Rogerson Kratos is to supply cockpit flat panel displays for an upgraded version of the Bell 412 twin turbine medium helicopter. The company will provide an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) and integrated instrument display system (IIDS). Flight testing is due to begin by the end of the year.
Rogerson Kratos, of Pasadena, California, already supplies the IIDS for the Bell 427 light twin, and the EFIS and IIDS for the Bell 430 intermediate twin - all using its Neoav family of liquid crystal displays (LCD). The company will supply a flat panel EFIS for the instrument flight rules version of the 427 under its exclusive supplier agreement with Bell, which runs to 2005, says Michael Rogerson, chairman of parent company Rogerson Aircraft.
The 412 IIDS will replace all conventional engine and rotor instruments with two LCDs mounted side by side on the panel.
A data acquisition unit (DAU) mounted remotely will process sensor signals for display on the IIDS. "As more sensors become available, we need larger displays," Rogerson says. The DAU in the 427, for example, handles some 300 sensor inputs, and the IIDS displays measure 170mm diagonally. The 412 IIDS will use 215mm displays.
The company has also been "invited to supply" an EFIS/IIDS for the Agusta A109 Power light twin, says Rogerson.
Rogerson and Bell will also pursue the 412 EFIS retrofit market, with kits to be available in 1999, while Rogerson is evaluating the commercial airliner and business aircraft EFIS retrofit markets and will decide "within the next few months" which aircraft to pursue. "Our certification resources are limited, so we can't chase every one," Rogerson says. Existing fixed wing applications of Neoav displays include the IIDS for Casa's C212, CN235 and C295.
Source: Flight International
