Honeywell and Denmark-headquartered Part 145 Scandinavian Avionics have achieved successful certification of Honeywell's IntuVue RDR-7000 weather radar as an aftermarket replacement for Primus 660 and Primus 701 series radars on the AgustaWestland AW139 long-nose helicopter:

The supplemental type certificate (STC) is recognised by EASA, the FAA, Transport Canada CA, Brazil's Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia. It provides an off-the-shelf weather radar product and aftermarket installation kit for all Honeywell-approved channel partners and AW139 long-nose operators with existing Primus P701 and P660 weather radars. The certified upgrade solution includes a complete and certified installation kit and requires no structural changes to the aircraft. The design incorporates existing radar mounts and cable feedthrough used for legacy weather radars, and the installation downtime is reduced to less than a week.

“We are excited to work with Scandinavian Avionics on a turnkey solution for this upgrade,” says senior director, business and general aviation, EMEAI Nadya Krisko. “Operators will benefit from an enhanced, reliable weather radar system that is easily installed and maintained, reducing their downtime, increasing pilot efficiency and enhancing customer safety.”

Honeywell's RDR-7000 is a fully automated, higher resolution weather radar system with airborne ground and sea mapping. It improves pilot and passenger safety with new features in detection, analysis and avoidance. It provides an automated 3D volumetric scan up to 60,000 ft and 320 nm ahead of the aircraft so that pilots can make optimal routing adjustments to avoid delays caused by hailstorms, weather incidents and windshear.

“Being part of the team developing this solution for the AW139 has been a real pleasure," says Scandinavian Avionis CEO Michael R Truelsen. "The cooperation between the parties has been proactive and effective, and we are happy to enable operators globally to increase safety and effectiveness in their operations. Truly a value-adding upgrade in so many ways.”