Honeywell has unveiled an all-new aircraft cockpit system, the first in the industry built with an always-on, cloud-connected experience.
The Honeywell Anthem flight deck offers high levels of connectivity, an intuitive interface modelled after everyday smart devices, and a scalable, customisable design. The system is powered by a flexible software platform that can be customised 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 — we are changing the way pilots operate aircraft and creating a more intuitive experience than ever,” said Mike Madsen, president and CEO, Honeywell Aerospace. “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.”
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.
According to Honeywell, the new system supports growing levels of aircraft autonomy, leading to complete autonomous capabilities in the future as regulations allow.
Improved data transfer
Historically, mechanics and pilots had to be onboard aircraft with wired connections to transfer critical data such as maintenance status and flight plans. Honeywell Anthem facilitates this data transfer without the need to be physically near the aircraft.
Individual support systems (fuel, maintenance, catering, etc.) have in the past 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 the world’s first always-on, cloud-connected avionics, the new system generates and transfers data from ground-based servers so those involved in a flight’s operations have the information they need.
Honeywell
Honeywell Anthem’s connectivity capabilities dramatically reduce pilots’ pre-flight preparation time, including wasted time in the cockpit, by up to 45-minutes per flight. It 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 reaching the aircraft.
The new system is also available in the emerging UAM market segment and has been selected by Vertical Aerospace and Lilium for their vertical take-off and landing, all-electric aircraft, the VA-X4 and 7-Seater Lilium Jet, respectively.
