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Naverus Receives FAA Approval to Design Public-use RNP in the U.S.
Seattle, Wash. – Sept. 25, 2009 Naverus Inc., the world’s leading provider of Performance-based Navigation (PBN) solutions, today received a Letter of Qualification from the FAA to design and validate Required Navigation Performance (RNP) flight paths for public use in the United States. The authorization allows Naverus to develop for public use many of the emissions-reducing, fuel-saving PBN approach procedures that are at the core of FAA’s NextGen airspace modernization effort in the U.S.
Today’s FAA action completes more than two years of collaboration to develop new rules, processes, and oversight mechanisms to certify Naverus development and testing of public procedures in the U.S. Terms of the authorization, contained in a document called an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) and in a draft Advisory Circular (AC 90-TPA), ensure that navigation procedures developed by qualified third parties such as Naverus meet the highest standards of safety, quality and reliability.
“This announcement is an excellent example of how FAA and the private sector can work together to accelerate the environmental and economic benefits NextGen will bring,” said Marion Blakey, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. “We have high expectations this can lead to real, near-term improvements for airlines, passengers and the FAA alike,” she said.
Naverus, an award-winning Seattle-area company, has designed more than 300 optimized RNP procedures around the world. The company is widely recognized for its pioneering work to optimize Performance-based Navigation procedures using RNP to provide significant environmental and economic benefits.
In Australia, Naverus was selected to begin the development of RNP procedures at 28 airports, that, when fully deployed, are expected to reduce by 269 million pounds annually the amount of CO₂ emissions created by airplanes. The Australian RNP network also is expected to save airlines more than 87 million pounds of fuel per year, while improving schedule reliability and safety.
“With this Letter of Qualification, Naverus can begin to apply what we’ve learned in other parts of the world to help accelerate NextGen in the U.S.,” said Naverus CEO Steve Forte. “We look forward to working with FAA and operators to implement RNP procedures in the U.S. that reduce aircraft fuel burn, CO₂ emissions, and noise.”
Accelerating the deployment of high-performance RNP procedures will improve operations for carriers such as Southwest Airlines. Naverus has worked with Southwest over the last two years to develop the airline’s capability to fly environmentally friendly and efficient RNP procedures. Many other U.S. carriers, including Alaska, Delta, United, US Airways and Continental also have done significant work to develop RNP capability.
Performance-based Navigation (PBN) unleashes the full potential of current-generation aircraft to fly precisely-defined paths without relying on ground-based radio-navigation signals. Required Navigation Performance (RNP) is an enhanced mode of PBN that guarantees the aircraft does not stray from the path and that provides additional navigational flexibility, such as curved paths.
“This is an important milestone in the deployment of RNP in the U.S.,” Forte said. “FAA and operators agree that this technology can provide significant environmental and economic benefits. The task before us now is to work together to integrate and deploy these advanced navigation procedures into the national airspace.”
About Naverus
Naverus is the global leader in the development and implementation of Performance-based Navigation and is working with airlines and air traffic management providers in China, South and Central America, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe to implement advanced PBN solutions. Learn more about Naverus at: www.naverus.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Ken Shapero,
Naverus, Inc.
+1 (253) 867-3955 (ofc)
+1 (206) 779-9064 (mobile)
kshapero@naverus.com
www.naverus.com
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