Rockwell Collins WXR-2100

MultiScan™ Weather Radar

Automatic operation
Accurate, clutter-free weather display
True 320 n.m. strategic weather
Geographic weather correlation
Path attenuation compensation
Four years operational experience

Presented by
Rockwell Collins
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
September 2007
 Table of Contents

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar................................................................................................................................... 1

Core Technologies Enable Superior Performance and Capabilities................................................................................................................ 4

MultiScan Digital Technology..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

WXR-2100 MultiScan Weather Radar Operational Capabilities . .................................................................................................................11

Comprehensive Weather Analysis...........................................................................................................................................................................16

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................18
 Rockwell Collins Wxr-2100 MultiScan™ Hazard Detection Weather Radar System

MultiScan
GCS ON
150 Watt
28" Antenna

NEXRAD
250,000 Watt
30 ft Antenna

Introduction/Executive Summary Few natural phenomenon possess weather’s disruptive

The Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Hazard
Detection Weather Radar System is a revolutionary
approach to the way weather information is processed,
refined and displayed. MultiScan Hazard Detection
Weather Radar System is an automatic weather sensor
that displays not just the classic precipitation rates,
but also significant weather hazards without pilot
manipulation of tilt or gain settings – all on a display
essentially devoid of ground clutter.
potential, and from the beginning, weather has had
an inexorable effect on aviation. Airborne weather
radar is one way of mitigating that effect and has long
been recognized by pilots and airlines for its safety
and operational benefits. Because of this potential,
weather radar has evolved from its early days as novel
new technology to the foundation for an integrated
surveillance suite of avionics; a source of flight critical
information. Early analog weather radars and the
associated monochromatic displays were able to provide

