Design

Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS Selected for Avidyne Digital Flight Control System

23rd November 2009
ES Admin
0
Express Logic, Inc., the leader in royalty-free real-time operating systems (RTOS), today announced that its popular ThreadX RTOS drives Avidyne Corporation’s new DFC90 attitude-based Digital Flight Control System. The DFC90 is an integrated flight computer and control panel designed as a slide-in replacement for existing rate-based STEC 55X flight computers. Avidyne’s DFC90 specifically targets Cirrus SR20 and SR22 aircraft with Avidyne’s Entegra Flight Deck Systems.
ThreadX is Express Logic’s small, fast, reliable RTOS for deeply embedded real-time applications, such as Avidyne’s new aircraft flight control system. In a flight control system, aircraft flight is controlled by servos that deflect aelerons and elevator control surfaces to induce turns and/or pitch changes for climb or descent. The DFC90 flight control system receives input regarding the aircraft’s attitude, heading, and altitude, as well as input from the pilot and navigation system that specify the desired attitude, heading, altitude, and rate of climb/descent. The DFC90 calculates the precise commands that drive the servos in real time, so that the desired flight path is achieved.

As the operating system powering Avidyne’s flight control system, ThreadX controls all functions in the DFC90. ThreadX delivers low overhead and fast real-time response, critical requirements for systems such as Avidyne’s DFC90.

Developing flight critical systems is hard enough without worrying about the RTOS,” noted Mark Krebs, Avidyne’s VP Engineering for Guidance and Controls. “Avidyne is pleased to introduce a new level of performance and safety to General Aviation lightplanes with our DFC90 and DFC100 Cirrus autopilot. ThreadX software was easy to use, rock solid and high performance. We won't be looking anywhere else for our next RTOS.

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