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TopDeck avionics suite onboard the 1st flight of Sikorsky’s S-76DTM helicopter

Thales’s TopDeck avionics suite has successfully completed its first flight aboard the Sikorsky S-76D™ helicopter. Sikorsky is a business unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
 
Thales was selected to develop the cockpit by Sikorsky in 2005 – it represents the most technologically advanced solution currently available and is specifically designed for helicopter operations. The intuitive design features large-format displays that have been consolidated in an efficiently designed console for improved visibility and situational awareness. 
 
The full suite includes four 6×8 smart LCD displays providing Flight, Engine, Caution and Warning, Systems Status, Checklists, and Mission Data. The innovative Cursor Control Device provides cockpit interactivity previously seen only in airline cockpits by allowing control of avionics via Virtual Control Panels on the cockpit displays and by allowing interface to the Flight Management System through the cockpit displayed map instead of through the conventional Keyboard. The Integrated Electronic Standby Instrument provides backup air data, attitude and communication/navigation interface. The all-new digital 4 axis Autopilot and Flight Director provides stability and auto-flight.
 
The flight tests were conducted at the Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, and were an outstanding success. 
 
“This achievement demonstrates Thales’ ability to get it right the first time”, said Yves Joannic head of Thales’s Helicopter Solutions activities. He added that “the hard work that the team put into validating the system interfaces demonstrates that Thales is ready to enter Flight Test phase and is on track to meet commitments towards final certification of the helicopter.”

“A tremendous effort on the part of the Thales team helped us get here”, said Raymond Spagnuolo, S-76D Avionics/Electrical Systems Leader at Sikorsky. The S-76D helicopter is scheduled to enter production with certification, and customer deliveries in 2010.

About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,500 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical
information systems. To this end, the group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to 
support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues of €12.3 billion.

Press Contacts Natasha Harvey, Thales, Aerospace natasha.Harvey@fr.thalesgroup.com