Boeing chooses Sextant standby flight displays

Boeing selected Thomson-CSF Sextant as the single-source supplier of its Integrated Standby Flight Display (ISFD), which will replace conventional standby altimeters, gyro horizons and airspeed indicators.

The ISFD is a 3-ATI line replaceable unit (LRU) with a backlit, color active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD), and includes a precision air data sensor, both manufactured by Thomson-CSF Sextant.

The unit will be installed first on Next-Generation 737 airplanes, with follow-on installations on the 757, 767, and 747 aircraft. The unit provides a single, integrated display of pitch and roll attitude, airspeed, barometric altitude, heading, and approach deviations, using a format similar to primary flight displays.

The altitude, airspeed and altitude shown on the ISFD gives pilots flight data independent of the primary displays. Heading and approach deviation displays are designed to reduce pilot workload when landing an aircraft with inoperative primary flight displays.

The ISFD features an integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) to compute attitude, and an internal pressure sensor module to calculate altitude and indicated airspeed. It is powered by the aircraft's 28 VDC standby power bus and will offer numerous analog and digital interfaces for installation flexibility. The high-resolution AMLCD is supplied by subsidiary Thomson-LCD.

Edited by David Robb
Managing Editor, AerospaceOnline.com