GE Aviation Brings High Resolution Digital Airport Imagery to Business Aviation

KENT, Wash. & ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Aviation is creating a new global set of airport mapping databases (AMDBs) and other geospatial data to bring the next-generation of airport situational awareness to business aviation. These highly accurate datasets enhance current business aviation surface movement applications while building the foundation for future airspace concepts. GE Aviation is showcasing this technology in its booth (#3900) at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention this week.

“GE’s 2D and 3D airport mapping databases enable these future concepts while immediately improving situational awareness and surface movements for business jet operators.”

“Future airspace technologies like digital notices to airmen (NOTAM), data comm taxi guidance, aeronautical information management (AIM) and system-wide information management (SWIM) require the highly precise digitized surface features embedded in GE’s airport maps,” said Dottie Hall, product leader for GE Aviation. “GE’s 2D and 3D airport mapping databases enable these future concepts while immediately improving situational awareness and surface movements for business jet operators.”

The shift from paper to digital information is necessary to facilitate the exchange of information between ground and aircraft-based systems. The AMDBs are highly accurate renditions of the spatial layout of the airport, including features such as runways, taxiways, aprons, gates and parking positions defined by points, lines and 2D and 3D polygons. GE Aviation’s AMDBs are more than just a digital airport map, they include important information characterizing individual features and functions of the airport layout in Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM) format that most current digital airport moving maps lack, preventing interactivity.

Through an exclusive agreement with GeoEye, GE Aviation’s ICAO-compliant AMDBs are rendered from stereo terrain and obstacle imagery collected from GeoEye’s highest accuracy satellites, and built to industry standards. Together, the ICAO area 2 terrain, obstacle and airport mapping data sets provide the next-generation of airport definitions. The fully traceable data will greatly enhance the business aviation market’s synthetic vision systems, electronic flight bags (EFBs) and other modern applications.

Link to YouTube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Hj5Px9OZ4

GE Aviation’s PBN Services unit is a world leader in the design and deployment of PBN and is working with aircraft operators and air traffic management providers in Australia, Canada, Central and South America, China, Europe, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United States to implement PBN solutions. Its RNP Service is an ecomagination qualified product. Learn more about GE Aviation’s PBN Services by clicking here.

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.geaviation.com

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