GE Aviation has deployed two new required navigation performance instrument approaches for the Deadhorse airport in Alaska, giving the company the distinction of delivering the state's first public-use RNP procedure.
The RNP procedures, which use onboard guidance and navigation equipment to fly along a procedurally-defined, precise corridor of airspace to either end of the single-runway airport, provide as much as 4nm decreased track distance compared to other GPS-based approaches at the airport.
RNP-equipped and qualified operators will save on fuel burn, flight time and emissions, says GE.
The procedure marks the second public-use RNP procedure developed for the US market since GE was approved by the FAA as a third-party performance-based navigation procedure provider in 2009.
In August 2010, the company published an RNP approach for the Bradley International airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, with American Airlines making the first RNP approach and landing.
Located above the Arctic Circle, Deadhorse is a key staging point for personnel and equipment travelling to Alaska's Prudhoe Bay and North Slope oil areas, and is serviced by Alaska Airlines.
Energy company ConocoPhillips, an operator at the airport, paid the development costs, says GE.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
