Performance test results of the production fault tolerant air data inertial reference system

The fault tolerant air data inertial reference system (FT/ADIRS) is now in the final stages of production development. The FT/ADIRS consists of the fault tolerant air data inertial reference unit (FT/ADIRU), the secondary air data altitude reference unit (SAARU), and six air data modules (ADM). The ADIRU is the primary navigation unit of the FT/ADIRS. This paper presents the FT/ADIRU production flight test performance data. A comparison of the FT/ADIRU hexad configuration with the conventional triad sensor configuration is also discussed in this paper along with a description of the functionality of the inertial reference software. The production flight tests confirm that the FT/ADIRU provides a high performance navigation system. In addition, the ADIRS provides exceptional benefits to the airlines, which include deferred maintenance capability, significantly fewer schedule interruptions, and substantial operating cost benefits