Sextant eyes emerging markets

Interavia Business & Technology, Jan-Feb, 1997

Sextant Avionique, with some 6,000 employees, claims to be the only European avionics house capable of competing with the US heavyweights in all sectors of the avionics business. Its 1995 turnover in aerospace and defence reached FFr3.8 billion ($690 million), 45 percent of which was generated by the commercial air transport sector. The company is 34 percent-owned by Aerospatiale, and 66 percent by Thomson-CSF. Airbus's recent announcement that it is to launch a new generation of Flight Management Systems is significant, as, for the first time on Airbus Industrie aircraft, customers will have a choice of FMS supplier - Honeywell or Sextant, who recently announced a cooperation agreement with the US-based arm of Smiths Industries, a clear indication of the polarisation of the avionics industry. Previous FMS equipment on Airbus aircraft mostly involved Sextant (for the Flight Management, Guidance and Envelope Computer) and Honeywell (ex-Sperry) equipment (for the operating system), while in recent years Honeywell has gained a stranglehold on Boeing business. Sextant's tie-up will bring Smiths FMS features - including the successful Required Time of Arrival and other features developed for the 737-300 series - into fly-by-wire Airbus programmes for the first time.

The new FMS, which will be common to the entire Airbus range, and retrofittable to earlier fly-by-wire models, is required to handle upcoming requirements for the ATC Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) systems environment of the (near) future.

The equipment, which will be available from mid-1998, will initially be installed as a priority on the A320 and the A330/A340 family, taking advantage of new-generation software and hardware, and strengthening the commonality between the different Airbus types. Additionally Sextant has defined an operating system that will offer greater flexibility and economy as well as easy customisation for individual airline route requirements.

The new FMS will also address certain limitations in first-generation FMSs, revealed by extensive operational experience. These include a limited database memory, and the difficulty faced by crews in reprogramming the FMS when asked to undertake certain flight manoeuvres or ATC clearances. Unlike the home-PC industry, which seems to reinvent itself every week, it has not been practical or economic to upgrade first-generation FMS capabilities, even though the technology was available, for reasons of certification, aircraft standardisation and airline operating procedures.

New FMS features

The new Airbus FMS will be more powerful, with more memory and growth capabilities, and retrofittable with no material change to peripherals. Software and configuration files are loadable. It will support FANS functions, such as Controller/Pilot Data Link Communication (an essential part of FANS), allowing pilots and controllers to talk to each other via their screens and keyboards. It will feature GNSS and full Required Navigation Performance (RNP) to optimise the aircraft trajectory, as well as Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS) to report aircraft position and intentions at all times.

As an option the new FMS is designed to support the development of a more user-friendly, graphic man/machine interface, operated with a mouse-like pointer for more immediate communication between pilots and aircraft. No longer will pilots have to make sixteen separate FMS keystroke entries when confronted with a runway change, for example. Initially, in 1998, the new equipment will replicate the functions of present-day FMSs. In 1999 the new standard, including all the functions of FANS mentioned above, plus some additional ones, will become available.

The next major prizes in commercial avionics including flight control systems, is likely to be the suite for the 70-seater AI(R) 70, followed by the AIA shorthaul project, the new 100-seater short-haul airliner, to be built by China's AVIC, Airbus Industrie and Alenia, and Singapore Aerospace, and, eventually, the A3XX, and FLA.

All are likely to be the subject of tough international competitive bidding processes and will certainly involve risk and revenue sharing partnerships, and result in turnkey projects. Only the largest avionics groups, offering a total package and integration capability, will be capable of responding to the challenge.

Sextant sees a growing interest from the airlines on the provision of head-up displays, both to improve pilot situation awareness, and to reduce landing and take-off minima, with attendant operational and cost benefits. A HUD system with Cat IIIA capability is likely to be offered as an option by Sextant on both the AI(R)70 and AIA projects.

Sextant pioneered the introduction of Head-up Flight Display Systems (HFDS) to reduce landing and take-off minima. Its integrated HFDS systems for the A320/A330, already equipped with autoland, reduces take-off RVRs and enhances pilot confidence levels. Its manual HFDS systems provide Cat IIIA capability in aircraft without an autoland capability or even an INS.