Considering an Approval for RNAV (RNP) Approaches?

RNAV (RNP) approaches, also referred to as RNP AR, have been around for more than a decade, and Honeywell has been guiding operators through the approval process since its inception. If you’ve ever thought about adding RNP AR to your operations, read on.

What Are the Benefits of RNAV (RNP)?

Approximately 400 RNAV (RNP) procedures have been published in the US to improve arrival efficiency, and NavCanada has started implementing them at many Canadian airports as well. In addition, RNAV (RNP) approaches are beginning to appear at other international locations on an as-needed basis. Some of the benefits customers are experiencing are:

• Accessing mountainous airports like Bozeman, Montana (KBZN); Monterey, California (KMRY); Medford, Oregon (KMFD); and Kathmandu, Nepal (VNKT)
• Deconflicting traffic at airports like Chicago Midway (KMDW); Gary, Indiana (KGYY); and Trenton, New Jersey (KTTN)
• More easily accessing airports adjacent to restricted airspace like Washington Reagan (KDCA)
• Having a stable approach to runways that cannot support a straight-in procedure like Atlanta DeKalb-Peachtree (KPDK)

How Do I Get Approval for RNAV (RNP)?

For US operators, LOA/Ops Spec C-384 is required to conduct RNAV (RNP) approaches.  While the approval process requires substantial coordination with the FAA, Honeywell’s RNP Consultancy service can make the process easy and straight-forward. Honeywell consultants create the application with the required documentation and manage the necessary communication and coordination with the FAA — all while keeping the customer well-informed throughout the process. The goal is to make the process painless for the customer while providing enough information so that the customer can repeat the process, if necessary, to add additional aircraft to the LOA/Ops Spec at a later time.

Honeywell also offers support services like navigation database validation, which is required for RNAV (RNP) operations. Since data accuracy is critical for these types of approaches, the regulatory authorities require the coded data for the approach to be validated each cycle. Honeywell’s service is approved by the FAA and meets the requirements for data validation.

Note that Honeywell offers this service only to operators whose aircraft are equipped with Honeywell avionics approved for RNP AR.

What Does It Cost?

Honeywell offers both the consulting and navigation data validation services at a competitive price. Please email Flight Technical Services at FTS@honeywell.com for the latest pricing and more information.