Story ID: 
CMC's new FMS has search-and-rescue features
By: Thierry Dubois
Caption: CMC Electronics showcased its new CMA-9000 flight management system (FMS), which also includes radio management.
Word Count: 183
CMC Electronics showcased its new CMA-9000 flight management system (FMS), which also includes radio management. “The -9000 is a derivative of both the -3000, a helicopter cockpit product, and the airline-oriented -900,” FMS program manager Martin Richard explained. It features several search-and-rescue functions, including programmable moving waypoints. “When you fly back to a ship, the FMS will have worked out its new position, depending on its speed and heading,” Richard told AIN. The system will also be able to calculate holding patterns around a drifting point such as a raft. An interface is possible with Iridium satellite phones. The CMA-9000 entered service early this year and has been fitted to a number of Eurocopter models, according to Richard. It is an option on  the EC 225 Super Puma, for example. Richard sees the civil market mainly in oil platform transport and police applications.Another piece of equipment the Esterline  company is developing is a GPS unit, the CMA-5024. It is compatible with wide-area  augmentation systems (WAAS), also known as EGNOS in Europe or SBAS under its ICAO designation. Certification is pegged for next year.꓈