Honeywell Aerospace is providing Leonardo's helicopter division with a Primus Epic 2.0 cockpit upgrade for its AW139 helicopters. Primus Epic 2.0 will deliver innovative and intuitive features that provide better maps, improved situational awareness at night and in marginal weather, and easier access through wireless connectivity, improving safety and saving time. For the first time in the industry, it is track-based, meaning navigation follows the actual path of the helicopter and accounts for wind and other environmental factors.

“Since its first certification, our AW139 platform has been supported by the latest Honeywell software technology,” says vice president of marketing Paul De Jonge. “With Honeywell's Primus Epic 2.0 upgrade, we continue to stay ahead of the industry by enabling pilots to fly a variety of challenging approaches. We continue to support several helicopter-specific missions, be it corporate VIP transport, emergency medical services, oil and gas, or search and rescue operations, with increased levels of safety.”

The Primus Epic 2.0 Phase 8 upgrade includes new features that make operations safer, smarter and faster. The SmartView synthetic vision system is usable all the way down into the hover, helping pilots navigate during low visibility conditions and challenging missions. These missions can include steep nine degree descents into landing areas in challenging terrain and oil rig approaches. Flight crews will also benefit from a more user-friendly, iNAV map visual interface with easy-to-use displays and an improved cursor control device that makes map manipulation and menu navigation quicker and more comfortable.

“Technology innovations are crucial to reducing pilot workload and making flights safer for crew and passengers,” adds Honeywell vice president and general manager, cockpit systems Mike Ingram. “With the Epic 2.0 Phase 8 upgrade, AW139 pilots will not only reduce the time and cost of some operations, especially those in weather and around challenging terrain, they will also experience some of the best safety features available anywhere in the helicopter market.”

The Phase 8 upgrade also increases connectivity capabilities, with wireless data loading that lets pilots access data at high speeds remotely without a hardwire connection, transferring flight plans wirelessly and accelerating preflight actions.