FreeFlight Systems announced that its 12-channel, trans-oceanic-approved GPS sensor, designated the 1201, has achieved WAAS certification, meeting TSO-C145a Beta Class 1. The 1201 has been selected for the FAA's Capstone program in Alaska. This program seeks to demonstrate that improving pilots' positional awareness can substantially reduce accident rates. In this program the 1201 provides aircraft position and altitude information with particularly high degrees of accuracy and integrity to the Chelton Flight Systems' EFIS system (seen below). It also provides a greatly increased number of approach patterns.

WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) is an implementation of differential GPS. It involves corrections to the position that is computed by an aircraft's GPS receiver by standard methods, from the data received from the GPS satellites. The corrections compensate for satellite position errors, and ionospheric, atmospheric and other conditions. WAAS corrections are based on the satellite signals received by an array of 26 GPS groundbased receivers, spread across North America, and situated in positions that are known with a high degree of precision. Two of these ground stations act as master stations and compute error correction values. Correction signals are transmitted via Inmarsat satellites to receiving aircraft equipped with WAAS-enabled GPS, and the corrections are applied by the aircrafts' GPS systems.

FreeFlight's WAAS is demonstrating lateral navigational accuracies of better than two meters. It is anticipated that this performance will lead to approval for precision approach patterns and Cat II landings to be flown using approved GPS equipment. This facility would dramatically increase the number of airports and airfields where IFR approaches are possible, giving GA and commercial flying operations scope for a substantial increase in opportunities and flexibility.

President of FreeFlight, Steve Williams, said, "This is a major milestone in offering improved safety and navigation performance in all segments of aviation, increasing the reliability of operations and opening up countless second-tier airports, without ILS, to much larger-scale usage. This development will give a major boost to aviation in the US."

It is anticipated that very noticeable improvements in safety will occur within days of the widescale installation of WAAS equipment in the 200 aircraft involved in the Capstone program. FreeFlight, based in Waco, bought Trimble Navigation's business and commuter aviation GPS business in 2001. Its professional-standard GPS are flying in aircraft ranging from 2-seat helicopters to business jets. The company also produces widely acclaimed radar altimeters that have been selected by a number of US and European aircraft manufacturers.

FMI: www.freeflightsystems.com