Hickok & Associates Developing WAAS Approaches for Helicopters

Hickok & Associates is developing WAAS (wide area augmentation system) LP (localizer performance) and LPV (localizer performance with vertical guidance) approaches for helicopters, following the FAA's approval of the company's WAAS PinS (point-in-space) approach construction criteria in January.

Hickok says its criteria can provide helicopter operators ILS-like vertically guided procedures with significantly reduced lateral boundaries in the final segment, while also providing up to a 90% reduction in terrain penalties, along with fewer step-down fixes for WAAS LP (localizer performance) procedures, and improved missed approaches.

Edwin D. McConkey, Hickok's senior engineer and technical director, wrote the new procedure development software programs.  He has a long history of flight testing FAA criteria, and also wrote the company's existing area navigation procedures using GPS for helicopters (Copter RNAV (GPS)), and ICAO Pans-Ops (procedures for air navigation services - aircraft operations) programs.

Stephen M. Hickok, the company's president and founder, said Hickok's goal was "to establish a criterion that could be used for new helicopter WAAS procedures, and also to overlay most existing Copter RNAV (GPS) procedure with a WAAS LP/LPV final approach segment."  03-03-2008.

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