BFGOODRICH AEROSPACE has introduced a flat-panel standby attitude-indicator. The GH-3000 combines a colour liquid-crystal display with a solid-state inertial sensor in a 3ATI-size unit interchangeable with existing electromechanical standby instruments.
The US companies Avionics Systems division says the $22,500 GH-3000 offers high reliability, with a design mean time between failures of 25,000h. The unit can also be used to display navigation, air data, flight management or landing system information.
Housed inside the GH-3000 is a three-axis "micro-machine" inertial-measurement unit. This uses micro-electronic "tuning forks" to detect motion and has demonstrated a maximum error of 1.5° in roll and 2° in pitch.
With the addition of an external three-axis magnetometer, the unit will provide attitude and heading reference. When coupled with an air-data sensor provided by BFGoodrich's sister company Rosemount, the GH-3000 can be used to display altitude, airspeed and vertical speed.
Avionics Systems is also proposing the GH-3000 as the basis of an electronic standby-instrument system. A single-box system would be able to display attitude only, attitude/navigation, or attitude/navigation/ heading, while a two-box system would be able to display attitude, heading, navigation, airspeed and altitude.
Production hardware is scheduled to be available in the third quarter of 1996. The UK's Meggitt Aerospace launched a solid-state secondary flight-display unit earlier this year.
Source: Flight International
