Antonov has conducted the first flight of a modernised An-124 freighter equipped with an upgraded cockpit with colour cockpit displays from Belgian specialist Barco's aerospace division. St Petersburg-based system integrator Kotlin-Novator is installing the 15 x 20cm (6 x 8in) liquid-crystal screens on the type after the Russian company ordered multifunction display equipment for An-124 cockpits in 2002. Russian outsize freight carrier Volga-Dnepr has been among the carriers pressing for modernisation of the An-124. The An-124-100M is an upgraded version of the baseline aircraft giving improved range performance, greater take-off weight and higher payload capabilities while allowing the crew complement to be reduced from six to four. The open architecture of the cockpit display has enabled the Russian systems integrator to install its own flight management system, terrain awareness warning, and radar software. In addition, the displays provide horizontal situation information while weather radar information can be overlaid.
Source: Flight International