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 Rockwell Collins Wxr-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
– continued
the pilot with generalized information on the location of
rain and convective weather. They had little capability to
display information about the severity of a storm, almost
no capacity to distinguish between various rainfall rates
and no potential to detect critical weather hazards. With
the electronic revolution came digital radars with color
displays. Digital electronics enabled the radar to acquire
a more accurate picture of the prevailing weather and
the color screens allowed for more descriptive cockpit
displays. Pilots could easily distinguish heavy rain from
light, and by observing the display’s color gradient, make
an educated judgment on the severity of convective
weather. As pilots developed increased confidence in
the information provided by these digital radars, they
were able to make more informed decisions concerning
deviations around or through weather systems. This
enhanced both safety and operational efficiency.
Later, the ability to detect and display windshear and
turbulence information was made available to the flight
crews. This development allowed the pilots access to
real-time data on two of the most significant and critical
aviation weather-related phenomena. Even with these
advancements there was still one important aspect of
weather detection missing from the cockpit; the ability to
look at the nature of a weather cell and identify or predict
the hazard it presented to the aircraft. It is now possible
to analyze a weather cell and gauge its convective
nature, intensity and maturity, detect turbulence and the
potential to produce hazardous lightning and hail.
Through research and listening to the desires of pilots
from all facets of the aviation community, Rockwell
Collins has continued to evolve its weather radar
products. This effort to advance radar technology resulted
in the most significant advancement in airborne weather
radar in the last 20 years. In 2002, the next generation
weather radar system known as the WXR-2100 MultiScan
Automatic Weather Radar was created. Numerous
patents have been awarded or are pending because of
the development effort behind MultiScan. Aviation Week
and Space Technology awarded its Technology Product
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
Breakthrough award to the radar in 2004 and one of its
inventors received the prestigious AEEC Volare award in
2005 for his efforts. In 2007 Flight International Magazine
named MultiScan its best product in the Propulsion,
Systems and Avionics category. In addition, NASA selected
Rockwell Collins as part of a team including Delta Air
Lines and AIR Research to develop and validate advanced
turbulence detection algorithms.
MultiScan broke new ground as the first, commercially
available, automatic weather radar. This automation
concept, facilitated by the algorithms contained
in MultiScan Automatic Weather Radar System,
revolutionized the way pilots utilize weather radar. By
automating many of the tasks previously performed by
the pilots, tilt and gain management for example, the
system reduces flight deck workload and allows pilots
to concentrate on weather avoidance instead of radar
operation and display interpretation. MultiScan enhances
weather detection accuracy at all altitudes and extends
the usable range of the radar to 320 nautical miles. It
virtually eliminates ground returns which relieves pilots
from the task of trying to differentiate weather returns
from ground clutter. OverFlight™ Protection reduced
the possibility of a MultiScan weather radar equipped
aircraft from inadvertently penetrating a non-reflective
thunderstorm top and Geographical Weather Correlation
optimizes radar performance based on location and
environmental conditions. Other algorithms provide for
the display of areas of potential turbulence while Path
Attenuation Correlation warns pilots of possible signal
attenuation. Pilots praise the radar’s capability to provide
accurate weather detection regardless of the airplane’s
location. Also, for the first time, MultiScan weather
radar allows the two pilots simultaneous, independent
control of operating mode, range and gain. This flexibility
enables the flight crew to display both the tactical and
strategic weather situation concurrently. With MultiScan
operating in automatic mode, all pilots have access
to weather information that previously was available
only to the most seasoned pilots with years of radar
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 Rockwell Collins Wxr-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
– continued
operating experience. These capabilities allow airlines to
standardized operating procedures and simplify aircrew
radar training. Since late 2002 when the WXR-2100
MultiScan radar was certified and entered service, more
than 105 airlines have placed over 3000 units in service
or on order. It is certified on the majority of the Airbus
line, all models of Boeing aircraft and is the only weather
radar offered on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the
Boeing Business Jet.
When MultiScan was introduced it set a new benchmark
for modern weather radars. It pioneered new
technologies and concepts into airborne weather radars
that began to take into account the actual characteristics
of a thunderstorm cell to improve weather detection
capabilities. As with any new scientific concept continued
research refines the initial findings. The same was true
for MultiScan. The result of over five years worth of
pilot operational input combined with a continuous
and aggressive research and development program,
the engineers at Rockwell Collins have created the next
significant evolution to the MultiScan product line; the
MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System.
This radar is as dramatic an improvement to the field
of weather radar as the original MultiScan. It is now
possible to not only detect the location and precipitation
levels of but provide pilots crucial information on
the actual hazards posed by the weather. Through
technologies such as Directed Sequential Hazard
Assessment, cell tracking and vertical weather analysis,
MultiScan now has the capability to provide information
never before available from airborne weather radar.
Pilots can know the height of individual weather cells,
whether a cell is growing, stable or decaying and the
potential for a cell to contain lightning and hail all
reference to the flight path of the aircraft. It is also
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
possible for the radar to display the vertical profile of
the weather to pilots on aircraft equipped with the
appropriate displays. MultiScan Hazard Detection also
benefits from expanded and enhanced geographic
weather modeling and adaptive radar controls. It is a
well-known fact that the nature of weather varies around
the globe. For example, the reflectivity characteristics of
thunderstorms differ significantly depending on whether
they are located in central United States, the South
Pacific and over equatorial Africa or other regions of the
world. For an automatic radar to provide a consistently
accurate weather presentation it must account for
these worldwide weather variations. If it does not it is
entirely probable that weather significant to the flight
path of the aircraft’s will go undetected. To ensure that
the weather models incorporated in the MultiScan
algorithms account for these weather variations and
provide pilots with reliable weather information Rockwell
Collins engineers documented the performance of the
radar in various parts of the world accumulating over
140 hours of flight data. The information collected in
this endeavor validated the various worldwide weather
types and ensured that the radar will detect significant
weather regardless of location and reflectivity. It will
also be used to further weather research in both the
commercial and academic arenas.
With the MultiScan Hazard Detection System pilots can
now traverse the globe with confidence knowing that
they have the most comprehensive airborne weather
information available. By depicting not only the weather’s
position but its associated hazards, MultiScan allows
pilots to make better, more informed, diversion decisions
thus improving passenger and crew safety, comfort and
operating efficiency.
3
 Core Technologies Enable Superior Performance and Capabilities

