Avionics News January 2022 - 21

And it's all wrapped into the panel of the million-dollarplus
505. Bell has equipped its other current models with
fully integrated glass cockpits featuring helicopter terrain
awareness warning systems and traffic information systems
to enhance safety.
Bell also offers prospective customers an online
configuration tool to customize their avionics with
upgrades.
Airbus is bringing integrated modular avionics to Part 27
aircraft with its four-axis autopilot Helionix package on the
H135. The Airbus H175, H145 T2 and H160 already come
equipped with the Helionix package. A bonus for operators
flying an all-Airbus helicopter fleet, Helionix enables those
operators to reduce training on different platforms.
Robinson has also adopted a display-centered cockpit for
its R44s and R66s. Operators can choose from two versions
in the R44 and R66, one sporting Garmin's G500H or
G500H TXi, or a primary flight display and multifunction
display from Aspen Avionics.
As the Aspen and Garmin systems replace heavier and
less-reliable mechanical artificial horizons and directional
gyros, the Robinsons save weight, increase reliability
and cost less than the older devices. So, according to the
company, the Aspen and Garmin units " made the R44 and
R66 lighter and a lot more reliable. "
Garmin WireAware software, a database of powerlines
that are displayed on its existing moving maps and
synthetic vision, provides helicopter pilots with yet another
level of situational awareness focused on hazards that exist
close to the ground.
Honeywell
Last fall, Honeywell's Anthem was unveiled, the first
clean-sheet next-generation core avionics cockpit systems
computing architecture introduced by Honeywell Aerospace
in more than two decades. Anthem is the first to feature
cloud-native communications, navigation and surveillance
systems.
Honeywell's disruptive approach to the development of
Anthem embedded the processing horsepower inside smart
displays for a complete makeover of the concept of an
avionics human-to-machine interface.
That computer function typically consisted of computers
and cabinets of processing modules arranged in an aircraft's
electrical equipment bay. Instead, Honeywell Forge is the
cloud in which Anthem is native, as a service edge to cloud
computing platform first introduced by Honeywell in 2019.
Since then, Honeywell Forge has continued to expand
to effectively become Honeywell's version of a Microsoft
Azure-like cloud computing service that gives airlines and
business aviation fleet operators the ability to automate
their aircraft data acquisition and analysis process for
quality assurance, maintenance
and health trend monitoring.
Honeywell's plan is to connect at
Honeywell Forge and make that system
integrated and available for OEMs, for
customers to use. The company said it would
also be open to OEMs that may want to choose to
connect Anthem to their own cloud system. That will also
be feasible with Anthem's Application Programmable
Interfaces.
Universal Avionics
The InSight Display System for retrofit and forwardfit
aircraft is specifically tailored for the low-altitude
operations of helicopters. The latest, state-of-the-art
integrated flight deck solution offers a new level of
operability while enhancing the safety of crew and
passengers.
Universal Avionics specializes in flight deck upgrades,
providing flexible options for more than 50 aircraft types
ranging from the Pilatus PC-12 to the Boeing 747. InSight
for helicopters is but one of the systems the company offers.
The company works with customers to customize the
perfect fit for their aircraft operation, from an SBAScapable
FMS upgrade to one, two, three or a full suite of
Advanced Flight Displays configured in primary flight
display, navigation display and multifunction display
formats for the utmost in flexibility.
Benefits from the InSight Display System include lower
operating and maintenance costs; enhanced safety and
situational awareness; improved functionality; NextGen
synthetic vision; broadcast weather; advanced radio
control; and embedded electronic charts.
More to come ... stay tuned
This shift to digital display avionics for aircraft flight
decks has been ongoing for better than two decades,
permeating every level of aviation. And this transition
continues - in other words, it's not over yet.
As digital electronics continue to evolve and advance,
we can expect more variations and more innovations to
emerge from today's dominant avionics makers - as well as
ones not yet in the market.
We are already seeing remotely mounted boxes fade
in the face of display-centered avionics stacks, with the
hardware and software integrated behind the display screen.
This further saves on weight, space and installation issues.
We can expect yet more as inventors and innovators keep
coming up with new ideas and the new products that will
bring them to market and have pilots and operators waiting
anxiously for their upgrades to arrive at the installers. It's
been a wild, rapid ride so far, with more to come. q
avionics news * january 2022 21
Avionics News January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2022
