Curtiss-Wright and Honeywell Use Connectivity to Reinvent Airplane Black Box Recorders
February 07 2019 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
- Innovation paves way for real-time data
access to aid aircraft incident investigations
- Curtiss-Wright’s compact, lightweight
Fortress™ flight data recorder technology is first to meet extended
operational and crash survivability requirements
- Honeywell’s Connected Aircraft software
enables operators to source flight data from thousands of
parameters, creating improved efficiencies across an aircraft
- New flight recorders will meet upcoming
European Aviation Safety Agency mandate for storing a minimum of 25
hours of voice recordings
In a major boost for airline accident investigations, two
aviation leaders, Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW) and
Honeywell have partnered to develop an entirely new way for
airlines to monitor and analyze flight data. The companies will use
real-time connectivity to reinvent the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)
and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) – commonly referred to as “black
boxes” – for the commercial airline, cargo transport and business
jet markets. The companies signed an agreement to develop the next
generation of mandate-compliant voice and data recorders. As part
of the new agreement, Curtiss-Wright will be the exclusive supplier
for Honeywell’s next-generation recorders for the Air Transport and
Business Aviation markets.
The companies will jointly develop the hardware for the new
black boxes, and Honeywell will modernize the software capabilities
for easier access to real-time data during flight. This will
provide aircraft owners, operators and manufacturers with new voice
and flight data recording options to help decrease aircraft
downtime through better predictive maintenance and, in the unlikely
event of an emergency, help with the subsequent investigation.
Further, operators will benefit from real-time data streaming and
cloud-upload capabilities, enabled by Honeywell’s Connected
Aircraft software, which allows for the swift and remote retrieval
of data from the aircraft for storage or analysis.
“Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright have long been pioneers and
innovators of crash protected recorders, providing flight data
recorders to the industry for over 50 years,” said David C. Adams,
Chairman and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. “Working together,
we will take flight data recorder connectivity and performance to
new heights, with extended operation and greater survivability.
Bringing our combined experience to the marketplace will generate
financial, safety and operational benefits for years to come.”
As a source of critical aircraft data, black boxes passively
collect large amounts of information from multiple sources during
each flight. This ensures that, in the event of an accident,
investigators can use the data to learn more about the chain of
events leading up to it. This new recorder will serve as a “Black
Box in the Sky,” meaning owners, operators and manufacturers will
have the option to access the data at all times, resulting in the
potential for better maintenance predictability and operational
insight through data analytics. In addition, in the event of an
emergency, the data on board will be quickly accessible to
investigators.
“The importance of reliable Cockpit Voice and Flight Data
Recorders cannot be overstated. That’s why we are working alongside
Curtiss-Wright to design and develop the next generation of
recorders that leverages our full hardware and software expertise
to meet the 25-hour requirement, to identify the right information
and make it available to airline operators when it’s most needed,”
said Ben Driggs, president, Services & Connectivity, at
Honeywell Aerospace. “With the new regulatory requirement, we saw
an opportunity to evolve our recorder technology to not only meet
the conditions of governing agencies, but also make this product
more powerful and better connected, providing aircraft operators
with another source of data collection that can be used to improve
aircraft maintenance and performance.”
The new CVR and FDR, based on Curtiss-Wright’s industry leading
compact, lightweight Fortress flight data recorder technology, will
surpass the requirements of the upcoming 2021 European Aviation
Safety Agency minimum 25-hour cockpit voice recording mandate. This
means the aircraft data can be used for more efficient operations,
allowing for additional predictive maintenance and real-time
playback of data and voice communications. Along with added
connectivity, the next-generation recorders provide an easy upgrade
that saves installation time and lowers costs due to their design
as form-fit replacements for Honeywell’s HFR-5 series cockpit voice
and flight data recorders. Curtiss-Wright recently certified its
Fortress recorder, a 25-hour CVR/FDR recorder that is used as the
foundation for the new Honeywell Connected Recorder-25 or
HCR-25.
As part of the development of the new recorders, Honeywell will
offer the product in several variants, including as a standalone
CVR, as a standalone FDR, or as a combined voice and flight data
recorder.
Supporting Resources
- Read more about Curtiss-Wright’s
Fortress Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorders
- Learn more about Honeywell Black
Boxes
About Curtiss-Wright Corporation
Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) is a global innovative
company that delivers highly engineered, critical function products
and services to the commercial, industrial, defense and energy
markets. Building on the heritage of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright
brothers, Curtiss-Wright has a long tradition of providing reliable
solutions through trusted customer relationships. The company
employs approximately 8,600 people worldwide. For more information,
visit www.curtisswright.com.
Note: Trademarks are property of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements made
pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including
statements relating to Curtiss-Wright’s expectations of future
performance of this new product line, the continued relationship
with an existing customer, the continued interest in this new
aviation product line, and the future opportunities associated with
this program, are not considered historical facts and are
considered forward-looking statements under the federal securities
laws. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date hereof. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to: a reduction in
anticipated orders; an economic downturn; changes in competitive
marketplace and/or customer requirements; a change in US and
Foreign government spending; an inability to perform customer
contracts at anticipated cost levels; and other factors that
generally affect the business of aerospace, defense contracting,
marine, electronics and industrial companies. Please refer to the
Company's current SEC filings under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, for further information.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190207005483/en/
Curtiss-Wright Contacts:Jim Ryan (Investors)(704)
869-4621jim.ryan@curtisswright.com
John Wranovics (Technology)(925)
640-6402jwranovics@curtisswright.com
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