MultiScan’s industry leading weather detection and
analysis capabilities are the result of an extensive suite
of newly invented core technologies that form the
foundation for its automated functionally and superior
performance. While the list of new technologies is
extensive, the most significant include MultiScan Digital
Technologies, Geographic Weather Correlation, Ground
Clutter Suppression, True Zero™ Automatic Antenna
Misalignment Compensation, SmartScan™ Rapid Update
Technology and Comprehensive Weather Analysis.
Together, these patented technologies provide the best
weather and hazard detection capabilities in the industry,
while at the same time, significantly reducing pilot work
load, increasing operating efficiency and better protecting
both passengers and crew from unexpected turbulence.
A highly effective, fully automatic radar can only exist
if it contains these technologies developed by Rockwell
Collins. Three years of development and more than five
years of in-service maturation have proven their critical
nature.

MultiScan has been selected as the sole source radar for both
the Boeing Business Jet and the 787 Dream Liner.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 MultiScan Digital Technology

Ideal Radar Beam Emulation

The ideal radar beam is not achievable within the laws of
physics. If it was, it would be able to look directly below
the aircraft and then follow the curvature of the earth
out to the radar’s maximum range. These characteristics
would allow that ideal beam to detect any and all
significant weather and thunderstorms from the nose
of the aircraft out to the theoretical maximum range. In
addition, the ideal radar would also ignore ground clutter
Ideal radar beam (note earth’s curvature causes a drop of
and would maintain a consistent signal level throughout
approximately 65,000’ over a distance of 320 n.m.).
its range. It wouldn’t lose energy over time and distance
nor would extremely heavy precipitation attenuate the
signal.

The MultiScan Process

The truth of the matter is that while the ideal radar
beam does not exist except in theory, MultiScan’s use of
advanced digital technologies, comes very close to it. The
radar uses multiple radar scans at different tilt angles to
detect the prevailing weather and store the information
into computer memory. The patented Rockwell Collins
algorithms process this raw radar information, using MultiScan emulation of ideal beam.
advanced digital technology, and the complete weather
picture, less ground clutter, is displayed to the pilots
based on their preferences as selected on their individual Digital signal processing also allows the radar to vary
control panels. The result is the ability for flight crews to numerous operating parameters based on atmospheric
view all significant weather from directly in front of the temperature profiles, seasonal variations and geographic
aircraft to 320 n.m., essentially free of ground clutter. This location. This enables the radar to maintain a consistent
entire process occurs automatically and is completely level of performance regardless of location providing
transparent allowing the flight crew to concentrate the optimum display of the prevailing weather in the
on weather avoidance rather than weather radar worldwide operating environment typical of today’s
manipulation and display interpretation. operations.

