New Devices Offer 25-Hour Recording Intervals

Storied North Carolina-headquartered aerospace marques Honeywell Aerospace and Curtiss-Wright Corporation set forth in a 20 June 2023 announcement that the Honeywell Connected Recorder-25 (HCR-25) Cockpit Voice recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) variants jointly developed by the two companies have been type-certified for use on Boeing’s 737, 767 and 777 production aircraft.

As a result of the newly-promulgated certification, any airline can now order the HCR-25 recorders directly from Boeing or Honeywell, and instruct Boeing to install such on their aircraft. The HCR-25 CVR/FDR are the first Curtiss-Wright products type-certified for use on Boeing’s 737, 767 and 777 aircraft.

Based on Curtiss-Wright’s Fortress CVR technology and Honeywell’s Flight Recorder 5 (HFR5) design concept, the HCR-25 is compliant with the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) requirement of a minimum 25-hour cockpit voice recording interval for aircraft weighing more than 27,000 kilograms (59,525-pounds). Numerous global regions, to include Canada, Mexico, and Singapore, have issued CVR mandates similar to those enacted by EASA.

Honeywell Aerospace vice-president of services & connectivity Steve Hadden stated: “Reliable cockpit voice and flight data recorders are vital to fight safety, and since 2019 we’ve been working with Curtiss-Wright to design and develop the next generation of mandate-compliant voice and data recorders using real-time connectivity. Through increased connectivity, aircraft operators have another source of data collection to improve aircraft maintenance and performance.”

Curtiss-Wright Corporation chair and CEO Lynn M. Bamford remarked: "We are proud to announce this important Boeing type-certification milestone that allows the commercial airline industry to take advantage of the latest generation of Curtiss-Wright’s voice and flight data recorders. For over sixty-years, our flight data recorders have enhanced aviation safety, and we are extremely pleased to be working with Honeywell to ensure that this legacy continues.”

Curtiss-Wright is the exclusive supplier of Honeywell’s next-generation recorders for the air transport and business aviation markets. In addition to wireless connectivity, subject recorders are ideal for both new and retrofit installations insomuch as they occasion form-fit replacements for Honeywell’s HFR5 series CVR and FDR units.

Curtiss-Wright designs and manufactures its flight recorder products at its Bournemouth, England, facility.

FMI: www.aerospace.honeywell.com