EASA has granted technical standard order approval for a new 25-hour cockpit voice recorder (CVR) developed by Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright for air transport category aircraft weighing more than 59,500 pounds (27,000 kg). In addition to recording data, the CVR is also able to transmit data while airborne for flight and maintenance analysis and to speed up post-accident investigations.
The new Class 6 CVR—the Honeywell Connected Recorder-25—meets and exceeds EASA’s new 25-hour CVR mandate for that class of aircraft. Equipped with a 90-day underwater locater beacon, the new CVR weighs less than 9.5 pounds, “substantially less than early-generation, rack-based, solid-state recorder alternatives,” Honeywell said. It is also a form-fit replacement for Honeywell’s HFR-5 CVRs and flight data recorders (FDRs). The Connected Recorder-25 is available as a standalone CVR, FDR, or combined CVR/FDR, according to Honeywell.
“The importance of reliable cockpit voice and flight data recorders cannot be overstated,” said Amanda King, v-p and general manager of Aerospace Connected Secure Solutions for Honeywell Connected Enterprise. “That’s why we are working alongside Curtiss-Wright to design and develop the next generation of recorders that leverages our full hardware and software expertise to meet the 25-hour requirement and identify the right information and make it available to accident investigation agencies when it’s most needed.”