The MultiScan process.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 MultiScan Digital Technology – continued
MultiScan Ground Clutter Suppression (Patented)
A key factor that distinguishes MultiScan Hazard
Detection Weather Radar System from other radars is
the radar’s capability to separate weather returns from
ground returns or ground clutter. By automatically
providing flight crews with an essentially ground-clutter
free display MultiScan eliminates the need for pilots to
distinguish between clutter and weather returns.
MultiScan is able to look down into ground clutter to detect the
reflective portion of thunderstorms. The picture above shows the
radar picture with the ground clutter suppression turned off.
Weather is masked by the ground clutter.
In geographic regions where thunderstorms exhibit high
reflectivity characteristics, the radar normally must look
below the 25,000-foot level in order to see and display
the cell. In geographic regions where thunderstorms are
characterized by low reflectivity levels, such as Pacific
Ocean storms, the radar must look even lower in the cell
in order to properly display threat weather. The following
figures demonstrate the challenges faced by manual
radar. Since highly reflective targets such as ground and
cities reflect a greater portion of the energy back to the
radar antenna, the edge of the beam must be above the
ground in order to avoid these highly reflectivity targets.
This causes the center of the beam, the part used for
weather detection, to be well above the reflective part
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
The first picture below shows a radar display typical of
today’s manual systems. Weather returns are mixed with
ground returns making the weather, except that very
close to the aircraft, almost indistinguishable. The second
picture shows the same weather presentation during
MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
automatic operation. As is illustrated the MultiScan
ground clutter suppression techniques clearly enable
the display of weather that was previously hidden in the
ground returns
When Ground Clutter Suppression (GCS) is activated, all significant
weather (in this case from right in front of the aircraft out to
160 n.m.) is visible on a single, essentially clutter free, display.
of the thunderstorms. Previously, pilots had to manually
manipulate gain, tilt and range to in an attempt to
separate ground returns from actual weather. The
patented MultiScan ground clutter suppression (GCS)
algorithms replace these manual pilot inputs allowing
the radar to display weather returns that were normally
hidden by ground clutter. By allowing the radar to
operate at lower tilt angles looking down into the most
reflective portion of the storm, without displaying ground
clutter, pilots now have better information on which
to base their deviation decisions. To better understand
the fundamentals behind Rockwell Collins’ GCS, a short
explanation of thunderstorm reflectivity, radar beam
characteristics and radar beam tilt control is in order.
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 MultiScan Digital Technology – continued

Thunderstorm Reflectivity Profile

A thunderstorm’s reflectivity profile provides
the design criteria for MultiScan Ground
Clutter Suppression Technology. In general,
thunderstorm reflectivity can be divided into
three parts lower, middle and top. The bottom Best Ground Clutter Rejection
part of the storm below the freezing level is
composed entirely of water and is the portion
that most efficiently reflects radar energy.
The middle of the storm is composed of a
combination of super cooled water and ice
crystals. Reflectivity in this part of the storm
begins to diminish due to the fact that ice Compromise Tilt Setting
crystals are very poor radar reflectors when
compared to rain. The top portion of the storm
is composed entirely of ice crystals and is
almost invisible to radar. In addition, a growing
thunderstorm will have a turbulence bow
wave above the visible portion of the storm.
Best Weather Returns

