Introduction to Q4 Instructors Station
In this day of COTS solutions it has
become evident that some OEM suppliers have
developed upgrade solutions that are still reliant
upon proprietary systems and therefore the true
benefits of COTS is sometimes lost to the customer.
For the first time a true COTS solution
is available to replace existing obsolete legacy
hardware and yet still provide sufficient scope for
future expansion.
The Q4 Instructor Station update shall
incorporate hardware and software changes to replace
the functions of the existing IOS. Special pages
(Maps/fly through, etc.) can be selected from the
Q4 Services library of pages system rather than the
existing legacy IOS pages. This will provide the
customer with best use of today’s available
technology.
Modifications to the simulators shall
consist of:
-
Replacement of the existing graphics
generator with a PC solution.
-
Replacement of the present monitors with
high resolution (1280 x 1024 pixels), color LCD with
touch sensitive screen.
-
Provision of an off-board facility that
will have the same facilities as the on-board
monitors together with the capability of producing
lesson plans and updated or new IOS pages whilst the
simulator is in real time.
-
Provision of two tablet PC’s with cockpit
mounted support structure. These tablet PC’s will
communicate with the IOS IOS master IOS by means of
wireless technology and provide the pilots with
portable forward facing control units. These units
will have a suite of IOS functions and will be
useful for engineering maintenance and updates by
providing portable access to parameter plot and
debug tools (QTG’s, FDF/CTS+ etc…) utilizing
direct access to datapool via reflective memory to
host computer.
The system shall provide the following improvements:
-
Improved interactivity by the use of
transparency (with alpha sorting) and touch
screens to select system functions.
-
Provision of briefing / debriefing
facilities via off board IOS terminals.
-
HUD symbology (where applicable)
repeated directly onto IOS screens or dedicated HUD
repeaters.
-
Display of more detailed graphical
information by the use of high resolution PC video
accelerators and color graphic screens.
-
Active Schematics.
-
Easy page authoring system through the
use of the IOS Page Builder utility.
-
Map, Weather and Approach Plot system
with multiple eye point control.
-
Parameter Store and Plot facility with
Title, Date/Time and Symbol alias names available on
hard copies. These will be displayed on Maintenance
pages.
-
PC based Lesson plan editor and full
lesson plan system.
Note: Q4 will provide demonstration and
sample lesson plans and provide training to Gulf Air
staff to access this utility to provide on going modifications and updates to existing lesson
profiles
Computer System Hardware
Two rack mount industrial PC computers shall be
supplied and powered via an Uninterrupted Power
Supply. Each PC shall be capable of driving a
maximum of four displays. With two displays per PC
being the normal operational mode. This
configuration provides built in redundancy in the
case of component failure.
Screens
The on-board IOS shall be modified to replace the existing monitors
with LCD touch screens. A further optional Tablet PC
will be offered to provide portable control units
and forward facing functionality. Control of the IOS
pages on-board shall be through these touch screen.
PCIOS to HOST Interface
The PC IOS shall interface to the host PC using
either RMB, HSD or Ethernet. Whichever is decided
will attain the optimum performance.
IOS Software
The following vendor software shall be included in the PC IOS package
as follows:
-
Mandrake Linux, Download Version 9.2
Installation CD (3 CD Set) – Midux Support services,
105 East Drive, Dallas, TX.
-
IOS Installation CD, Version 1.0 – Q4
Services,
1410 N
Goldenroad, Orlando, Fl 32807
-
Nostromo SpeedPad n50 Software CD, Version
2.5 (or later) - Belkin Components, 501 West Walnut
Street, Compton CA, 90220.
-
Logitech Profiler Software CD, Revision
4.2OSE (or later) - Logitech Inc., 6505 Kaiser
Drive, Freemont, CA 94555.
Linux Software
The underlying engine to drive the simulation
program is the Mandrake Linux Operating Systemxe
"software components\:Linux OS;Linux OS,
description", version 9.2. Mandrake Linux integrates
a graphical desktop environment as well as graphical
configuration utilities which makes system
administrative functions easy to use and intuitive.
When administering the system, you can use either
the graphical utilities or the Command Line
Interface. Some of the features of the OS include:
-
Ease of Use - Robust GUI interfaces for
handling most common tasks
-
Low Maintenance - The software management
system automatically handles dependency issues and
avoids conflicts between applications.
-
Graphical Installation Process - Allows
for efficient hardware detection.
-
Security - Offers pre-configured levels of
security.
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