Honeywell Aerospace reached a milestone within its Honeywell Anthem Integrated Flight Deck program, operating its first flight using the new avionics. (Photo: Honeywell)
Honeywell Aerospace recently reached a significant milestone within its Honeywell Anthem Integrated Flight Deck program. The aerospace developer operated its first flight using the new avionics. This system could have a successful introduction to a variety of industry segments, from commercial aviation to defense and more.
Though this program has been in development since 2021, Honeywell just recently operated its first flight using Honeywell Anthem on May 12, 2023. The one-hour long flight, operated by a Pilatus PC-12 test aircraft, was flown by Ed Manning (pilot in command), Bill Lee (co-pilot), and Will Quinn (flight engineer) and occurred above Phoenix, Arizona. It utilized all components of Anthem, including its new display system and processing platform.
This test flight marks an important achievement in Anthem’s certification process, and demonstrates the success of its new technology. As Ken Hurt, vice president, Engineering, for Honeywell Anthem explained, “Honeywell Anthem is breaking new ground in avionics design and the pilot-machine interface, with the goal of making pilots’ jobs easier and safer and essentially allowing pilots to configure their own cockpit based on mission and phase of flight. This flight is a clear demonstration of the maturity of the Honeywell Anthem system and positions us strongly on a path toward achieving Federal Aviation Administration certification.”
“This is a historic milestone as Honeywell Anthem is poised to change the way aircraft are piloted. Throughout the flight, the pilot and crew tested various aspects of the modular and customizable system, and it performed exactly as designed. Moving forward, flight tests on the PC-12 aircraft and will focus on exercising the system in real-life operational scenarios that will provide critical feedback for robust final red-label designs.” – Jim Currier, president, Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace (Photo: Honeywell)
Honeywell Anthem is the company’s first cloud-connected cockpit system. It boasts high applicability: the avionics can be adjusted to fit a variety of aircraft types ranging from industry sectors like general aviation to commercial operations. Honeywell Anthem improves the efficiency of pilots in various areas of flight: pilots can save time on pre-flight activities with the ability to upload flight plans from anywhere at any time. Additionally, they can access important information pertaining to fleet locations and aircraft use. Flight deck information like navigation maps, radio controls, and charts can be configured as the pilot desires on any display, while the inclusion of innovations like Honeywell’s Synthetic Vision System improve situational awareness and thus flight safety.
Honeywell is an accomplished supplier within the industry. In fact, Honeywell Anthem is the sixth generation in a series of wildly successful avionics systems. The company has also introduced other successful technologies to the industry, including its SmartView Synthetic Vision system, which is included in Honeywell Anthem.
While Anthem is not yet certified by the FAA, Honeywell remains confident that this system will improve safety and efficiency for air operations across the industry. The PC-12 test aircraft equipped with Honeywell Anthem will be showcased at EAA’s AirVenture 2023 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.