Amazing state of affairs.
LRRA are pretty much essential equipment for approaches below CAT I minima. So, yeah, that's a bit of a nuisance. At least the weather in the USA, like JFK, IAD, ORD never goes bad, It's all like California, or Queensland, beautiful one day perfect the next. Same for CDG, LHR, EDDF etc in the EU. Great.
I seem to recall once we were told how GPWS works, a mandated system... so, presumably the GPWS escape manoeuvers that ensue from the erroneous ramp-up of LRRAs will be enjoyed by one and all. Going to be most entertaining in a stack as someone gets a false GPWS "pull up" and bobbles through the pack above.
Will the FAA send out a revision to this lunacy with an edict to disconnect the LRRA input to de-activate GPWS systems? that would be something that would look bad on your resume after the first pax plane plants itself in the sod with a crippled GPWS system. EGPWS is faaaantastic, but GPWS is still mandated by the FARs, but perhaps it now gets partial retirement by EGPWS... except that multiple modes of GPWS are not provided by EGPWS... hmmm. Maybe it is just software, just like the change from 7.0 to 7.1 which was just software at about $100,000 per box, after all it's not like Honeywell to miss a chance to fleece the industry.
At least GPS is a fine basis for all safety systems, except, in the last 18 months around the SCS region, where the dispute over 9 line vs every other nation in the world seems to curiously result in jamming by persons unknown of GPS signals, taking out independent certified GPS systems of different design, OEM, op software. That is a bit untidy for EGPWS systems. Remarkably, there are some systems that are not certified that continue to work reliably and also give EGPWS guidance. Neat that the certified system gets jammed and messed by unknown jammers with disregard for civil aviation, yet the uncertified systems work like a charm.
Glad to see that the FCC and FAA had everyone's backs on this one.
Last edited by fdr; 13th Dec 2021 at 02:35.