Avionics testing

IFR has designed a new navigation communications ramp test set to replace its industry-standard workhorse.

It is inherent in this world that everything must change. In fact, it is only change that keeps design engineers off the unemployment lines. IFR, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aeroflex, Inc., has taken change to heart with the release of the IFR 4000, a compact unit designed specifically for ramp testing, though it is also suitable for bench test applications. It is a self-contained, handheld unit that performs functional testing, signal generation, and calibration of ILS (instrument landing system), VOR (VHF omnidirectional range), marker beacon, and VHF/UHF communications avionics systems. The equipment basically acts as a simulator, such as simulating a ground station or another aircraft.

The 4000 platform will replace the 19-lb NAV-402AP, which started into production in 1970 as the NAV-400. The analog 402AP entered production about 1974, and for VOR/ILS testing, “it is the industry standard,” according to Jeff Gillum, Director of Wireless Test, IFR. “You can probably go into any avionics shop or any airline in the world and they're going to have one of these test sets.”