Writer

Amy Laboda

China’s Chengdu Airlines has begun operations with Thales’s T3CAS traffic and collision avoidance system. The system includes TCAS (traffic and collision avoidance system), TAWS (terrain awareness warning system) and transponder functions in one six-MCU line replaceable unit.


The T3CAS being installed on Chengdu’s Airbus A319/320 fleet includes the latest Airbus solution in ADS-B-In (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) known as ATSAW (air traffic situational awareness), a Mode S transponder DO 260A and a 7.1 TCAS which the France-based avionics group says is fully compliant with all future international air traffic management requirements. According to Thales, the T3CAS could also potentially allow required navigation performance with authorization required capacity (RNP AR) approaches using its high-resolution terrain database. All the Chinese runways operated used by the carriers’ Airbus fleet are included in the terrain database.


The system is due to be provided for the Chinese Comac ARJ21 regional jet, using a TAWS+ computer provided by ACSS—a joint venture between Thales and L-3 Communications. Chengdu Airlines has 30 ARJ21s on order.


“T3CAS is an integrated solution that features more advanced terrain conflict prediction and alerting functions, less weight and volume compared to federated systems, reduced wiring and improved power efficiency, all these translate to significant savings for the airlines,” commented Olivier Guibert, president for Thales in the China and North Asia region.


Meanwhile, on the first day of Airshow China 2012, Thales also announced the selection of its TopFlight flight management systems by China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines. The FMS will be provided for 50 A320s that China Eastern has on order, as well as for 15 A330s for Hainan.


The TopFlight systems being supplied will feature the new Release 1A software developed for A320s and A330s. This delivers capabilities such as RNP AR and GNSS landing system (GLS), as well as the FMS landing system (FLS), which is a new way to fly non-precision approaches using ILS-like procedures. It is intended to enhance situational awareness and reduce training time and costs through standardized procedures.


Separately, Singapore-based leasing group BOC Aviation has selected Thales to provide FMS and multi control display units, as well as fixed and survival emergency locator transmitters, low-range radio altimeters and angle of attack systems for 30 A320s it has on order. Thales claims a 60 percent market share for FMS on Airbus aircraft in China.

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