Rockwell Collins receives FAA approval for paperless flight operations on a Challenger 601

Rockwell Collins receives FAA approval for paperless flight operations on a Challenger 601

LAS VEGAS (October 11, 2004) - Rockwell Collins has received Federal Aviation Administration approval for paperless flight operations on a Challenger 601 equipped with the company’s dual Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS). The system is integrated with the Challenger 601’s Pro Line 21 avionics system retrofit.

“This approval for paperless operations means that pilots can access all the information they require during critical phases of flight without having to carry paper charts onboard the aircraft,” said Denny Helgeson, vice president and general manager, Business and Regional Systems for Rockwell Collins.

Rockwell Collins’ IFIS enables such advanced capabilities as electronic charting, graphical weather and enhanced map overlays, providing enhanced safety and flight deck management.

The system’s electronic charting functionality provides operators with approaches, procedures (SIDs and STARs), airport diagrams and NOTAMS. Operators of Pro Line 21-equipped aircraft have ready access to the appropriate charts for the entered flight plan and aircraft position may be viewed on geo-referenced charts, improving situational awareness. The charts are enhanced through proprietary graphics and color pallets designed to improve readability, especially at night.

The IFIS system can also be integrated with non-Rockwell Collins flight management systems for operators who elect to install Rockwell Collins’ IDS-3000 integrated display system.

Rockwell Collins’ IFIS enables operators to take advantage of a variety of weather services to receive real-time data link weather images. For Continental US coverage, XM WX Satellite Weather offers a low-cost solution providing continuous, real-time graphical weather. For aircraft equipped for data link, Universal Weather offers a wide range of graphical weather information--in addition to its traditional textual weather and Air Traffic Services capabilities--including NEXRAD and echo/tops movement data for the Continental United States, as well as worldwide turbulence, icing, graphical METARS and wind information.

The system’s enhanced map overlays increase situational awareness on the flight deck. These overlays include geo-political boundaries, restricted and controlled airspace, and high- and low-level airways.

Central to IFIS is the Rockwell Collins File Server Unit (FSU), integrated with the Pro Line 21 system’s active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) multifunction displays using an Ethernet network. The system’s easy-to-use, graphical interfaces are designed to reduce complexity and improve efficiency. The FSU supports more than two gigabytes of data with growth to 16 gigabytes and features an Ethernet portal for faster and more convenient software/database uploads, including FMS databases and traditional ARINC 429 interfaces.

Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is a leader in the design, production and support of communications and aviation electronics solutions for government and commercial customers worldwide. Additional information is available at www.rockwellcollins.com.

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