MINNEAPOLIS-BASED Sun Country Airlines is the first carrier to obtain operation approval to use the global-positioning system (GPS) for navigation in oceanic and remote airspace. The US Federal Aviation Administration granted approval after a demonstration flight on 25-26 July from Boston, Massachusetts, to Santa Maria, Portugal.
The flight was the first time that an airline has flown using the GPS as the only means of long-range navigation in oceanic airspace, says Sun Country. Operational approval allows the airline "...to fly anywhere in the world using the Trimble TNL-8100 GPS navigation system as the primary navigation source in oceanic airspace", the carrier says.
Sun Country has equipped 70% of its Boeing 727-200 fleet with the TNL-8100, and expects to equip the remainder with the GPS by the end of 1995. The airline plans to use the GPS for non-precision approaches "soon" and intends to use the system for Category I precision approaches when the Minneapolis airport authority installs its Honeywell/ Pelorus local-area differential-GPS augmentation system early in 1996.
Source: Flight International
