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Alexandria, VA – December 9, 2005 – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded its 2005 Turning Goals into Reality Award to the Gulfstream V Synthetic Vision Integrated Technology Evaluation (GVSITE) Team.

Rannoch Corporation, a member of the GVSITE Team, installed its PathProx collision avoidance and alerting system on a Corporate G-V for trials at Reno, NV, and Wallops Island, VA, during the summer of 2004. PathProx is designed to pick up where the existing Traffic Collision Avoidance and Alerting System (TCAS) leaves off. TCAS provides pilot alerting in the en route and terminal area, but is not designed to function on the airport surface. PathProx provides pilot alerting during the approach, departure, and surface movement areas, and has undergone a $10M, 5 year extensive development, testing, and evaluation program. PathProx is designed to operate with multilateration, automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B), surface movement radar (SMR) and other surveillance sources. The PathProx application is complementary to the company’s AirScene line of multilateration and ADS-B systems which are installed in North America, Europe, and Asia.

NASA’s Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS)Project endeavors to develop technologies with practical applications to eliminate low visibility conditions as a causal factor to civil aircraft accidents, as well as replicate the operational benefits of Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight operations regardless of weather condition or sunlight conditions. SVS sensor and database technologies form the basis for monitoring the dynamic flight environment and thereby supplement the synthetic world with real-time, direct measurement of the surrounding terrain and air/ground traffic. The GVSITE series of flight tests integrated these enabling technologies into the larger SVS concept design, business jet and commercial air transport market. Completed in August, the GVSITE flight test included 17 pilots representing the Federal Aviation Administration, Joint Aviation Authorities, United States Air Force, NASA, Boeing, Gulfstream, and two major US air carriers. A wide variety of scenarios and encounters were successfully tested during the trials. With 59 flights and 130 flight hours over 66 days, 166 landings and 186 low-level approaches were conducted. For video and further information on the trials, please go to: http://avsp.larc.nasa.gov/new_svs.html

Rannoch’s PathProx Program Manager, Rick Cassell, also recently received an Award from RTCA Inc. for outstanding contributions to producing Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards, which are now published as RTCA’s Document 245A. The awards, presented to the entire standards development team, were nominated by the working group’s Chairman and selected by RTCA’s Awards Committee. Rick’s contributions included design aspects of the ground system safety critical integrity monitoring for Category III landing systems.