Universal Avionics Claims i-FMS Tests A Success

Universal Avionics has completed initial flight testing of its software-based interactive flight management system (i-FMS) in Austria on a government-owned Bell 212 helicopter. The tests are part of a joint effort with Universal parent company Elbit, testing the i-FMS as an add-on to the helicopter’s mission computers.

The company expects the tests to validate NextGen capabilities using global navigation satellite system features. They include the use of RNAV (area navigation), RNP (required navigation performance), and VNAV (vertical navigation) for all phases of flight when flying in civilian airspace and without special air traffic control handling, according to Universal.

“By combining civil and military mission management without special handling by the ATC, customers can take advantage of state-of-the-art, efficient flight capabilities,” said Universal CEO Dror Yahav.

During test flights, pilots demonstrated holding patterns and floating waypoints in civilian airspace as well as loading and flying SIDs/STARs, using RNAV to and from heliports and airports. The use of actual and required navigation performance allows the system to provide VNAV guidance in climb, cruise, and descent. Another flight test in October validated further improvements.

Because it is software-based, i-FMS can be hosted on a variety of hardware platforms, and customers can specify desired functionalities. In a future development, i-FMS will integrate with Universal’s SkyLens head-wearable display “to project waypoints and information from the FMS into the real world,” according to Universal. “This augmented reality will enable pilots, for example, to interact with features through head/eye tracking and a selection button on the aircraft throttle.”