Integrated Flight Information System works alongside Pro Line
21
Rockwell Collins has
received certification of a dual Integrated Flight Information
System (IFIS) on a Falcon 50. The system is integrated with the
Falcon 50’s Pro Line 21 avionics system retrofit.
The Rockwell Collins IFIS enables such advanced capabilities as
electronic charting, graphical weather and enhanced map overlays.
Installation of a dual system brings level three Electronic Flight
Bag (EFB) capability to the flight deck, allowing operators to
transition to “paperless” operations.
“Collins IFIS provides enhanced safety and cockpit
management through the use of a fully integrated EFB,” said
Denny Helgeson, vice president and general manager, Business and
Regional Systems. “Pilots who have flown with this new
capability appreciate the enhanced situational awareness and
intuitive user interface the system provides.”
Rockwell Collins
received its first dual system certification earlier this year on a
Challenger 601. The system will also be standard on the
Cessna Citation CJ3 and an option on the Gulfstream G150.
Additional Pro Line 21-equipped platforms are in development.
The system’s electronic charting functionality provides
operators with approaches, procedures (SIDs and STARs), airport
diagrams and NOTAMS. Operators of Pro Line 21-equipped
aircraft have ready access to the appropriate charts for the
entered flight plan and aircraft position may be viewed on
geo-referenced charts, improving situational awareness. The charts
are enhanced through proprietary graphics and color pallets
designed to improve readability, especially at night.
The IFIS system can also be integrated with non-Rockwell Collins
flight management systems for operators who elect to install
Rockwell Collins’ IDS-3000 integrated display system.
Rockwell Collins’ IFIS enables operators to take advantage
of a variety of weather services to receive real-time data link
weather images. For Continental US coverage, XM WX Satellite
Weather offers a low-cost solution providing continuous, real-time
graphical weather. For aircraft equipped for data link, Universal
Weather offers a wide range of graphical weather information--in
addition to its traditional textual weather and Air Traffic
Services capabilities--including NEXRAD and echo/tops movement data
for the Continental United States, as well as worldwide turbulence,
icing, graphical METARS and wind information.
The system’s enhanced map overlays increase situational
awareness on the flight deck. These overlays include
geo-political boundaries, restricted and controlled airspace, and
high- and low-level airways.
Central to IFIS is the Rockwell Collins File Server Unit (FSU),
integrated with the Pro Line 21 system’s active matrix liquid
crystal display (AMLCD) multifunction displays using an Ethernet
network. The system’s easy-to-use, graphical interfaces are
designed to reduce complexity and improve efficiency. The FSU
supports more than two gigabytes of data with growth to 16
gigabytes and features an Ethernet portal for faster and more
convenient software/database uploads, including FMS databases and
traditional ARINC 429 interfaces.
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