C. Donald Bateman

Charles Donald Bateman, known as Don Bateman, (b. 8 March 1932, Saskatchewan, Canada) is the inventor of the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), a device that is responsible for a marked decline in controlled flight into terrain accidents.

Abstract

Donald Bateman is a Canadian born engineer currently working as Chief Engineer, Flight Safety Avionics at Honeywell. Over his 40 plus career, he has “developed innovative, cost-effective avionic flight systems”. His primary accomplishment is having pioneered the invention of the original Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) in the late 1960s. The United States now requires the installment of GPWS for turbine aircrafts with at least six passenger seats. This technology has delivered Honeywell close to a billion dollars of revenue.

Life

Bateman earned his degree in electrical engineering at the University of Saskatchewan before commencing a 40+ year career at Sunstraand (later Honeywell).

Scientific Work

While having over 40 U.S. and 80 foreign patents concerning aircraft terrain avoidance systems, head-up displays, speed control/auto throttle systems, stall warning systems, automatic aircraft flight control systems, and weight and balance systems, Don Bateman is most recognized for his invention of the original Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS). Heading a small team of Honeywell engineers, Bateman not only invented the original GPWS, but continues to improve these warning. Every five years his team “comes up with a new model, not because the technology had improved but because we knew we could make it better.” These advancements lead to the creation of the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS). This program provides a better visualization that the GPWS did. At a glance, pilots can view a visual display of hazardous terrain below and ahead of the aircraft.

Ground proximity warning system (GPWS)

A series of aircraft crashes and hundreds of deaths as a result of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) lead Bateman to take the initiative in creating a solution to these accidents. CFIT is defined as “where a pilot has the aircraft under control but unknowingly flies into terrain” This type of accident typically takes place during poor visibility. Bateman felt it was within his capabilities to construct a system that would detect hazardous terrain in the aircraft’s projected path.

Ground proximity warning system (GPWS) serves the purpose of alerting pilots if their aircraft is in danger of flying into hazardous terrain or the ground.

“In order to provide for the additional effectiveness of a ground proximity warning system during a landing approach, the waypoint signal of an Area Navigation System is used in combination with an altitude above-ground-signal to compute a minimum terrain altitude for each point along the aircraft's approach to the runway. The minimum altitude is compared with the aircraft's actual altitude and if it is below the minimum an alarm is activated.”

This paragraph is the abstract of the invention from its patent. It describes using a radar altimeter system to keep track of the aircraft’s height above ground. The system will sound an alarm if aircraft’s altitude is undesirable for the safety of the aircraft and its passangers.

While this technology improved flight safety tremendously, it was still imperfect. It had two problems:

1. No Warning: The primary cause of CFIT occurrences with no GPWS warning is landing short. When the landing gear is down and landing flaps are deployed, the GPWS expects the airplane to land and therefore, issues no warning.
2. Late Warning or Improper Response: This was primarily caused by blind-spots within the terrain. A sudden change in altitude—a steep slope, for example—would receive a late warning and the pilot may be unable to avoid the obstacle. This problem was implicated in the Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 accident.

Enhanced GPWS

Bateman continued to head the development of the GPWS. Eventually, it developed into the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS). This system has fixed the faults in the GPWS by incorporating GPS into its analysis of terrain. Now it is possible for EGPWS to predict the path of the aircraft and the terrain ahead of the aircraft for several miles. Military fast jets require this enhanced system to accurately predict the flight path. Digital terrain maps, featuring hazardous obstacles and features, warn the pilot when to pull up.

Additionally, with EGPWS, landing does not inhibit the performance of the system. In fact, the main focus now is making landing and departure safer, as they are the most dangerous aspects of flying.

Effect

Before the development of GPWS, there were approximately 10 aircraft crashes and hundreds of deaths due to CFIT every year in United States airspace. Since aircrafts have been required to have this system installed, there have been no aircraft crashes due to CFIT.

Awards

• Inducted in 2005 into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
• Industrial Research Institute Achievement Award

Patents

He is a recipient of numerous industry awards and holds more than 40 U.S. and 80 foreign patents concerning aircraft terrain avoidance systems, HUDs, speed control/auto throttle systems, stall warning systems, automatic flight control systems, and weight and balance systems.

The primary GPWS patent is Aircraft landing approach ground proximity warning system US 3922637 

Abstract: “In order to provide for the additional effectiveness of a ground proximity warning system during a landing approach, the waypoint signal of an Area Navigation System is used in combination with an altitude above-ground-signal to compute a minimum terrain altitude for each point along the aircraft's approach to the runway. The minimum altitude is compared with the aircraft's actual altitude and if it is below the minimum an alarm is activated.”

References

• Phoenix: Honeywell's Don Bateman, inventor of EGPWS, to be inducted into national inventors hall of fame
• Bateman, D. C. (1 July 2001). "An engineer looks at innovation: How a small team of self-styled mavericks tackled the aviation industry’s top cause of fatal accidents." IRI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ADDRESS, 44(4), 25-27.
• Bateman, D. C. (1975). In Sundstrand Data Control, Inc. (Redmond, WA) (Ed.), Aircraft landing approach ground proximity warning system
• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/19936.php
• http://www.wisner-law.com/articles/garuda-crash.html
• inventor profile: C. Donald Bateman

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