BFGoodrich Avionics Systems launched its new LandMark Terrain Awareness and Warning System here Monday. The LandMark TAWS is a remote processor to provide predictive terrain warnings using data from an aircraft's GPS receiver, aircraft flight configuration, and the system's internal terrain and obstacle database.

Slated for certification in December 2000, LandMark is designed to meet or exceed FAA's Class B requirement for TSO C151 at a price below $10,000. It is designed to provide a bird's-eye view of terrain surrounding an aircraft's position, and to overlay visual depictions of obstacles and runways 2,000 feet or longer.

LandMark is to be used either with a remote sensor with accompanying caution and warning lights, or to display terrain on a TAWS-compatible ARINC 453 EFIS system or radar indicator. When paired with BFG's RGC250 radar graphics computer, it can depict terrain information on an existing compatible weather radar indicator.

Features of the system will include forward-looking terrain avoidance, premature descent alert, indications of imminent ground contact for excessive rates of descent or negative rate-of-climb, voice callout of "500" when the airplane descends to 500 feet above the nearest runway elevation, obstacle alerting, aural and visual alerting.