FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2004
2004-06 - 0018.PDF
FINALIST CIRRUS DESIGN ACHIEVEMENT: Advances in light aircraft control panels Cirrus Design was established in an era of decline in enthusiasm for flight, with the GA sector in particular, in the doldrums. The company's co-founders, Alan and Dale Klapemeier, believed that some radical changes would be required if the industry was going to revive. Their Cirrus SR20 was designed in 1994 with very specific intentions. Not only was it to be made out of composites, but the whole interior would be revamped. The fuselage would be much wider and ergonomi- cally correct, with the aim of allowing pilots and passengers a more comfort able ride. However, the control panel was the main area where Cirrus envisaged major changes. The primary flight display (PFD) had long been available in commercial and business jet applica tions, but that type of technology had not been considered for GA aircraft. The equipment was not available for Cirrus — and certainly not at a price a private pilot could afford. Cirrus completely designed the control panel for the SR20 and then later the SR22, to be able quickly to accept PFDs when they became avail able. And it was the intention of Cirrus to make them available by pushing their development itself. In 2002 Cirrus announced PFD avail ability in the SR22. The 262mm (10.3in) screen, set in the panel in landscape mode, gave pilots the safety advantage only previously known to commercial, business jet and some military pilots. The GA glass cockpit became reality, says the company, after it spent consid erable efforts in getting the technology developed. Cirrus says that it long held the belief that PFD technology would be a catalyst in rejuvenating the excite ment that only flying could provide and that the industry would benefit as a result. In summer 2003, Cirrus announced that thenceforth, all Cirrus aircraft would have the PFD as standard equip ment. FINALIST L-3 AVIONICS SYSTEMS ACHIEVEMENT: SmartDeck flight controls and displays The SmartDeck system aims to further the advancement of integrated systems in small aircraft. SmartDeck was designed and built with an interface intended to be intuitive to a first-time user and straightforward for an experi enced pilot, says L-3. It aims to offer a low-cost, high performance system for the single- engine and light jet aircraft markets. The system's Synthetic Vision (SV) with Highway-ln-The-Sky (HITS) overlay depictions is designed to fulfill avia tion's free flight vision, making instru ment flying more intuitive and there fore more accessible to a wider range of pilots. SmartDeck's SV/HITS implemen tation makes use of a 3D perspective 'out-the-window' view; a pathway navi gation overlay derived from the active flight plan; and a predictor function that estimates the aircraft's three-dimen sional path. In addition to providing all the primary flight information necessary to fly an aircraft, SmartDeck will also display engine instrumentation, system status, moving map with flight plan overlay and the display of supplemental information. This includes data-linked graphical and textual weather, approach plates, airport runway diagrams and checklists. The flight displays are identical hard ware, with a single part number for the unit, regardless of its position in the cockpit. A separate GADAHRS (GPS, Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference System) and remote magnetometer provide critical information. Two data concentrators enable the interface of legacy equipment and aircraft systems to SmartDeck. Pilot displays for SmartDeck are a Primary Flight Display (PFD) and a Multi-Function Display (MFD). The PFD displays the primary attitude, heading, airspeed, altitude, and vertical speed. Navigation displays, including bearing, selected course, deviation, flight plan status and primary power parameters are also displayed. The MFD integrates display of radio frequencies and modes, flight plan, fuel, aircraft systems, engine instruments, and checklists. The moving map and overlaid information such as navaids, special use airspace, traffic, winds aloft, and terrain are also displayed. 16
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
