Southwest GPS - more than AVL in the sky
This GPS isn’t the Garmin unit you’ve got in your car either. You already know that planes have GPS for tracking purposes. Kind of like AVL in the sky. Well Southwest is now the first major air carrier to use GPS for Required Navigational Performance (RNP) operations. This is major step in the direction that NextGen (Next Generation Air Tranportation System) is heading.
Southwest is equipping 200 of its 737’s with Rockwell Collins GPS-4000S units. These units will provide better navigating into and out of terrain challenged airports for one thing. RNP is a type of area navigation (RNAV) that utilizes GPS with inertial reference system backup and sometimes DME (distance measuring equipment) navigation, allowing aircraft to fly predetermined paths loaded in their flight management computers. Accuracy is ensured through on-board performance monitoring, with a crew alerting system, if necessary.
Pretty cool stuff. Oh and Southwest also lets you use your own GPS units during flight. They are one of the few to allow it. But that is the Southwest difference I suppose. Even cater to the geeks out there.
Curious just how many planes are in the sky on any given minute of the day? Upwards of 5,000. Take a look at the following graphic from NASA which tells all.
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