURCE: HONEYWELL