Thunderstorm reflectivity levels.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 MultiScan Digital Technology – continued
Radar Beam Characteristics
To detect a relatively weak target such as weather air
transport aircraft, flat plate antennas produce a beam
that is approximately 3.5-degrees wide and is essentially
circular in cross section. However, the 3.5-degree beam
width describes only the center, most powerful portion
of the radar beam. Medium reflectivity targets such as
farmland and strong targets such as urban build-up can
be detected much farther out on the perimeter of the
beam. In fact, the radar beam that can detect urban
targets is 8-degrees wide. At 200 n.m., this equates to a
diameter beam of approximately 170,000 feet. Manual
radars or radar systems that use data base clutter editing
techniques must raise the center of the beam 85,000
feet above the terrain at 200 n.m. to assure a clutter free
display (see figure 8).
Radar antenna beam
characteristics at 200 n.m.
Radar Beam
Cross Section
37,000 ft.
63,500 ft.
85,000 ft.
8° Beam Very Strong Targets
(Urban Clutter)
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
When you combine the characteristics of a radar beam
with the reflectivity profile of the typical thunderstorm,
it is easy to understand why trying to find an appropriate
tilt angle that adequately displays weather and minimizes
ground clutter is difficult. The relatively low reflective
nature of a thunderstorm requires that the most
powerful, center portion of the radar beam be aimed into
the lower, highly reflective, part of the cell. This exposes
a significant amount of the periphery of the radar beam
to highly reflective terrestrial targets. As a result, the
reflected energy returned to the aircraft is a combination
of weather and ground returns. Manual radars require
flight crews to continually adjust the tilt angle and range
settings in an attempt to distinguish between ground
clutter and weather returns. It requires a great deal of
skill on the part of the pilot to operate the radar, decipher
what he is seeing and develop an accurate understanding
of the weather situation. MultiScan Hazard Detection
Weather Radar System automatic operation enables
all pilots, regardless of their experience level, to see a
realistic representation of the actual weather situation.
3.5° Beam Weak Targets
(Weather)
6° Beam Medium Targets
(Farmland)
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 MultiScan Digital Technology – continued
Geographic Weather Correlation (Patented)
Thunderstorm threats vary dramatically depending
on the different geographic regions in which they are
formed. Recent meteorological research has shown that
thunderstorm reflectivity characteristics vary significantly
depending upon location and even time of year. Mid-
latitude land mass thunderstorms exhibit reflectivity
profiles that are quite different from equatorial land
mass storms which are different from equatorial oceanic
storms. For example, oceanic weather is, on average,
one thousand times less reflective than storms of
corresponding height that form over continental land
masses. Pilots flying aircraft equipped with manual
weather radar are required to learn different operating
techniques depending on what area of the world their
aircraft is operating in if they are to obtain an accurate
depiction of the weather. Algorithms developed by
Rockwell Collins and incorporated into MultiScan Hazard
Detection Weather Radar System automatically adjust
weather detection parameters based on regional storm
models to provide optimum weather returns at all times
regardless of location. MultiScan creates a tailored
solution to a multi-variable problem providing operators
consistency of performance regardless of the particular
route segment.
Non-optimized weather display of low
reflectivity oceanic weather.
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
True Zero Automatic Antenna Misalignment
Compensation (Patented)
As airborne weather radars have become more
sophisticated, installation accuracy has become more
critical. Tilt errors that in the past were irrelevant to
the manual radar can form due to pedestal installation,
alignment errors, inertial platform errors and even
the fuselage bending moments that an airframe
experiences in flight. Tilt errors as small as 0.7 degrees,
not uncommon in today’s installations, will be significant
for an automatic radar. If these errors are not corrected
in real time, the end result is serious degradation of the
automatic scanning capabilities of the radar. The radar
beams will either be aimed too high or too low, resulting
in either detecting too much ground clutter or too little
weather. MultiScan incorporates patented True Zero
technology that automatically corrects for hidden tilt
errors, ensuring optimized system performance for all
aircraft types.
MultiScan optimized weather display of
low reflectivity oceanic weather.
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 MultiScan Digital Technology – continued

SmartScan Technology (Patented)
During turns, the MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather
Radar System uses SmartScan technology to ensure
weather in the direction of the turn is displayed promptly
and accurately. When an aircraft turns, the scan rate of
current generation radars results in the loss of weather
information in the direction of the turn. This results in
a situation in which flight crews could be momentarily
blind to the weather towards which the aircraft is turning.
MultiScan solves this problem by using SmartScan to
adjust the radar scan in the direction of the turn, thus
ensuring quick revisit times. As a result, even though
MultiScan uses multiple scans to build a complete
weather picture, weather information that is falling off
the trailing edge of the display is “pasted in” from digital
memory to provide a complete weather picture.

