GPWS database

[buzzc152]

Hi all

The other day approaching a new airport in Spain and we got GPWS terrain and pull up warnings. Does the GPWS have it's own database of airports and if so, how is it updated to include new airports ?

Rgs

[411A]

Ours (a Sandal 3600, I believe) has a database , and yes it is updated on a regular basis.
EGPWS is a nifty piece of kit...very useful for nighttime visual approaches, to keep you away from the higher bits.
Not just terrain, either....1200 foot TV broadcast towers, for example.

[Nigd3]

Update method for the terrain database depends on the unit installed but yes they should be regularly updated to account for new airports and also, as 411A points out, new obstacles.

Have a look at EGPWS Home Page (http://www.egpws.com) but this is only applicable to Honeywell units.

Nigd3

[Spitoon]

GPWS no. EGPWS yes.

But look, I'm only a controller - it's your aeroplane, surely you know how it works?

[roljoe]

As other fellows stated, GPWS is only using a major imput..the one from radio altimeter..and does not use any terrain databases...
the EGPWS, is a much more sofisticated stuff using different imputs, actual datas drom adc, and datas from a geographical databases..enabling the system to anticipate the flight path and trigger a warning in due time.

So a gpws does not need and is not fit to receive any update..and the egpws should be updated in due time..and this is normally proposed by the equipment manufacturer..Honneywell, Collins...etc..Sandel

[212man]

Please tell me which airline you fly for so that I can make a mental note to not fly with them! :ugh: :ugh:

[Nigd3]

I would assume that buzzC152 inadvertently left the "E" from the front of GPWS.
The types of aircraft he professionally flies with, will not be equipped with just a GPWS

[212man]

No, I meant keep me away from airlines who have crews that know nothing about how their EGPWS works!

[buzzc152]

Can anyone tell me what vertical and lateral dimensions are around an airfield the egpws recognises as being the airfield environment...... eg would it trigger a terrain warning if the a/c was 1nm ofset from the FAT at say 2nm.

Am I also right in saying that the system terrain database can only be updated by the manufacturer/specialist tech and than it's not a simple matter of slotting in a new card/laptop update like FMS ?

Thanks for the sensible replies.

[CJ Driver]

OK, I'm not going to be as agressive as some of the previous posters who comment on aircraft knowledge. But, you've obviously mastered PPrune, so permit me to make a sensible reply - you should take the advice of the second reply that you got, follow the URL, and you will find yourself in one of the best resources about EGPWS you could possibly find. With patient browsing it certainly answers all your questions, and more.

[212man]

Could I (sensibly) suggest you have a look through this report - it answers many of your questions, I think:

http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/publications/formal_reports/5_2007_g_medg.cfm

[kijangnim]

Greetings,
let’s call a cat a cat, so are we referring to TAWS Terrain Avoidance and warning system? :confused:
in such case EGPWS is a trade name belongs to HWL, Thales Have T2CAS.:}
TAWS are prediction based, so they have a data base.:eek:

GPWS is a reactive system based on flight envelops, computed from Aircraft dynamic data (most of them from number 1 systems).:E

[Spitoon]

Thanks for the sensible replies.I suspect mine is considered to be one of the less sensible replies. But I stand by it.

Like I said, I'm only a controller. But the question seems to me like a controller asking what triggers the Short-term Conflict Alert system on his/her radar or what makes an ILS switch to the STBY tx'er.

We get trained about how the equipment we use works before we get qualified to work without supervision. Well, that's my experience anyway.

I'll retire quietly from this one now.

[safetypee]

Spitoon #4, a reasonable response. The ‘E’ is a most important aspect which many pilots, and even manufacturers, miss out. The ‘Enhanced’ system (and other TAWS) provide much greater capability in threat and error detection and thus needs a higher level of understanding than perhaps the older systems did.

buzzc152, I hope that you pulled up in response to the warning; if not why not. Argue your rationale in differing weather, day/night scenarios, and again after reading the pilots guide from the egpws.com web link. Also read the accounts of other incidents 'here' (www.icao.int/fsix/_Library%5CTAWS%20Saves%20plus%20add.pdf); how close could you have been to one of these.

[NSEU]

GPWS does have a database to modify alerts for certain airports.

Airport modification is nothing new.

However, you should notify your maintenance department that the new airport is causing problems. They should be able to contact the manufacturer and hopefully they should provide you with a new database.

Rgds.
NSEU

[nnc0]

Honeywell have had a spate of EGPWS database issues recently and they are usually known or discovered quickly. The recent rwy expansion ot ORD is an example. The database wasn't revised to include the the extension so we get EGPWS warnings on approach (RWY 10 I think) There have been 3 or 4 fields on the US east coast as well.

Until the database from honeywell is updated, we typically purt a crew alert on the destination to inform the crew and direct the crew to turn the EGPWS (TERR on A320) OFF on approach to avoid the nuisance alerts.

[mrbarms]

Hi all

The other day approaching a new airport in Spain and we got GPWS terrain and pull up warnings. Does the GPWS have it's own database of airports and if so, how is it updated to include new airports ?

Rgs
Guys, Am i right, that i should turn off TERR P/B close then 15 nm from Destination if this airport isn't in the Data Base, independent of EGPWS DATA?

[skerry]

A new airport in Spain? Where?

[FlyboyUK]

A new airport in Spain? Where?

Given the date of the original post, it was probably Murcia - Corvera. We had a restriction there a few years ago to turn off TERR until the database was updated

[skerry]

Given the date of the original post, it was probably Murcia - Corvera. We had a restriction there a few years ago to turn off TERR until the database was updated
A very good point. I had not noticed the date of the original thread.