Honeywell Announces a New Family of 3-D Weather Radar

Honeywell announced it is developing a family of business aviation radars, IntuVue, that offers flight crews the ability to detect and avoid previously unforeseen turbulence, windshears and dangerous storm activity so they can make more informed route decisions, thereby increasing passenger comfort and safety while decreasing weather-related costs due to diversions, injuries and aircraft damages. The first application of IntuVue in business aviation is the Gulfstream 650, and derivative IntuVue radars will be retrofittable and available in the next two years as future upgrades to existing fielded Honeywell Primus® radars. Nearly 180,000 business jet flights are delayed due to weather each year. Honeywell IntuVue advanced weather radar technology enables pilots to see and avoid turbulence sooner to improve passenger safety and reduce operating costs. The volumetric scanning and 3-D display technology automatically shows the weather along the flight plan, while also allowing pilots to see all the weather in front and behind the aircraft.

“Weather related delays cost the business jet industry over $340 M each year,” said Robert Wilson, Honeywell’s Business and General Aviation President. “With Honeywell’s IntuVue weather radar as standard equipment, operators can expect to significantly reduce operating costs while making air travel more comfortable and secure. Operators using IntuVue radar in commercial aircraft are experiencing 50 percent fewer turbulence- related incidents, compared to existing business and general aviation radars.”

IntuVue is the first radar to offer predictive windshear detection and alerting for aircraft with smaller antenna sizes. This is made possible due to advanced signal processing and an innovative 45° polarized antenna that more effectively rejects false signals from the ground. IntuVue is the first and only fully automatic weather radar system certified to the FAA’s Enhanced Turbulence Detection Minimum Operation Performance Standard, enabling pilots to see and avoid turbulence sooner. IntuVue is the only commercial radar utilizing pulse compression for greater accuracy at longer range, a technology used previously only in military radars. This technology enables improved in-flight decisions by providing tools to view storms in three dimensions at up to 320 nautical miles ahead of the aircraft, with no loss of resolution, which allows optimum re-routing around or through weather that can help reduce fuel burn up to 11 percent. Compared to legacy radar systems, IntuVue’s slim design and high reliability reduces operating costs by 53 percent, reduces weight by 25 percent and reduces maintenance cost by 30 percent.