To provide improved strategic weather information to pilots, Honeywell is tapping into the data stream that is available now that most aircraft are connected to the Internet. The new Weather Information Service is accessed via a tablet mobile app, which is continuously updated with the latest weather, with a strong focus on hazardous conditions.

 “The idea is to provide something for airline pilots,” said Honeywell Aerospace chief test pilot Joe Duval, who helped develop and test the new Weather Information Service app. The current method of sending weather information to airliners uses the bandwidth-limited ACARS communication network, in a less user-friendly manner. “People expect an easier interface,” he said, and thus Honeywell opted for the mobile device app approach.

While pilots can use the Weather Information app to view hazardous weather conditions on a map display, another function is to help optimize the flight path. In addition to updated weather information, the app also offers a 3-D winds-aloft display so pilots can choose the most efficient altitude for their route. Dispatchers can also use the app so that they are looking at the same weather information as the pilots they are working with.

The graphically displayed weather products available on the app are shown in relation to the flight path, although the app doesn’t display own-ship position of the aircraft. The radar and observed precipitation views aid strategic planning, enabling pilots to view thunderstorms anywhere in the world and begin planning how they might affect the flight. The app also displays cumulonimbus clouds with forecasted vertical convection and cloud tops, satellite-derived cloud heights and forecasted clear-air turbulence. These features are designed to work in concert with Honeywell’s IntuVue 3-D weather radar, which can help pilots with tactical decision-making closer to an area of thunderstorms. “This is complementary to onboard radar,” said Duval.

The turbulence forecast shows both potential areas of turbulence overlaid on the flight path as well as a vertical profile with altitudes where the turbulence may exist. The user can adjust these views with an altitude selector and a time slider to see how the forecast changes.

Other weather products are available on the app, such as Sigmets, METARS, TAFs, icing forecasts and ATIS broadcasts. METARS are color-coded on the map and show a sky-cover depiction so pilots can quickly see conditions at airports along the route and at the destination. Or the user can search for any airport to pull up its weather conditions.

The Weather Information Service app works with any available airborne connectivity service. Because data charges can be expensive, especially for satcom,  the user can set the auto update time for downloading fresh weather data to a longer interval, or shorten that interval when more frequent updates are warranted.

Honeywell tested the app on its Boeing 757 equipped with Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satcom and is now flight-testing the app with its JetWave satcom, which will run on the new high-speed GX Ka-band service that Inmarsat begins offering this year.

The company plans to add new features as the app is updated on a regular basis, including the ability to push messages from dispatch to pilots. The Weather Information Service app is currently available on Apple iOS and Windows 8.1 devices. “This [app] is part of our connected aircraft program,” said Duval. “[We want to] leverage that data and turn it into solutions.”