See Hazardous Weather in 3D: What Makes the RDR-7000 Different

The basic function of weather radar hasn’t changed much over the last 50 years, but yesterday’s radar systems cannot match the power and capability of Honeywell IntuVue RDR-7000. The RDR-7000 represents a generational leap forward by providing pilots with real-time information needed to avoid hazardous weather, improve flight safety and efficiency, and ensure that passengers remain comfortable.

Key Differences Between Conventional Radars and the IntuVue RDR-7000

1. Scanning & Coverage

• Conventional Radars: Legacy systems scan only a two-dimensional slice of the sky. Pilots must constantly adjust tilt and gain to estimate storm height and intensity. This manual process is both time-consuming and prone to errors, particularly in busy airspace, during high-workload phases of flight, or when radar returns from cities or terrain interfere or cause confusion with radar returns from precipitation.

• RDR-7000: Uses automatic 3D volumetric scanning to survey the atmosphere continuously from ground level to 60,000 feet and out as far as 320 nautical miles. Pilots receive a complete, real-time picture of the weather with no tilt or gain adjustments required, minimizing how often ground clutter or weather that is not relevant to the aircraft’s flight path or altitude is misleading to pilots.  This is something older manually adjusted radars simply cannot deliver. 

2. Hazard Detection

• Conventional Radars: Show precipitation intensity, but pilots must interpret shapes and gradients to infer turbulence, hail or lightning. Interpretation of the weather patterns on the display depends heavily on pilot experience and training.

• RDR-7000: Goes beyond precipitation to automatically detect and display areas of turbulence up to 60nm away. It also provides predictive windshear, giving much better warnings related to hazardous sinking air, predictive hail and predictive lightning. These hazards are highlighted directly on the display, giving pilots more timely warnings that are easier to interpret, which improves pilots’ decision-making and passenger safety.

3. Reliability & Maintenance

• Conventional Radars: Many older units rely on magnetron transmitters, which degrade over time, require regular calibration and increase lifecycle costs. Failures can mean costly aircraft downtime and long lead time for parts replacement.

• RDR-7000: Uses a solid-state transmitter, eliminating the need for a magnetron. The design is lighter, more reliable, and requires less maintenance, which reduces overall cost of ownership while boosting dispatch reliability.

4. Pilot Workload

• Conventional Radars: Managing radar settings, interpreting returns and cross-checking other instruments adds to cockpit workload. During turbulence or convective weather, this can become a distraction from core flying duties.

• RDR-7000: Automatically manages tilt and gain, more effectively scanning the entire area ahead of the aircraft. This reduces workload and allows pilots to stay focused on the mission while still having the most accurate picture of the weather ahead.

5. Integration & Upgrade Path

• Conventional Radars: Typically require multiple line replaceable units (LRUs), added weight and costly upgrades when systems need replacement. Integration with modern avionics can be challenging.

• RDR-7000: Designed as an easy drop-in replacement, requiring just one LRU (plus an optional control panel). It’s also about 15 pounds lighter than competing systems, reducing aircraft weight while simplifying installation and future capability upgrades.

Honeywell’s IntuVue RDR-7000 surpasses the limitations of legacy systems with solid-state reliability, automated 3D scanning, and real-time hazard detection, reducing pilot workload while enhancing safety and efficiency.

The impact of severe weather on business aviation continues to grow, driving higher maintenance costs, operational disruptions, and more frequent flight safety issues. This underscores the need for the significantly improved situational awareness provided by the RDR-7000. For more information visit us online or contact your Honeywell representative.