The aircraft in this picture is turning right. SmartScan ensures rapid update rates by causing the radar to
scan just in the direction of the turn. Weather falling off the display is "pasted" in from digital memory to
provide a complete weather picture.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
Operational Capabilities
Rockwell Collins’ MultiScan automatic weather radar
is a revolutionary idea in radar technology supported
by an evolutionary process to provide our customers
with cutting edge performance. The basis for this
statement lies in the advanced technologies incorporated
in MultiScan. Its capabilities provide pilots access to
a comprehensive and accurate tactical and strategic
weather picture enabling them to take steps to avoid
weather hazards. Rockwell Collins has advanced airborne
weather radar from being just a rain gauge to a hazard
assessment tool.
Optimum Weather Detection
MultiScan provides to the pilots essentially all the
operational capabilities they could ask for in one package.
Traditionally weather radar is one part of the cockpit
avionics suite that requires a significant amount of hands
on experience to obtain proficiency. While an airline’s
training program teaches pilots the basic operations of
the weather radar, it is through actual flight experience
gained on those dark stormy nights that teach pilots
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
the operating and display interpolation techniques that
allow them to conduct flights safely in areas of significant
and convective weather. This is because the current
generation weather radar does nothing more than display
the information that is reflected from whatever targets
the radar beam strikes. This limitation means that the
quality of the information obtained is directly influenced
by the skill of the pilot operating the radar. Appropriate
range selection, along with astute manipulation of
the tilt and gain controls, was critical to obtaining
accurate information. Even then, the data obtained was
a compromise because of ground clutter interference,
signal attenuation or the characteristics of the particular
weather system. After dealing with these inherent system
limitations it was the pilot’s responsibility to correctly
interpret the information displayed on the screen; all this
in addition to performing the “routine” task of flying the
airplane.
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 WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
Operational Capabilities – continued

Automatic Operation have to take the appropriate operational decisions using

To address this situation, Rockwell Collins decided to
move weather radar operation from an experience-based
skill to a technologically based capability. The design
concept behind MultiScan was to create the industry’s
first automatic weather radar. The goal was to offer flight
crews, with the exception of range selection, hands-
free operation. In the automatic mode, the embedded
algorithms manage all aspects of radar operation. Tilt
angle, gain and all other functions of radar operation
occur without intervention by the pilots. All the pilot
has to do is selected the AUTO mode and all weather
significant to the aircraft from the nose out to 320 n.m.
is available. Pilots no longer have to manually vary tilt,
gain or even the mode in an attempt to assemble a
mental picture of the prevailing weather. They will only
the weather information automatically provided by
the radar. Ground clutter is automatically eliminated,
allowing for an accurate depiction of weather by allowing
MultiScan to concentrate the radar energy in the lower,
most reflective, part of the storm. Gain is incrementally
increased as temperature decreases to more accurately
depict the dry upper levels of thunderstorms. This
series of pictures shows an approach towards a line of
thunderstorms over New Orleans. The only pilot input
required was range selection. Short, medium and long
range weather is displayed. These pictures represent
MultiScan today and dramatically demonstrate the
current in-service capabilities of the radar that are, as yet,
unmatched by any other radar system.

320 n.m. Range Scale.

160 n.m. Range Scale.
Line of cells at 240 n.m..
Line of cells at 40 n.m..

160 n.m. Range Scale. 40 n.m. Range Scale.

Line of cells at 120 n.m.. Line of cells at 15 n.m..

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
Operational Capabilities – continued

OverFlight Protection (Patented)
At cruise altitudes, with tilt and gain adjusted to display
en route weather, it is not uncommon for current
generation radars to scan over the top of the reflective
portion of a thunderstorm while the low reflective top
portion of the storm still in the aircraft flight path goes
undetected. It is estimated that as much as 65 percent of
what is called clear air turbulence is, in fact, turbulence
associated with unintended over flight of a lower lever
storm. Figure A. OverFlight Protection provided by
MultiScan uses a combination of lower and upper beam
information, combined with stored data, to display the
low reflectivity thunderstorm tops that would disappear
from the screen of a normal range as range decreases
inside approximately 40 n.m. depending on the operating
altitude. The tops will be displayed until they pass behind
the aircraft. By continuing to display these storm tops,
MultiScan ensures that the pilot is aware of all significant
weather and potential turbulence that could affect his
aircraft and ultimately the passengers and crew.

As the aircraft approaches the

non‑reflective top of the thunderstorm
the reflective portion of the storm falls
beneath the radar beam and the threat
weather disappears from the display.

