FlightSafety International Installs First Sim I/O-Equipped, Flight Simulator

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec 18, 2009 -
United Electronic Industries (UEI) is pleased to announce that FlightSafety International has received Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), Level D Qualification on its first SimI/O equipped simulator. The Hawker 900XP simulator’s I/O system is based on UEI’s RACKtangle I/O chassis. The UEI RACKtangle provides the interface between the controlling computers and the simulator’s various systems including Avionics Interface Computer (AIC), Control Loading and Motion (CLM) and Flight Deck I/O (FDK). The RACKtangle technology will also provide the I/O technology for all of FlightSafety’s future simulators.

UEI’s RACKtangle is used for a variety of reasons. Chief among these are:

a) The high channel density of the UEI system allows the I/O to be installed directly on the simulator, eliminating the need to run literally thousands of wires from the simulator to externally mounted I/O racks.

b) The high speed of the I/O combined with the Gigabit Ethernet interface real-time operating system support allows FlightSafety to operate their new SimI/O at 2000 Hz, providing ultra smooth and realistic flight characteristics,

c) FlightSafety expects an increase in simulator reliability and system throughput. It also benefits from a reduction in equipment and floor space required compared to previous installations due to the elimination of equipments racks and remote VME racks.

d) The built-in diagnostics of the UEI products, combined with the extensive diagnostic and self-test capabilities implemented by FlightSafety reduced installation time, increases MTBF which will increase “in-system availability”.

“We are very excited that FlightSafety’s SimI/O equipped flight simulators feature UEI’s RACKtangle I/O series,” said Shaun Miller, President, UEI. “Our team worked very hard to create the necessary elements to control all aspects of a simulator including analog and digital I/O, avionics and communications interface busses as well as a real-time Ethernet based software interface. We are delighted to see the system actually deployed in a fully certified Level D simulator.”

“The UEI system is a key component in our SimI/O equipped simulators,” said Ron Jantzen, Director of Engineering, FlightSafety International. “The capabilities and benefits provided by the RACKtangle I/O series system come as a result of the close working relationship and contributions of the engineering teams from both UEI and FlightSafety. This system enhances the performance of our simulators, provides simpler and quicker maintenance, increases system availability, and helped us achieve our ultimate goal of creating a superior simulator.”

About the “RACKtangle I/O series”
UEI’s powerful “RACKtangle” architecture is a compact and rugged Gigabit Ethernet based I/O platform. Each chassis consists of a core module (with processor and network interface), a power supply module and twelve I/O slots. Users then match the RACKtangle I/O configuration to their application by selecting the appropriate I/O modules. With over 30 I/O modules available, there will be a configuration ideally suited for almost any application requirement. The RACKtangle’s 12 I/O slots provide up to: 300 analog inputs, 384 analog outputs, 576 digital I/O, 96 counter or quadrature channels, 144 ARINC-429 channels and/or 48 Serial or CAN-bus ports. A full description of the RACKtangle product line is available at http://www.ueidaq.com/racktangle.