Flight tests of Honeywell's Pegasus advanced flight- management system (FMS) on a McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-90 are "-progressing well and are on schedule" for first delivery to Saudi Arabian Airlines in November, says Honeywell.
US Federal Aviation Administration certification of the FMS is expected in October, representing the first approved application of Honeywell's VIA (versatile integrated avionics) 2000 modular avionics concept. The Pegasus FMS provides FANS-1 capability and allows the crew to take advantage of more economical routings and to use satellite navigation in areas which are without a well-developed ground-based navigation infrastructure.
The system is also in the first stages of flight testing on an MDC MD-11, though it has not been specified as yet by Saudi, which will receive the first of four MD-11F freighters in August.
The Pegasus, which is also planned for incorporation on all the Airbus family members as well as the Boeing 757 and 767, and can also be retrofitted into existing FMS, is due for certification in November on the MD-11. The first two Saudi freighters are due for delivery next month, with subsequent handovers planned for September and October.
The Saudi MD-90s, which incorporate Pegasus systems from the start, will also be fitted with Honeywell's 200 x 200mm flat-panel liquid-crystal displays. MDC plans to deliver three more MD-90s to Saudi in December, followed by 14 more in 1998 at the rate of two a month between January and July. Deliveries are due to restart in January 1999 at the rate of two a month until April. The balance of the fleet, which is scheduled to total 29, will be delivered in January and February 2000.
Source: Flight International
