Airbus technologies add safety and more

'Brake-To-Vacate' (BTV) and 'Runway Over-run Warning and Prevention' (ROW/ROP) have both been approved and certified for the Airbus A380 by EASA.

BTV is an Airbus innovation to ease airport congestion and improve runway turnaround time, while ROW/ROP addresses runway excursion risk at landing.

By harnessing the power of the A380’s integral GPS and airport database based On-Board Airport Navigation System, combined with the Auto-Flight and Auto-Brake facilities, BTV gives pilots real-time visibility on realistic braking distances to reach their preferred exit.

It also allows in-flight operational landing distance assessment during landing preparation. When the pilot chooses a runway exit point, the system indicates the estimated runway occupancy time and the minimum turnaround time.

During the subsequent landing phase, and according to encountered runway conditions (ie ‘wet’ or dry’), the aircraft’s deceleration is automatically regulated so it reaches the chosen exit at the correct speed.

BTV benefits operators in the following additional ways: by lowering overall braking energy requirements and temperatures; relieving maximum thrust-reverser usage on dry runways; respecting passengers’ comfort (through regulated smooth deceleration); reducing noise, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions; enabling air traffic control to schedule up to 15 per cent more aircraft departures; enabling airlines to maximise the number of aircraft rotations; and reducing the exposure time to a runway incursion risk.

The complementary ROW/ROP system computes realistic operational landing distances and compares them to the available landing distance in real time, while accommodating factors such as aircraft velocity, position, altitude and weight, runway conditions, ambient temperature and wind, and runway elevation.

The "ROW" forewarns the pilot if the aircraft is approaching a runway which is deemed ‘too short’, or if the remaining runway length becomes too short (eg if a ‘late’ touchdown point is predicted).

The EASA certification means that the technologies will be first employed by the next A380 customers, Air France and Lufthansa.

BTV & ROW/ROP will also be a standard feature of the forthcoming A350 XWB aircraft.