A. OverFlight Protection
– low reflectivity
oceanic storm top
that would normally
disappear from the
radar display 40 n.m.
from the aircraft
remains in view until
it passes behind the
aircraft.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
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 WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
Operational Capabilities – continued
Path Attenuation and Correction (PAC) Alert
Signal attenuation is another characteristic of a radar
beam that pilots must be aware of. It is applicable to all
radars. A basic principle of weather radar theory is that
rain reflects the radar energy back to the antenna so
that the signal can be received, process and displayed. It
stands to reason that in an area where rain is extremely
heavy, all the transmitted radar energy is either reflected
back to the aircraft or is absorbed by the precipitation.
Known as signal attenuation, weather beyond that point
remains undetected and is not displayed to the pilots.
This can create a dangerous situation since pilots see
what appears to be an area clear of weather on their
radar display and believe it is safe to transit, but in
fact, no information about the weather in that area is
available. Rockwell Collins’ unique PAC alert identifies
the attenuated area, sometimes called a radar shadow,
caused by the intervening rainfall by placing a yellow “PAC
Alert” bar on the outer most range scale. The alert warns
the flight crew that the displayed information could be
incomplete so they can plan their diversion accordingly.
MultiScan displays a yellow "PAC Alert" bar to warn flight crews of areas of
attenuation (radar shadow) where weather may not be displayed.
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
Enhanced Turbulence Detection
Turbulence causes more injuries on commercial aircraft,
to both passengers and crew, than any other weather
phenomena. It is frequently associated with convective
weather but can be present in any weather system and
in many cases occurs without warning. Current advanced
weather radar systems, including MultiScan, can display
weather related turbulence within 40 n.m. of the aircraft.
In a 2004 head-to-head competition, Rockwell Collins
won the NASA contract to bring Enhanced Turbulence
(E-Turb) to market. Enhanced Turbulence detects very
low reflectivity turbulence and provides flight crews
warning of both light and moderate turbulence events.
Rockwell Collins is now leading both the research and
development work within the industry defining the E-Turb
requirements and is currently flight testing two-level
E-Turb software on a Delta 737 NG aircraft. Turbulence
will still be displayed on the radar but now at two
different intensity levels. Speckled magenta areas will
indicate mild turbulence and solid magenta areas indicate
regions of moderate to severe turbulence.
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 WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
Operational Capabilities – continued

Turbulence

40 n.m. range scale. 80 n.m. range scale. Turbulence displayed out to 40 n.m..

Windshear Detection and Warning Windshear

Warning
Windshear has been determined to be the cause or
a contributing factor in numerous aircraft accidents.
Yellow arc points to
To address this fact ,MultiScan automatically detects windshear (even on
the existence of windshear and provides appropriate range scales that
warnings to the pilots during take off and landing. might not display
MultiScan further enhances the safety aspects of its the actual wind-
shear icon)
windshear warnings by continuing to display weather Continuous Wx
behind the windshear icon, unlike competing radar Behind the Wind-
shear icon
systems that cycle between a weather display and the
windshear warning with no weather.

Windshear
Icon (marks
actual wind-
shear location)

MultiScan windshear display.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
15
 Comprehensive Weather Analysis

Through Rockwell Collins’ continual research and periodic
customer interchanges outlining future weather radar
requirements, MultiScan has continued to evolve.
The latest innovation incorporated into MultiScan is
a function known as Comprehensive Weather. This
functionally will provide storm top information, Predictive
OverFlight protection, enhanced turbulence analysis and
detection and evaluation of weather along the aircraft
flight path as programmed in the FMC.
Directed Sequential Hazard Assessment
Technology (Patented)
The foundation for Comprehensive Weather and all the
information derived from it is a capability known as
Directed Sequential Hazard Assessment. This technology
allows MultiScan to detect weather hazards and then,
using a combination of horizontal and vertical scans,
performs a threat analysis tailored to the phase of
flight. Directed Sequential Hazard Assessment allows
MultiScan to change radar parameters such as frequency,
wave length and pulse width to thoroughly evaluate the
specific weather and determine its threat potential. This
weather assessment intelligence transforms MultiScan
into a threat detector instead of just being a simple “rain
gauge” like other radars. The result is the capability to
provide flight crews information on storm height, growth
rate and turbulence potential all referenced to the aircraft
flight plan. The following provides more detail on these
features.

