Press Release
Korry and AVISTA Complete Flight Deck Control Panels for 787
To Lighten Aircraft Equipment, Avionics Manufacturer Shifts to Embedded Software
SEATTLE, Wash. and PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – June 19, 2007 – Korry Electronics, a Tier 1 supplier for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and AVISTA Incorporated®, a leader in safety-critical systems software engineering services, announce the successful delivery of the flight deck control panels (FDCP) embedded software for the Boeing 787. A key goal for this new aircraft is reducing weight by replacing the traditional hardwired FDCP with embedded and hosted application software. To achieve this technology innovation, Korry turned to AVISTA for its extensive full life-cycle DO-178B certified avionics software expertise, and deep experience with the Common Computing System (CCS) software platform which is the core of the aircraft’s avionics systems.
Korry’s FDCP system contains control panels located in three major areas of the flight deck: the overhead panel, the aisle stand and the forward panel. The FDCP reports the status of each flight deck switch to aircraft systems and receives system status to illuminate annunciators on the control panels. Working with both Korry and Boeing, AVISTA was responsible for requirements definition, software planning, design, implementation and integration, as well as all requirements-based testing for DO-178B Level B.
“The growing use of software provides tremendous design advantages for aircraft manufacturers, but demands specific expertise in software development and DO-178B documentation and testing,” says Cyndi Bajema, project manager at Korry Electronics. “With 20 years experience in avionics software development and verification, AVISTA was the clear choice as our software partner on this project. The FDCP was successfully delivered to Boeing with the help of the AVISTA team.”
The FDCP software was designed for the CCS platform being used for the 787. The CCS provides shared system platform resources for a number of functional systems such as avionics, environmental control, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, auxiliary power unit, cabin services, flight controls, health management, fuel, payloads, and propulsion. AVISTA has extensive experience with the 787 CCS partitioned architecture from work on previous aircraft using a similar system, and the company brought this critical expertise to the Korry FDCP project.
“The increasing complexity of avionics software development and verification makes outsourcing a very cost-effective solution for manufacturers,” adds James T. Schneller, president of AVISTA Incorporated. “We’ve been working with Korry for many years on a number of projects, and their expertise in avionics controls is unmatched. With our extensive DO-178B experience and specific expertise designing for the CCS platform, we were able to help Korry provide a complete solution for the 787 that met the program’s very demanding objectives.”
About AVISTA
AVISTA Incorporated®, a subsidiary of Esterline Technologies
Corporation (NYSE:ESL), is a full-lifecycle software engineering
services company, specializing in critical systems development projects
for avionics and medical device applications. With nearly 2.5 million
project hours completed, AVISTA fields the strongest, most stable,
and most capable DO-178B experienced software development team in
the industry. The company has completed more than 800 client projects
in systems design, requirements capture and analysis, software design
and implementation, and software verification and validation. AVISTA,
headquartered in Platteville, Wisconsin, is a SEI CMMI Maturity Level
3 rated company, and an ISO 9001:2000 certified company. www.avistainc.com
About Korry
Korry Electronics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Esterline Technologies
Corporation, is the market leader in the design and manufacture
of illuminated cockpit interface products for display and control,
and is known for its expertise in lighting. Every Korry solution
integrates expertise in optics, electronics and software, mechanical
packaging, mechanism design, and human factors. The company was
founded in 1937 by Boris Korry, a former Boeing engineer. Korry's
products can be found on virtually all major aircraft programs
around the world.
About Esterline
Esterline Technologies Corporation is a global engineering and manufacturing
company employing more than 9,000 people world-wide serving principally
aerospace/defense markets in three segments: Avionics & Controls,
Sensors & Systems, and Advanced Materials. AVISTA and Korry
are both part of Esterline’s Avionics & Controls segment
which focuses on cockpit integration and technology interface systems
for commercial and military aircraft and similar devices for land-
and sea-based military vehicles, and secure communications systems.
The Sensors & Systems segment includes operations that produce
high-precision temperature and pressure sensors, power distribution
systems, and motion control components, and other related systems
principally for aerospace and defense customers. Operations within
Advanced Materials focus on high-performance elastomer products
and high-temperature resistant structures used for a wide range
of military and commercial aerospace purposes, and combustible
ordnance and electronic warfare countermeasure products. Learn
more about Esterline at www.esterline.com.
