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3(rd) Boeing C-130 AMP Aircraft Flies with GE's New Avionics SystemsGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. --(Business Wire)-- GE Aviation played a significant role in The Boeing Company's successful first flight of the U.S. Air Force's third C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft (the H-3) on Jan. 17, three weeks ahead of schedule. The flight marked another milestone for the most comprehensive C-130 avionics modification ever conducted. The H3 aircraft accomplished both functional check flight and acceptance check flight tests. Boeing test pilot Mike Leone conducted the two-hour flight from the Boeing facility in San Antonio. The avionic modernized C-130 features the proven flight management system originally designed for the Boeing 737 commercial airliner. The GE system meets Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) requirements and the CNS/ATM upgrade allows the C-130 fleet to be deployed worldwide. GE provides the following hardware and software systems for the C-130 AMP: Hardware elements: Mission display processor consisting of general processing modules, graphics processing modules, interface modules, video distribution modules, and power supply. Multi-function control displays Flight data recorder/cockpit voice recorder Integrated standby instrument system Aircraft interface unit/Engine interface unit Regulated transformer rectifier Software: ARINC-653 operating environment Flight management application GE facilities in Bishops Cleeve, UK, Florida, Michigan and New York are providing the hardware and software. The C-130AMP provides enhanced digital avionics that increase situational awareness for the warfighter over old analog cockpits, dramatically increasing information available to aircrews at a glance, simplifying tasks and decreasing workload. Upgrade commonality brought by the AMP offers additional flexibility in assigning aircrews regardless of the model design type. Boeing completed the major modification and upgrade package on H3 about 13 percent faster than the upgrade to H2.5. H3 will soon join aircraft H2 and H2.5 in the flight test program, which is 81 percent complete. GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. GE Aviation Systems LLC and GE Aviation Systems Ltd are subsidiaries of General Electric Company. For more information, visit us at www.ge.com/aviation. |
