Fms?

[Vicar]

Hi, can anyone tell me if there's a FMS - Flight Management System on military planes like those found in civil, transportation planes?

Thankz

Vicar

 

[Slug]

yep

Most of the AF's cargo planes were not originally equipped with FMSs. However, i know that some are being modded to bring the cockpits up to date. The C-5's were just starting to get them back in '97 when I left. I know the KC-135 cockpits are being upgraded though I don't know the percentage complete.

Maybe somebody on the forum can give you some current info.

I do know that the T-1, which is used to train future cargo and tanker pilots has a full FMS/GPS and autopilot. Of course it is just a Beechjet in AF markings.


Slug

 

[CAP10B]

I'm guessing that since they have made it all the way down to updating the E-Model 135 to Block 30 PACER CRAG, that the 135 fleet as a whole is converted in some form or another (25/27/30/+).

 

[RichO]

The ol' C- 130 has has a system called SCNS (Self-Contained Navigation Sytem)...we have GPS, INS, autopilot etc......oh, and in the H-3's believe it or not two glass EFI's (ADI & HSI).......oh, but SCNS is nothing too write home about.......lot's of limitations...definately designed by engineers without much pilot/nav input....

 

[Vandal]

My future base flys H model C-130's and they have the standard FMS's (at least on the surface) that you see in commercial airliners.

 

[RichO]

Hmm, I wouldn't really compair it to the commerical FMS's.....it is really limited.....though it's better than nothing....

 

[bssthound]

My Reserve Squadron has C-130H models with SCNS and C-130J models with a "mentally challenged" half-brother to an FMS that's called CNI-MU. The SCNS isn't anywhere near an FMS and the CNI-MU, even though it looks like an FMS, is a poor, poor imitation. Not nearly as user-friendly or capable as the FMS on the CRJ I fly.

 

[Vicar]

Thanks for the reply....

Hmm, I wouldn't really compair it to the commerical FMS's.....it is really limited.....though it's better than nothing....

The ol' C- 130 has has a system called SCNS (Self-Contained Navigation Sytem)...we have GPS, INS, autopilot etc......oh, and in the H-3's believe it or not two glass EFI's (ADI & HSI).......oh, but SCNS is nothing too write home about.......lot's of limitations...definately designed by engineers without much pilot/nav input....

Hmmm...not all civil planes have FMS...but they do have autopilot and stuff...


So, let me get this straight....

Military has FMS far much more advance than the civil ones? -from RichO post-

Or the military planes are the same al those old civil airplanes except the fact of 'aerobatics skills' n speed wise....(other then the apperarance)


Vicar

 

[RichO]

Let me clairify......the C-130 has a limited FMS.....it is real old technology.......typically you will find this I believe with most mil transports...if they have one, it is typically years behind that of the commercial fleet.....but, I would definately call it limited as the previous poster mentioned.........

 

[Slug]

newer upgrades

I can't speak to the 130, but I know the -5 was getting the FMS -5000. Pretty much what you find in up to date cockpits.

 

[Vicar]

Ic....

How bout those newer versions then? like the f-16 or f-22 which are 'fly-by-wire'? Do they have FMS ?

Thanks again

Vicar

 

[HueyPilot]

C-21A FMS

The C-21A (Learjet 35A) has a Universal UNS-1B. It's not too far behind what the latest biz jets have to offer, but honestly, the military Lear fleet is much better equipped than the average civilian Lear 35. We've got an EHSI, EVSI (with TCAS), and a flat-panel MFD that will display nav routes, radar data, TAWS data, and TCAS data.

Most of the older Learjet 35s have no glass in the cockpit, and the older style radar control head.

With that in mind, I'm going to the C-130 next, and I can imagine that it's not going to be as user friendly as the C-21, at least not from a cockpit display standpoint.

Going back to my days as a helo pilot, most civil helicopters these days are getting more and more involved with EFIS systems and FMS systems, but the Army at least is still stuck back in the 1970s and 80s. Some of the aircraft have glass (AH-64, OH-58D), but the majority of the fleet (UH-1, OH-58A/C, UH-60, CH-47) use the old "steam gauges", with no FMS, and many don't even have an integral GPS. The aircraft that do have glass have such avionics not to support navigation or instrument flying, but to help the crew manage weapons systems more than anything else.

 

[MDPilot]

C5s and C141s have triple (C5) and dual (C141) INS (at least from the mid 70s on), but were controlled by an INS head with only 9 saved waypoints. In the early to mid 80s, a very, very simple FMS-like head called an FSAS (Fuel Savings Advisory System) was installed to give capability to have up to 40 waypoints as well as a climb, cruise and descent profile (Simple VNAV) capability. The glass cockpit mod on the C-141C added, amomg other things, two Honeywell FMS with dual embedded GPS. This is a very airline-like FMS, with the added capability, like the C-130 SCNS, of controlling the VHF com/nav through the FMS.

 

[The FNG]

Army C-12Rs incorporate the Allied Signal GNS-XLS FMS, and the C-12Ts have the Collins FMS 800. They are both similar to the Collins FMS 4200 I use in the CRJ, though the Collins 800 is monochromatic for NVG compatability.

 

[wackford]

Most U.S. Army fixed wing aircraft have FMS.

To name a few, C-12 (not all models), UC-35 (Ultra), C-37 (Gulfstream), RC-12 (not all models), RC-7 ?