Honeywell Aerospace Technologies is a manufacturer of aircraft engines and avionics,[1] as well as a producer of auxiliary power units (APUs) and other aviation products.

Today, Honeywell produces space equipment, turbine engines, auxiliary power units, brakes, wheels, synthetic vision, runway safety systems, and other avionics.

[5] Honeywell expects future revenue sources to be more geographically diverse as aviation grows in emerging markets like India and Africa.

In these regions, a lack of ground support encourages the use of additional cockpit avionics to prevent crashes and determine flight routes.

[6] Honeywell publishes a regular business aviation forecast, which acknowledged a significant decline from 2008 to 2010, but expected recovery to 2008 levels by 2017.

Over nearly a century, through various acquisitions, mergers and name changes, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies combined legacy companies Sperry, Bendix, Garrett AiResearch, Pioneer, Lycoming, Grimes, King Radio and AlliedSignal.

[17] John Clifford "Cliff" Garrett founded Aircraft Tool and Supply Company in a one-room office in Los Angeles in 1936[18] to create specialized parts for aviation.

[9] In 1938 Cliff Garrett declared the company had hit a downturn, because many manufacturers they had previously sold products from had developed their own sales offices.

[10] Garrett AiResearch's (now part of Honeywell) first major product was an oil cooler for military aircraft that allowed the Douglas DB-7, and Boeing's B-17 and B-25 bombers to fly at higher altitudes.

The Flight Control Equipment system commonly known as "auto-pilot" was initially invented by Sperry[22] (now part of Honeywell Aerospace Technologies) so World War II bomber planes could fly steady enough to hit precise targets from high altitudes.

[17] Sperry, Bendix and Grimes all produced equipment for World War II planes like instruments, navigation, electronics, wheels and lighting systems.

During the war Garrett expanded to manufacturing its own actuators, auxiliary power units, mechanical shutters and turbochargers.

In the beginning of the war most turbochargers were manually controlled superchargers that used mechanical energy from the engine to force air into the combustion process through the intake manifold.

[9] Near the end of World War II, Garrett got board approval and $1 million in research funding to develop turbine engines.

[10][24] Used initially as a ground cart for military jets and some commercial aircraft, the first airborne APU entered service on the Boeing 727 in 1962.

[17] The Boeing 777 widebody jet made in 1995 was manufactured with a suite of new avionics technology developed by Honeywell over four years by 1,200 engineers.

[27] However, a jury only ruled in favor for $234 million in damages,[28] which was overruled by a US District Court, saying the patent was unenforceable because it was an obvious combination of pre-existing technologies.

[17] After 11 years of legal battles from 1990 to 2001, just before going to another round of appeals,[29] the companies agreed to settle for $440 million to end the long dispute Honeywell called "time-consuming and distracting.

The engine was primarily developed for the United States Army's RAH-66 Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter, but has also found use in commercial applications.

[39] Honeywell is a founding member of the European Sesar Joint Undertaking project to develop post-2020 air traffic technologies for Europe.

Honeywell is also developing an airborne user interface for the European Space Agency's IRIS satellite communications system.

[40] Additionally, Honeywell is developing the SmartTraffic airborne separation assistance system (ASAS), which detects when other aircraft are too close and suggests evasive maneuvers.

[6] In 2008 the FAA signed a $9 million agreement with Honeywell and Aviation Communications & Surveillance Systems (ACSS) to help test and install NextGen technology.

[41][42] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted $6.5 billion in contracts over 10 years under a program called Systems Engineering 2020 (SE2020).

[43] Honeywell's Primus Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) glass cockpits are installed in several aircraft, ranging from single-engine turboprop to larger regional jets.

Planes equipped with augmented vision can execute a straight-in Category 1 precision approach at 100 feet (30 meters) above ground, while non-augmented instrumentation requires a 200-foot fly-in.

[44] In early 2012 Honeywell engineer and Corporate Fellow Don Bateman was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Obama.

This is especially popular in Africa, India and other countries where aviation is growing, but the lack of ground support requires more in-plane instrumentation to avoid hazards.

The pilot told the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that his first command after birds flew into the turbine engines was to activate the Honeywell APU.

[51] It produces brakes for the joint venture between General Electric and a Chinese state-owned company called Commercial Aircraft Corporation for the C919 plane.