US, Canadian firms to provide navigation eqp’t to Tacloban

Canadian-owned Honeywell International Inc. and Houston-based Hughes Aerospace Corp. have donated instrument flight rules worth $300,000 for the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban that was destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda last November.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) officials headed by director general William Hotchkiss lll and deputy director general John Andrews received the donation yesterday that would be deployed at the Tacloban airport making landings of aircraft possible even during night-time.

Honeywell and Hughes Aerospace through its local representative DPSSmartPath Naviagational Systems,Inc. donated the equipment.

Andrews said the satellite based IFR would be installed in the airports in Dumaguete Butuan, Legaspi and Laguindingan.

IFR are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules (VFR).

During flight of aircraft under IFR, there are no visibility requirements, so flying through clouds (or other conditions where there is zero visibility outside the aircraft) is legal and safe.

The new navigation procedures would be used to improve aid, relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts for the Leyte region, Tacloban, and the surrounding areas following the catastrophic effects of the typhoon last Nov. 8.

Honeywell and Hughes would absorb the entire cost of the development of these approaches at the airport to ensure that the flow of relief supplies is not impacted.

Honeywell Aerospace vice president for airlines in the Asia Pacific Brian Davis said the effects of Typhoon Yolanda were catastrophic for the people of Leyte and the Tacloban regions.

“Additionally, when the airport’s sole navigational aid was lost, it made safe and efficient recovery efforts even more difficult. Honeywell is pleased to share its expertise in safety technology to support the rebuilding efforts,” Davis said.

He added that the company would continue “to provide our support to the government through this difficult period to ensure the necessary navigational systems are in place to help with recovery and relief efforts.”