EBACE Show News - May 20, 2008 - (Page 82) EBACE 2008 Collins’ Pro Line Fusion, the successor to Pro Line 21, shown in an Embraer MLJ/MSJ cockpit at left and in Cessna’s new flagship Columbus at right. Collins’ Fusion’s Latest Win Is the New Learjet A cursor control panel to reduce The Learjet 85 is the latest in a string of wins for Rockwell Collins’ Pro pilot workload will govern the sysLine Fusion avionics, which com- tem. The human/machine interface bine synthetic vision with enhanced will provide high-speed interacvision to succeed Pro Line 21 as tion between the pilot and display with point-andthe company’s flagclick access to flight ship brand. planning, aircraft Pro Line Fusion performance moniwas launched last year toring and hazard on the Bombardier avoidance. In the Global Express XRS future the system and Global 5000, and will be controlled in has since won on the part by voice recogCessna Columbus, the nition technology. Mitsubishi Regional “The reception to Jet and the Embraer Denny Helgeson. Pro Line Fusion has MLJ and MSJ largebeen unbelievable,” Helgeson told cabin aircraft. Pro Line Fusion will also sport Show News. Pilots are drawn to it by 15-inch displays with extremely high four main concepts, he noted: resolution, says Denny Helgeson, • An intuitive user interface with the vp and general manager of Rockwell very large screens that display inforCollins’ business and regional sys- m a t i o n i n w i n d o w s f o r m a t . tems. And it also brings with it the Information can be called up or new RTA-4100 fully automatic Mul- entered in a variety of ways, includtiScan weather radar, which can also ing cursor control; be installed in existing Pro Line 21 • Greater situational awareness through the combination of cockpits. The head-down displays—which enhanced- and synthetic-vision sysCollins says are the largest in the tems, and the incorporation of an industry— will be driven by the same active-matrix LCD head-up display electronics as the Rockwell Collins that can also show the syntheticHead-Up Guidance system. The vision picture. Pro Line Fusion also landscape style head-down display incorporates the new RTA-4100 will show a synthetic vision scene fully automatic MultiScan weather with the infrared sensor imagery radar; embedded in the center. Helgeson • An “information enabled” archisays aircraft makers can choose any tecture that will allow the cockpit to be much more networked and FLIR camera they prefer. 82 datalinked into future air traffic and information systems without using proprietary interfaces; • A flexible and open architecture that allows it to be customized for different applications from small business jets to large cabin aircraft, and to incorporate new technology as it becomes available. One example is voice recognition, “which has a potential to be useful in the cockpit,” Helgeson said. Fusion represents the next step up in technology from Pro Line 21, which he said had been developed and adapted over time as new features such as synthetic vision became available. In contrast, Fusion has been designed “with everything you can possibly think of” integrated from the very beginning. “It gives us a new baseline,” he noted. Pro Line 21 will still be available in the future, and Rockwell Collins will continue to upgrade it to meet all future airspace requirements, he added. The flexibility of Pro Line Fusion means that it can be scaled and customized for different applications. “Our road map has us being able to offer different price points to match the competitive nature and the expectations of the OEMs,” said Helgeson. “They’re selling these airplanes at quite dramatically different prices as they go up through the ranges, so we have to be able match the expectations for the dif- ferent segments.” For example, manufacturers have different ideas of how they want to display information, and whether the interfaces should be by cursor control or other devices. Rockwell Collins is showing Pro Line Fusion displays here at Booth 1208. —John Morris Irmen Taking Helm from Helgeson Greg Irmen will take over as vp and general manager of Rockwell Collins’ Business and Regional Systems, as Denny Helgeson retires this fall after serving more than 33 years with the company. I r m e n ’s m o s t r e c e n t assignment was senior director of Boeing programs at Rockwell Collins. May 20, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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