Meggitt Avionics is displaying its secondary flight display system, secondary flight display repeater and magnetometer here at its stand (Hall 2B Stand L13A). The company reported it has recently received a $20 million, nine-year contract to supply the system, including spares and support, for the Apache Longbow. It claims its system is a lower cost solution to displaying standby flight data in tandem or wide cockpits where two displays are needed.
The lower cost element is the repeater, which takes its data from the secondary flight display’s sensors. “The conventional approach to kitting out tandem or wide cockpits is to use two secondary flight displays, which means two sets of data sensors,” said Chris Butler, Meggitt Avionics’ marketing manager.
“Instead, our repeater displays identical data from one set of sensors in the standby display.” Butler added, “At less than six inches long, the repeater can fit into almost all cockpits. We believe it is the shortest instrument of its kind on the market.” The company is the only supplier of repeaters to complement standby displays, he said.
Meggitt’s secondary flight display repeater (SFDR) accepts data via an Arinc-429 data bus from its secondary flight display system or any compatible source of flight data.
This information is processed internally within the SFDR to display attitude, altitude, airspeed and baroset on a high specification AMLCD glass medium. Optional parameters include heading, slip, vertical velocity, MACH, ILS, VOR and DME. Meggitt SFDRs are certified to TSO C113 multipurpose displays.
The company’s displays can be configured to match the display fundamentals used on the PFD or HUD within a 2.4- by 2.4-inch active area. This harmonization capability eases the transition from flying on primary to standby systems, reducing pilot workload, a spokesman said.
Meggitt systems are found in the Pilatus PC-21 and PC-7/9 turboprop trainers, the Sikorsky H-92 helicopter, BAE Hawk (India) and the Aermacchi M-311 jet trainer. The company’s avionics division also supplies the Apache’s air data system, which senses airspeed accurately down to zero knots in any direction.
