Rockwell Collins’ next generation avionics systems have been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner airplane. The company provides and serves as systems integrator for the airplane’s flight deck displays and crew alerting system, pilot controls, communication and surveillance systems, and the aircraft’s common data network.

“We congratulate Boeing and the many Rockwell Collins employees involved in this monumental accomplishment,” said Jeff Standerski, vice president and general manager, Air Transport Systems for Rockwell Collins. “We’re extremely proud support Boeing in bringing industry-first innovations to this revolutionary aircraft, which will deliver new levels of safety, efficiency and reliability to airlines around the world.”

Among the advancements included on Boeing’s 787 airplane is an integrated display system featuring five 15.1-inch diagonal LCD displays – four displays across the console and one in the control stand – as well as standard dual head-up displays (HUD). The system utilizes cursor control devices and multi-function key pads to provide a fully interactive system for pilots.

Rockwell Collins also provides a newly developed Integrated Surveillance System (ISS) for the 787. This highly integrated system, certified for the first time on the 787, includes such functions as hazard detection, traffic alert and collision avoidance, Mode S surveillance, and terrain awareness and warning capabilities.

The 787 flight deck also features Rockwell Collins’ latest generation of pilot controls including auto throttles, and pitch, roll, yaw and primary flight controls, as well as their interfaces to the aircraft’s fly-by-wire systems. The modular design of the pilot controls further advances the company’s leadership in design, integration and manufacturing of this technology while simplifying installation and maintenance.

The 787’s communication system includes Rockwell Collins’ VHF-2100, SAT-2100 and HFS 900D. The lighter weight, highly reliable VHF-2100 is VDL Mode 2 capable with future growth to VDL Mode 3 and 4. The new, smaller and more reliable SAT-2100 supports the International Civil Aviation Organization’s safety services, as well as three channels of voice communications. As part of the communications package, Rockwell Collins is also providing a state of the art digital flight deck audio system, and the cockpit voice and flight data recording system.

The Core Network, offered as basic on the 787, leverages Rockwell Collins’ investment in Information Management solutions. The Core Network plays a key role in Boeing’s objective to ‘e-enable’ the entire aircraft. Utilizing commercial open standards, the Core Network hosts a wide range of third-party applications, and manages onboard information flow, to improve airline operational efficiency.

The 787’s Common Data Network (CDN) advances Rockwell Collins’ leadership as a supplier of advanced networking technologies. As a key component of GE Aviation Systems’ Common Core System, the CDN is a high integrity, bi-directional fiber optic and copper network that uses ARINC 664 protocols and standards to manage the information flow between the aircraft’s onboard systems. Based on commercial Ethernet technology, adapted to the avionics environment, the integrity and deterministic characteristics of Rockwell Collins’ CDN allows systems integrators to utilize this network for systems requiring a high level of data criticality. The CDN offers significant improvements over current generation data buses including expanded connectivity, higher data rates and significant reductions in aircraft weight when compared with point to point topologies.

Rockwell Collins press release