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Left Seat: Collins Improves Ground Safety | FLYING Magazine
Collins' Pro Line Fusion improves ground safety
By J. Mac McClellan, FLYING Magazine
This is what the ground safety display looks like in Pro Line Fusion when the cockpit crew has entered Runway 12 as the takeoff runway at Albuquerque.
Collins' New Pro Line Fusion avionics system that will debut in the Bombardier Global Express has all the features you would expect in a top-of-the-line flat-glass avionics system. The displays are huge; the synthetic vision view of the terrain ahead of the airplane is sharp and detailed; and there are innovative formats to display weather and navigation data.
From what I have seen, however, Fusion's greatest advance is improving safety on the ground. Taxiway and runway confusion by jet pilots is one of the most significant remaining safety concerns, and Fusion gives pilots the information they need to avoid wrong-runway takeoff attempts or runway incursions.
There are already systems that track an airplane's position on the airport and issue an alert any time the airplane is about to enter or cross a runway. That can be a big help in avoiding a runway incursion because the crew is notified as it approaches a runway in time to double-check that it is cleared to cross or enter. The drawback of that type of system is the nuisance of being alerted to every runway intersection even when you know exactly where you are and what your taxi clearance is.
Instead, Collins chose to take a graphical approach backed up by aural alerts to enhance ground operation safety. And the system looks very good.
The locations of all runways at any significant airport are very precisely surveyed and are stored in the electronic database that provides the necessary information for ground proximity warning and to create the synthetic vision system (SVS) display. In other words, the necessary data for the system is already on board nearly all jets. Taxiways, ramps and other airport surface locations are not always stored with the same precision, so it is really the runways and their locations that matter to the safety warning system.
When you enter the assigned takeoff runway in the Fusion flight management system, that runway is boldly outlined in blue on the airport diagram display. Chevrons point in the takeoff direction so that it is clear which is Runway 12 instead of Runway 30, even though they are actually the same strip of pavement. The assigned runway has large identification numbers at the ends with a bubble surrounding the number pointing in the proper direction. All other runway ends in view on the page are identified in the same way.
Your position on the airport is symbolized as an airplane outline, and Fusion shows the progress of your airplane as you move over the ramps and taxiways. All taxiways are clearly labeled so it's easy to see that you are on the assigned route. It's also easy to see at a glance your relationship to all runways in addition to the intended runway, so if you look at the display at all, there should be no runway incursion.
The Fusion ground safety system really pays off at airports such as Albuquerque, where several runways intersect and departure points for different runways can be quite close together. The graphic display shows you which taxiway to follow to get to your assigned runway, which is brightly highlighted in blue.
Because Fusion is fully integrated into all airplane systems, it knows when you advance the power beyond what's necessary for taxi. If you are not on the assigned runway when you bring the power up, you get an aural warning telling you in plain language that you are on a taxiway or the wrong runway, along with a general takeoff warning.
This system would almost certainly have prevented the regional airliner accident in Kentucky in which the crew lined up on the wrong, and too short, runway. And there have been other similar incidents and accidents around the world, usually during low-visibility operations, that Fusion would have helped pilots avoid.
The Fusion ground safety display has the capacity to expand as ADS-B comes on line and all airplanes automatically broadcast their identification and position. When that happens, the position of those airplanes will be displayed on the airport surface map to reduce the chances of a collision on a taxiway or runway no matter how low the visibility.