BDS tested on domestically developed jets
Print Edition
CHINA’S BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has been tested on the nation’s domestically developed jets, including the C919 and ARJ21, to reduce the dependence on the US Global Positioning System in aircraft navigation.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has released a three-step plan to make BDS one of the main navigation systems for passenger aircraft, Gu Xin, director general of the Shanghai Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Center of CAAC, told the Civil Avionics International Forum 2020 in Shanghai yesterday.
By the end of 2021, the BDS system will be applied in the positioning, navigation and monitoring of low-latitude general aviation. Demonstration applications will be developed on the C919, China’s first home-developed single-aisle passenger jet, by then, Gu told the forum.
The BDS system will cover the whole civil aviation industry and offer accurate, safe and reliable navigation services for passenger aircraft, general aviation jets and drones by the end of 2035, according to CAAC. The applications of BDS will also be promoted globally.
The BeiDou system is one of the four global navigation satellite systems in the world. The other three are GPS, Galileo from the European Union and Russia’s GLONASS.
China launched the last BDS satellite in June, marking the completion of its own global navigation system. It later declared the official commissioning of the newly completed BDS-3 system.
“The application of BDS on China’s civil aviation sector will be developed from easy to difficult, from portable to airborne, as well as from monitoring to navigation,” Gu said. He noted the BDS has been applied in multiple fields with high accuracy and reliable performances, but remains at the starting point of civil aviation.
Avionics research on show
Over a dozen officials, industry leaders and experts from home and abroad attended the forum and shared the latest research on avionics. The two-day forum is jointly hosted by Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as Chinese Aeronautical Establishment.
Some monitoring equipment based on BDS have been installed on three C919s to support their ongoing test flights, said Wang Yu, the sales manager with Beijing-based simulation and testing service provider Hwa Future Technology.
The C919, with 168 seats and a range of 5,555 kilometers, will compete for orders with the Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 737 MAX. Six C919 prototypes are carrying out tests across China, since the first C919 made its maiden flight from Shanghai on May 5, 2017.
Other products of the company based on BDS have been installed on the ARJ21 jet and the China-developed AG600 amphibious aircraft. “BDS will definitely replace GPS as the main navigation system for China’s civil aviation industry,” Wang said. “It is technically feasible.”
Civil Aviation University of China has been cooperating with Air China to carry out tests on the application of BDS on passenger aircraft. By the end of 2020, a total of 20 Air China aircraft, including the Boeing 737 and Airbus 321, will be installed with BDS equipment.
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