AWA-3100 Ready to Enter Nav Market

The AWA-3100 is being manufactured under licence from Litton Aero Products of the USA. AWA won the licencing rights because of the company’s ability to viably produce high quality electronic systems on relatively short production runs. A classic example of this is the MLS work performed in the past by AWA in addition to their present involvement with developing and producing Barra sonobuoy systems for both the RAAF and the export market.

Operation of the 3100 is simplicity itself and greatly reduces the pilot workload whether flying APT, charter or corporate work. Due to the low price of the system an Omega nav system such as this is now economically viable for a wide range of aircraft from helicopters through to the hundreds of light twins that ply their trade daily throughout Australia. Furthermore, with the low relative value of the Australian dollar, it is anticipated that the unit will find a ready market internationally where more than one hundred thousand possible aircraft installations exist. AWA themselves are anticipating export sales alone of over $4m during the next two years.

The AWA-3100 can be linked to an aircraft’s autopilot from takeoff to landing. The pilot simply keys into the system the exact destination by latitude and longitude and leaves the 3100 to guide the aircraft. With the vertical option installed, the aircraft can also be controlled in the vertical flight phase. The angle of climb or descent is automatically computed from waypoint to waypoint and the autopilot is instructed appropriately. The pilot can also reprogramme the 3100 in flight and can store a number of regularly used flight plans to be recalled at will. In fact, the system will store up to 99 waypoints and can link these into usable flight plans of up to 15 en route waypoints allowing long distance accuracy or true multi-hop capability as required.

The VLF Omega radio signals are provided around the world by eight strategically located stations, including one at Sale in Victoria. They are additionally supplemented by eight US Navy communications stations, including the one at North West Cape in Western Australia. The Very Low Frequency radio waves from the stations travel long distances, over and around geographical barriers such as mountains. Terrain, weather and distance of course are the enemy of the VHF, VOA and ADF nav systems currently fitted to most GA aircraft as their principle radio navaids.

The AWA-3100 locks onto the signals to calculate position a minimum of three separate signals for position venf1catIon. If the system cannot pick up three separate signals, it warns the pilot who then knows that data may be of limited accuracy. However, using co-located DME/VOR beacons or VORTAC stations, the system’s area navigation mode will update the position accurately.

Data entry is simple. This is done by keying in the relevant data via the keys on the front of the unit. Two cursor keys allow the pilot to position the cursor over any number or letter on the screen while two other keys are then used to increment or decrement the information. A further key locks in the new information and the system then runs a computer check to ensure that the data has been entered correctly.

The coup in AWA gaining international manufacturing rights (and regional sales rights, thus eliminating the middleman) to the proven Litton-3100 nav system should see it eventually capturing up to half of the world market for such systems. That lower value aircraft now have the financial justification to utilise the navigational delights of the big iron is a hopeful portent to the future of such technology and its ability to satisfy the real world requirements of an ever larger band of GA operators