News
Canadian North 737-300 gets LPV capability
March 28, 2011, Montreal -Esterline CMC Electronics (CMC) report that its IntegriFlight™ global positioning system (GPS) landing system has been certified for GPS Localizer Performance with Vertical (LPV) Guidance approach operations on a Boeing 737-300 aircraft operated by Canadian North Airlines.
March 28, 2011 By Carey Fredericks
As a stand-alone ILS look-alike system that smoothly integrates with existing navigation instrumentation, the installation of dual CMA-5024 wide area augmentation System (WAAS) GPS receivers in conjunction with dual CMA-5025 control panels provides a highly economic approach to retrofitting aircraft with LPV capability.
According to Chris Drossos, 737-300 project pilot for Canadian North, "The addition of LPV capability to our aircraft permits us to provide significantly improved schedule reliability for our scheduled and charter clients, given the absence of traditional ground-based approach aids at many of the remote Canadian destinations we serve. From the pilot's perspective, CMC's LPV system provides a clean, straightforward interface which behaves exactly like an ILS, but with the exceptional WAAS performance and availability."
The Canadian North installation was made possible through the efforts of a number of organizations in partnership with CMC. Logic-Air Aviation Services of Mirabel, Quebec, was responsible for the development and installation of the system and is the holder of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) issued by ACS-NAI, a Transport Canada approved Design Approval Organization (DAO). Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ACS-NAI (www.acs-nai.com ) also provided vital engineering and certification support, including STC data and documentation.
In addition, the CMA-5025 control panel has been designed and produced by Air Data Inc. (www.airdata.ca ) of Montreal, Quebec, in partnership with CMC. This key component allows the flight crew to select a space based augmentation system (SBAS) final approach, based on a worldwide WAAS approach database hosted by the CMA-5024.
CMC's CMA-5024 is a high-reliability WAAS/GPS receiver certified by the FAA and Transport Canada to TSO-C145c Beta-3 and TSO-146c Delta-4, the most stringent categories for aviation GPS receivers. The latter category covers the provision of precision approach guidance signals to the aircraft’s autopilot and instrument displays for the execution of an LPV approach. Specifically designed for ease of retrofit and adaptability to either existing or new-build aircraft, the CMA-5024 is an ideal choice for any aircraft, from helicopters and business jets to airliners. Any aircraft equipped with the CMA-5024 is also inherently ready to support ADS-B operational regulations in both remote and high-density traffic areas.
