EASA certifies Thales’s primary reference ADU
AAAA, Nashville, 30 April 2009 – Thales announced today it has received ETSO C106 certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its primary reference Air Data Unit 3200 for helicopters.
A key component of any navigation system, Thales’s ADU 3200 is capable of generating primary flight information such as altitude, airspeed and temperature by measuring static pressure, total pressure and temperature. This flight safety system for helicopters offers an exceptional reliability of 14,500 flight hours.
Packed with high-tech
The compact, lightweight ADU 3200 boasts many innovations. For example, it is the only ADU on the market employing algorithmic processing to eliminate errors due to helicopter blade rotation. Integrating high-precision sensors, the ADU 3200 delivers excellent performance when measuring low speeds (up to 20Kts), a feature much appreciated by helicopter operators.
World first
To optimise development time, Thales used object-oriented technologies and Agile software development methodologies. “Employing these innovative methodologies in order to obtain the highest DO178B level A certification for the ADU 3200 is a world first,” said Yves Joannic, Thales’s Vice President for Helicopter Solutions.
Thales’s ADU 3200 has been selected as original equipment on the following helicopters: Sikorsky S-76D; Eurocopter EC135, 145, 155, 225, 635 and 725; UH-72A Lakota; and Agusta A109 LUH.
Thales is exhibiting at AAAA, you can find us Booth #1070