Glass Cockpit with Five MFD and Digital Autopilot
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is showing a mockup of a proposed glass cockpit and digital autopilot upgrade for its license-built Hawker Siddeley HS748 AVRO transport aircraft at AERO India in Bangalore this week.
The upgrade is being proposed by HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur, which supports maintenance of the venerable type. A company official at the show stated that the upgrade was being offered by HAL to enhance operational viability of the type and enhance flight safety, by providing better situational awareness. HAL is now waiting for an Indian Air Force (IAF) response.
The cockpit upgrade proposal features five Multi-Functional Displays (MFD), which will be integrated with an Indian SBS GAGAN-compliant GPS. Night vision compatibility will also be provided. The upgraded cockpit will provide 3D synthetic vision, Highway in the Sky (HITS) navigation, with inbuilt Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS) and Graphical Flight Management System (FMS). Redundant displays and sensor architecture will be integrated, as well as the ability to record the performance of the last five flights.
The HS748 fleet with the IAF is over five decades old, with approximately three dozen of the type in operation for logistics and transport, multi-engine conversion training and navigation/signaler training. HAL built 89 HS-748s in the 1960s, of which 19 were delivered to the erstwhile Indian Airlines for commercial operations.
Atul Chandra in Bangalore for MON