Honeywell Puts Helicopters on its Radar
With New Terrain Warning, Flat Displays

After deciding to get back into the helicopter avionics market three years ago, Honeywell is rolling out its vision of the future here at Heli-Expo (Booth 1546).

While its crowning glory is the all-glass Primus Epic cockpit in the new 12-seat Agusta Bell AB 139-about as upscale as you can go in the civil helicopter world -- Honeywell has realized lesser mortals will also pay for glass cockpits, or at least the features they bring.

New products being unveiled or reintroduced here at Heli-Expo include the Mark XXII Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and the conceptual APEX cockpit (see stories below). Honeywell has added pop-up safety information, heli-routes, helipads and other helicopter-relevant features to the new Bendix/King KMD 550 and 850 multifunction displays (MFDs) it certified for fixed wing use only last November, and it is reintroducing its Epic CDS (control display system) as a retrofit for those who simply must have a glass cockpit with flat panel displays.

"We've shipped 374 of the MFDs and have 605 on order in the general aviation market," John Uczekaj, head of Honeywell's business, regional and helicopter avionics, told Show News. "The new features for helicopters will get our MFD into the cockpit-and that creates a a forum or a place to put information into the helicopters in the future through upgrades of software, instead of hardware."

Far more extensive-and expensive-is the Primus Epic CDS, which is designed to replace the primary flight displays on older flight management systems with the latest 8x10-inch liquid crystal displays from the Primus Epic system.

"The concept of getting glass displays in the cockpit is creating new opportunities in the helicopter industry, whether it be MFDs or Primus Epic," said Uczekaj.