MultiScan Directed Sequential Hazard Assessment technology allows the radar to determine the actual thunderstorm threat,
not just the amount of moisture in the air, during all phases of flight.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
16
 Comprehensive Weather Analysis – continued

Predictive OverFlight Protection Storm Top Information

Developing thunderstorms can exhibit tremendous
growth rates rising rapidly into the aircraft flight path.
With other radar systems it is the responsibility of the
flight crew to identify these cells and plan their flight
path accordingly. Depending on the skill of the pilot,
these developing cells may not be depicted on the radar
display and often have an area of associated intense clear
air turbulence above the cells. MultiScan’s Predictive
OverFlight feature can analyze a cell’s growth rates and
make predictions on whether the storm or the clear air
turbulence “bubble” above the cell will reach the aircraft
flight level. Using this information, the radar will then
display to the flight crew those cells that present a future
turbulence or weather hazard.
Knowing the vertical extent of a weather cell can
be critical to a pilot’s diversion decision. Until the
development of the MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather
Radar System algorithms, there was no universally
accepted method of estimating the top of a weather
system. With MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar
System storm top information will be displayed on the
navigation display. This information, when combined
with typical plan form radar display, will allow flight
crews to determine the best possible weather avoidance
maneuver; either laterally, vertically or a combination of
the two. Flight crews have all the information required to
determine the best route of flight.

Flight Phase Hazard Analysis

Weather at low altitude, during climbs and descents and
during cruise presents different threats to the aircraft.
Based on the flight plan information contained in the
aircraft FMS, MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather
Radar System Flight Phase Hazard Analysis will enable
the evaluation of the actual weather threat along the
aircraft’s flight path tailored to the phase of flight. Each
phase of flight uses radar techniques best adapted for the
weather detection and evaluation in that region in order
to display the actual threat.

MultiScan Predictive OverFlight feature warns the flight crew of

turbulence associated with thunderstorms that are growing into
the aircraft flight path.

Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007

© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
17
 Conclusion
In just a few short years, MultiScan has redefined weather
radar technology and operation. Prior to MultiScan, the
effectiveness of airborne weather radar to accurately
display weather was directly dependent upon the skill
and experience of the pilot. Even with a skilled operator
using proven techniques, the information being displayed
was a compromise between weather and ground
returns and required a great deal of interpretation on
the part of the operator to decipher the actual weather
situation. MultiScan, using advanced algorithms such as
ground clutter suppression and digital signal processing,
automatically provides the flight crew with an accurate
depiction of their weather situation without the need
for the pilots to continually manipulate tilt angle, gain
and range controls. In addition, geographic weather
Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan™ Weather Radar – September 2007
© Copyright 2007 Rockwell Collins Inc.
correlation, True Zero antenna alignment and SmartScan
technologies further enhance the accuracy of the
depicted weather data while path attenuation alerts,
turbulence displays and windshear detection and alerting
increase operational safety. Directed Sequential Hazard
Assessment with the ability to analyze weather based on
phase of flight and planned route will provide a complete
picture of the actual threat potential of a weather system.
These technologies, combined with the fully automatic
operation, define a new standard for the industry.
MultiScan Hazard Detection Weather Radar System
provides pilots with the capability to improve passenger
comfort, increase operational efficiency, and reduce pilot
workload while enhancing safety.
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 Building trust every day.

Rockwell Collins delivers smart communication and aviation

electronics solutions to customers worldwide. Backed by a
global network of service and support, we stand committed
to putting technology and practical innovation to work for
you whenever and wherever you need us. In this way, working
together, we build trust. Every day.

For more information contact:

Rockwell Collins
400 Collins Road NE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52498
319.295.4085
email: csmarketing@rockwellcollins.com
www.rockwellcollins.com

147-0118-001-CS 1M 09/07 © Copyright 2007, Rockwell Collins, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.