Steve Nichols
You would think that Mike Smith, president of Honeywell's Commercial Aviation Systems, would be too preoccupied with the AlliedSignal Aerospace merger to talk about business. But he's philosophical.
"We've had a lot excitement over the last two weeks, but one constant in any business nowadays is change. And if we don't want to change there will always be another set of people who will," he says.
"Apart from the merger, we're no longer just an avionics supplier either - our business was changing before the merger was even on the cards."
That aside, the company has come to Paris with news of some important new customers for its avionics product range.
Honeywell is using the show to unveil its new Primus Epic integrated avionics system fitted to a Bell/Agusta AB139 helicopter.
The system is being offered in four configurations, including a search and rescue (SAR) version.
The IFR version of the AB139 will feature three large liquid crystal displays and also a new communication and navigation radio system.
Primus Epic has also been selected as the standard avionics on the Raytheon Hawker Horizon and the Fairchild Aerospace 728JET family.
The 728JET family comprises three airliners including the 63-seat 528JET, the 78-seat 728JET and the105-seat 928JET.
The 728JET will feature five 10x8in (250x200mm) liquid crystal display (LCD) units designed to provide high optical performance and advanced graphics generation facilities.
Honeywell began developing Primus Epic two years ago with a commitment to create a completely open and integrated architecture.
This approach has allowed airframe manufacturers to select capabilities from a host of utility suppliers.
The Primus Epic is also available as a retrofit and is designed to interface with most existing flight directors and autopilot systems.
Not bad for a company which no longer thinks of itself as just an avionics supplier.
Source: Flight Daily News
