RTCA Releases New Publications

December 16, 2005

RTCA Inc. issued new documents addressing integrated modular avionics and operational performance, including:

RTCA DO-297 - Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) Development Guidance and Certification Considerations.
RTCA DO-281A - Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Aircraft VDL Mode 2 Physical, Link and Network Layer.
RTCA DO-271C - Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Aircraft VDL Mode 3 Transceiver Operating in the Frequency Range 117.975-137.000 MHz.
RTCA DO-186B - Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Airborne Radio Communications Equipment.

DO-297 focuses on the specific aspects of design assurance as it relates to integrated modular avionics (IMA), which encompasses flexible, reusable and interoperable hardware and software resources that, when integrated, form a platform that provides services designed and verified to a defined set of requirements. The document was crafted with IMA developers, application developers, integrators, certification applications and associated with the airworthiness of IMA systems in civil certification projects.

DO-281A focuses on minimum operational performance standards (MOPS) and test procedures for aircraft Very High Frequency (VHF) Digital Link (VDL) Mode 2 physical link and network layer protocol components of an avionics transmitter/receiver (transceiver) for air-ground (A/G) data communications.

MOPS-certified equipment is compatible with minimum aviation system performance standards (MASPS) in RTCA DO-224B signal-in-space MASPS for advanced VHF digital data communications including compatibility with digital voice techniques, and with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) VDL Mode 2 technical manual.

The document was designed to supersede DO-281, maintain traceability requirements and coordinate with the updated ICAO VDL Mode 2 Technical Manual as well as AEEC 631 implementation characteristics, RTCA said.

DO-271C, which is an update to RTCA DO-224B signal-in-space MASPS for advanced VHF digital data communications including compatibility with digital voice techniques, verifies procedures for an aircraft VHF Digital Link (VDL) Mode 3 Transceiver used for A/G voice and data communications. The document also encompasses errata and vocoder test vectors.

DO-186B, which includes changes 1 and 2 made to DO-186A, highlights standards and test procedures for airborne VHF communication transmitters as well as for installed equipment. The document sets equipment performance standards for offset carrier operations, including class A and C equipment, and defines an exclusion band for a radio frequency susceptibility test (DO-160 Section 20.0). The document also defines Class E transceivers, which are used in 8.33 kHz channel separation environments.

Source: RTCA.