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Southwest Selects Rockwell Collins' GPS for RNP
Southwest Airlines will equip more than 200 of its B-737 "classics" with
Rockwell Collins' GPS in order to gain the satellite navigation capability
necessary for its planned RNP (required navigational performance) operations.
The airline chose Rockwell Collins'
GPS-4000S sensor and associated
WAAS (wide
area augmentation system) antenna that improves the availability and integrity
of GPS positioning data.
(Editor's note:
RNP can add to the operational potential of RNAV (area
navigation) by significantly increasing the precision of an aircraft's flight
path in all flight domains, including en route, as well as approaches and
departures. This means that RNP can reduce flight distances (due to tighter
lateral tolerances), and add time predictability, to any flight in any
geographical area and on every operation. It also establishes a standard of
precision that can serve as the rationale for closer separations between new
routes in the future that could add capacity to finite areas of airspace – in
the New York area, for example.)
Safety is maintained in RNP operations by onboard performance monitoring and alerting capability for the
pilots, and can be monitored in the future by both air traffic controls and
other nearby aircraft with
ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance).
01-15-2008. |