FMS study materials?

[KC-10 Driver]

I am putting out a request for any suggestions on study materials for a crash course on FMS testing. Here's my situation:

I have been recently tasked to become the "pilot expert" in the testing phase of a major cockpit upgrade to the USAF fleet of KC-10's. This upgrade will include new Honeywell FMS's as well as an all-glass instrument panel. I will be involved as a line instructor pilot to help find glitches and bugs in the system before the fleet is upgraded.

My background includes about 500 hours in the 757/767 and about 550 hours in the A320 with my civilian airline job (I'm a military reservist), so I'm actually pretty comfortable with modern avionics. Also, I have an undergraduate degree in engineering at the baccalaureate level (albeit 13 years ago).

I expect to have plenty of resources available to me in my upcoming assignment. However, I know that there is a lot of experience out there in the pprune world, and you folks could recommend some materials that the USAF or Honeywell might not provide.

My goal is to come up with the best product possible for the USAF. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[vmommo]

Check out www.firstnethou.com/fmcman/ for the excellent Honeywell FMC manuals. These are the best I have found so far.

www.bluecoat.org would be a good place to ask specific FMC questions, and get information.

My advice is to keep things as simple and pilot friendly as possible. Good luck with your project!

[John Farley]

Hi KC-10 Driver

I imagine that you have considerable experience of the operational role that your modified aeroplanes will eventually be used for, or else you would not have been chosen for this job.

But just in case you have not (and inappropriate postings have been known to happen before now) then understanding the true needs of the role is vital to expressing opinions about anything the crew is going to use and especially so with FMS and allied kit.

Forgive me if you ARE very up to speed on the role, but if you are NOT then getting that understanding must be your first priority by any way possible and will need a lot of sitting down (plus flying) with those know the current issues of the job.

In my view you need not try to outdo the boffins and think deeper into the systems than they can, but just make sure they know EXACTLY what help pilots need with the operational role. This could mean explaining why a particular parameter that is NOT being displayed would help enormously or why three things that ARE being shown are no help at all and just cluttering up the good stuff. The same notion applies to the mode and switching logic that will doubtless be involved with the equipment. Is it really optimised for what the combat refueller pilot needs? Or is it just what happens to be on sale and readily available today for big aeroplanes period.

If you ARE a current expert in the role then great, but your number one job will still be to explain to all the non pilots on the programme just what you and your mates need and why they must have it.

It may sound strange to say that I see your job as a people one rather than a technical one, but I’d wager a beer that you will agree with that when it is all over. If I am right, any influence you exert on the final outcome is more likely to depend on your performance in meetings (and bars) than in labs or cockpits. You are going to have the SELL the pilot’s needs to people who for various personal reasons simply do not want to buy them.

Good luck

[Vertico]

KC-10 Driver

As an even longer-retired tp than John Farley, I agree with all he wrote. Great advice - if you're really going to get the best possible standard of kit, it's the "hearts and minds" part of the job which is vital.

Good luck!

[KC-10 Driver]

I want to thank each of you for your replies and advice. I am approaching the end of my assignment with Honeywell, but will be involved in the project in the future, to a lesser degree.

John Farley, your words were especially true. I have spent a majority of my time here communicating with the engineers, trying to impart to them what is important to me and my mates, as operators.

They had so many questions about how the product would be deployed operationally -- questions that I took for granted, but which I quickly realized would not be obvious to someone without my background.

Also, VMOMMO, thanks for the link to BLUECOAT. It is a great sight, with many excellent links itself.

Cheers.

P.S. John Farley, I guess I owe you a beer.

[John Farley]

KC-10 Driver

It sounds as if you found the job worthwhile. I'm glad.

Thanks for your comments. Send me an email if you come to the UK and I will buy you one.

[Reheat On]

I'm no test pilot but I am a communicator: it can be VERY useful to take a couple of the ground design guys along on a trip and get them to take notes [or video the cockpit work environs] while you run an 'all out' 'everything breaks while 2 are prodding' type sortie and you stand behind commentating the information required and so forth - the designers learning curve can be steep, but when the paradigms shift, it is a wonder to see. This issue is to put the pilots mindset into the engineers head.