February 2008 Archives
Originally published in the June 1998 issue of VMEbus Systems, Life and Times of the MVME147 is a "first-person" account of Motorola's popular single-board computer for VMEbus, which made its debut in 1988. Good overview of what was groundbreaking about the card, the evolution of the card over the first 10 years, and the distinctions between the 147 and its derivatives and descendants.
If you're as confused by all the acronyms as I am, you might find this helpful. Back in 2005, Rockwell Collins put together a 131-page Avionics Electronics Glossary. It defines everything from 1.xxV(ss) to Zulu.
The May 2007 issue of MS&T had a story on military simulator refurbishment, entitled "Big Bucks for Old Sims." The story mentions upcoming CLS competitions, specifically the T-1A GBTS recompete. There's a quote relevant to that program from Richard Lofton of FlightSafety Simulation Systems. There are also mentions of Servo Kinetics and ETC. Here's the text of the story:
Big Bucks for Old Sims
The "aftermarket" tor simulator support and upgrades is thriving as militaries extend the service life of aircraft. Rick Adams looks at some logistics trends and programs.
Competition for new simulators tends to get the headlines and industry conference buzz. But the mundane, day-to-day operations of supporting already fielded training systems and keeping them current with changing aircraft configurations is big business. At a recent industry conference, for example. USAF Training Systems Product Group director June Taylor outlined fiscal year 07-08 and FY09-12 opportunities worth more than US $3.5 Billion (not counting several programs for which funding was not yet specified).
Near-term contractor logistics support competitions include the F-15C and F-16 fighter mission training centers. The C-17 airlift and B-2 stealth bomber training systems, and the T-1A ground based training system, In the next five years, there will be battles for the A-10, KC-l0, C-5, KC-135, C-130, E-3, and even the B-52 aircrew training devices (which must be nearly a thousand years old by now).
The T-1A G6T5 recompete typifies the current cycle of training support, suggests FlightSafety International's Richard Loflon "Replacement of the visual systems, instructor stations, host computers, control loading systems, avionics interfaces, and host/hardware interfaces" for nine operational flight trainers, FSI is hoping to wrest the estimated $120 Million tanker/transport undergraduate program away from L-3 Communications' Link Simulation & Training.
Atypically, the simulated aircraft configuration is not changing, though the Air Force Cites a "potential requirement for concurrency modifications." The current host computers are about 10 years old, according to Lofton, and "the remaining items are original from the 1992 initial operating capability. The existing SPX-500 image generator and display CRTs are no longer supported by the original equipment manufacturers."
Most military training operations are "in constant motion," says David Williams, L-3 Link's vice president of training services programs. The most frequent upgrades are visual image generators and databases, but recently display systems have gained interest with the new liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) high-resolution projectors. Shifting from traditional hydraulic to new electric motion platforms has also moved to the forefront, And, of course, replacing proprietary host computers with PC-based computation.
Replace, Rehost, Reconfigure
The Link name has been synonymous with F-16 weapon system trainers for more than a quarter century, harking back to the original Singer-Link devices of the early 80s. Among the upgrades L-3 Link has performed in recent years: a new PC host and an open architecture to accommodate continued growth. "There's a lot more open architecture across the industry than ever before," Williams notes "We can now work on each other's products much more easily." One side benefit of the rehost - a 2500 square foot room packed with computing equipment has been replaced by a mere dozen PCs housed in two cabinets.
F/A-18 Hornet trainers for the US Navy and Marine Corps are getting the new simulated joint helmet cueing system, information security, and other configuration updates as part of the Roadmap Procurement Program, The C/D variants received the same operational flight program as the aircraft, an effort completed by L-3 link in June, and last year the trainers of the F/A-18C distributed mission training program at NAS Lemoore were filled with the next-generation threat system and weapons server common environment.
Separately, Environmental Tectonics (ETC) has a contract to produce a Tactical Aircraft Module in an F/A-18C configuration for Navy research; ETC is also upgrading a Russian Su-30 trainer with a TACModule for a Southeast Asian customer.
Over the past several years the US Navy E-6 TACAMO aircrew training system (managed by l-3 link) has undergone rehost, instructor operator station replacement, new digital control loading, weather radar system replacement, new aural cue and communication system, glass cockpit conversion, and now an aerodynamics update and visual mod. Williams says the government also opted to purchase a new E-6 "level D-equivalent plus" simulator to replace a leased aircraft currently used as part of the training curriculum. With equipment stretched to its limits in operational theaters, military commanders are more frequently emphasizing "getting out of the cockpit and into trainers."
The new E-6 visual package will feature five-channel LCOS QXGA projectors from Barco and a SEOS 210 horizontal by S5 vertical field-of-view mylar mirror display.
L-3 Link is also under contract for concurrency mods for the E-3 AWACS trainers, integrating DAMA SATCOM (demand assigned multiple access satellite communications). GATM (global air traffic management), and RAIM (GPS receiver autonomous integrity monitoring).
FSl's benchmark is the USAF C-5 avionics modernization program (AMP), which Lofton says "plowed new ground in the world of concurrency modifications by delivering an upgraded simulator 90 days prior to the delivery of the first production aircraft." He relates that, "With the airplane design in constant evolution, the OEM documentation was incorrect or non-existent. To mitigate some of the problems associated with this type of implementation, FlightSafety participated in all the initial aircraft [design reviews] in an attempt to stay on top of all the changes."
Lofton, Williams, and other contractors all noted the transformed nature of logistics triggered by the massive shift to commercial off the shelf (COTS) components in the past decade or so. Provision of spares, once a nightmare to predict (expected life of the program, failure rates, obsolescence, vendor longevity, etc.), has become "a just in time approach," Williams says. "Instead of end-of-life buys on items people are not making anymore, you can just go down to Best Buy and purchase this stuff." Lofton explains "The key element is pipeline time - many items are available in a few days (sometimes a few hours locally), as opposed to several weeks or months for special-built items. The shorter the pipeline, the less likely that a second or third spare will be required while the first failed item is being replaced."
Refurb, or Just Fake It
Sometimes it doesn't make sense to put the newest technology on aged devices. Servo Kinetics, specialist in "duplicating components used in every brand of full flight simulator hydraulic motion systems," recently completed a 30-month project refurbishing 59 motion actuators originally produced for Singer-Link as part of the CAE USA's C-130 upgrade project for the USAF. The Michigan-based motion aftermarket company has also refurbed NASA's Space Shuttle simulator in Houston (another Singer-link 80s-era trainer).
Parts for pre-1990 minicomputers can also be difficult to come by, adds David Dunn, senior account manager for Arraid. "Replacement parts, spare parts for peripherals, and media for peripherals are increasingly hard to locate for both proprietary and COTS devices manufactured from the mid-1960s through 1990."
Arraid's solution is "peripheral emulation." In computer re-hosts, Dunn explains, "a critical part of the process is the replacement of the disk drives, tape drives, and floppy drives. Modern peripherals can be used when installed with emulation technology. The old computer sees the new hardware as 'old' hardware and is able to keep running without disruptive and expensive software modification."
The Virginia firm is currently building a custom disk drive emulator for the French military. and last year completed a peripheral subsystem replacement for NATO fighter jets. But alas, "peripheral emulation is a dying industry." Dunn laments. And "right at a point in history when it is needed more than ever. The projects are difficult, the revenue is minimal, but the work is crucial." He says Arraid is one of the only manufacturers that still design and build new peripheral emulators.
