Jeppesen hopes soon there will be more than two operators and 30 airports offering Required Navigational Performance (RNP) GPS approaches. GPS is teamed with the latest avionics to fashion approaches into difficult airports. The approaches are equivalent to ILS Category I approaches but can be developed for any airport worldwide.
Such approaches can eliminate terrain accidents at difficult airports like Colorado ski resorts and Alaskan strips serving native villages on the North Slope. A Jeppesen official said at the moment only NetJets and Johnson & Johnson fly corporate jets equipped for RNP approaches and have flight crews with special training.
Jeppesen officials were present at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Orlando, Fla., in early October to cheerlead RNP approaches in hopes more operators will use them.
