Honeywell has won a contract with Piaggio Aerospace to provide the new cabin pressure control and monitoring system (CPCMS) for its integration into the new P.180 Avanti EVO aircraft configuration, currently under development. The products will start delivery in the third quarter of 2021 and the first planes with the new system are expected to enter service in the first half of 2022. This comes as Honeywell introduces the next generation of its cabin pressure control and monitoring system with applications in both commercial and military aircraft. This new version of the system is all-electric, lighter-weight and available now for business and regional aviation as well as tactical or military trainer-sized aircraft.

The CPCMS helps maintain and monitor the air pressure inside an aircraft. It can be found onboard any aircraft that flies high enough to require air pressurisation, including commercial and business jets as well as military aircraft. It regulates the air that is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft to maintain a safe and comfortable environment while flying at high altitudes. It also manages the rate of pressure change to avoid passenger discomfort during climb and descent.

“After listening to our customers, it was clear the industry required an update because most systems being used today rely on decades-old technology,” says Tom Hart, VP and GM of air and thermal systems at Honeywell. “We acted quickly and developed a new digital system that is significantly lighter, more reliable and less costly to certify than products on the market today.”

This new fourth-generation version of the system is all-electric and has built-in test capability to detect and report any failures or issues, including for the back-up manual portion of the system. Along with the improved system reliability, there is also less system maintenance for the airplane operator. This system further improves sensor accuracy and response rate performance, resulting in more comfortable pressure control.

The system can serve a wide variety of aircraft, offering customers the ability to customise the control software to best fit their needs. The entire system weighs less than six pounds, is 30% lighter than its predecessor and has a new and smaller digital controller that allows it to be fit for future upgrades.

From the first cabin pressure regulator on the Boeing B-29 until now, Honeywell has over 75 years of experience with pressure control systems, with over 20,000 systems flying globally on aircraft today. Honeywell's legacy as an avionics manufacturer and integrator also helps ensure proper system operation and a smoother path to aircraft certification.