Thu, Dec 01, 2011
We're big fans of innovation... especially when that innovation
means that one's flying could potentially become easier, safer and
more methodical than ever before. A number of companies are on the
right track in their pursuit of building the next generation of
glass panels... but few of those programs impressed us as much as
the SmartDeck program now under the direction and development of
CMC Esterline.
We've been monitoring the progress of this program and NBAA 2011
showed the Aero-TV crew that much had transpired since your last
update at Oshkosh 2011. On display at the show, we saw the latest
new SmartDeck functionality upgrades... including a
second-generation Highway-in-the-Sky (HITS) symbology architecture
and a three-display, dual-pilot configuration.
An old friend and avionics industry veteran, Greg Plantz,
director of marketing and sales for SmartDeck, showed us the latest
developments... "Our engineering and human factors teams have
evaluated the ways pilots interact with advanced avionics systems
and this updated version of the SmartDeck represents much of what
we have learned...
For example, our unique Highway-In-The-Sky symbology is being
reconfigured to give pilots the information they need using the
attitude and directional cues with which they are more familiar.
This greatly improves situational awareness while reducing pilot
workload and stress."
A little over a year ago, Esterline acquired the exclusive
license to the L-3 SmartDeck integrated cockpit, and is
aggressively shopping the system to OEMs around the world. CMC
Esterline has told ANN that the company sees a lot of opportunity
as the economy continues to recover in both the GA and the business
jet market for SmartDeck.
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