US cargo carrier ABX Air hascompleted installing flat-panel displays in a Boeing 767 freighter and has begun ground checks leading to flight testing and supplemental type certification of the cockpit upgrade by the end of this month.
The upgrade is being developed jointly with equipment supplier Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S).
Wilmington, Ohio-based ABX plans to upgrade the cockpits of a total of 12 aircraft that it is acquiring from Delta, with the four 255mm (12in) liquid-crystal primary flight and navigation displays replacing the 767’s cathode-ray tube electronic flight instrument system.
The two companies will market the upgrade to other 767-200/300 operators, and IS&S is also targeting the Boeing 757, which hasan identical cockpit, as well as other commercial aircraft and business jets.
Exton, Pennsylvania-based IS&S was selected by Boeing earlier this year to upgrade the cockpits of Royal Netherlands Air Force McDonnell DouglasKDC-10 tanker/transports, with two 380mm displays replacing the existing instruments.
The company is also providing displays for C-130 airlifters upgraded by Lockheed Martin and Marshall Aerospace.
GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
