Honeywell Prepares First Chinese Aural Cockpit Alerts

Honeywell Aerospace is preparing to introduce the world’s first aural cockpit alerts in Mandarin Chinese, following the FAA’s recent approval of the software upgrade for its Mk XXII Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). Subject to approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the modified system could enter service in helicopters at several Chinese operators in 2017.

The U.S. avionics manufacturer decided to focus first on the rotorcraft segment of the Chinese market because its pilots tend not to be quite as comfortable with English as those flying larger aircraft for airlines. At Airshow China in Zhuhai in early November, several operators showed strong interest in the Mandarin-language option, and one of these will be selected for the first application of the new system.

According to Andy Gill, Honeywell’s Shanghai-based senior business and general aviation director for the Asia Pacific region, giving pilots EGPWS aural alerts in their native language will improve safety by reducing their cognitive workload. “We’re always looking at ways we can customize products to meet local needs,” he told AIN. “We have great research and development resources in China, with around 500 local engineers. Among them there are some really good English speakers who helped us to make sure that, from a technical point of view, we used just the right words. We sought input from customers and spent a lot of time developing which Mandarin words we should use to avoid confusion.”

Now Honeywell is looking at options for expanding the use of Mandarin for other aural alerts, such as TCAS, and also for text used for functions such as checklists and non-critical warnings. The company said that, in theory, it could make the same changes for any other language.