UTILIZING BENEFITS OF FIBER OPTICS WITHOUT MODIFICATION OF LEGACY SYSTEMS

Benefits from fiber optics integration into aviation applications are slowly being realized on many different platforms, with the greatest benefits so far being realized on fixed-wing platforms. To date, helicopter industry efforts to incorporate fiber optics designs have resulted in mixed outcomes. In general, fiber optics improves electronic-system resistance to electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic interference (EMC/EMI) and lightning effects, reduces interface loading issues related to wire lengths, and has the potential to reduce wiring weight and the quantity/size of bulkhead wiring feed-throughs (due to the decrease in harness bulk). Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. recently funded efforts to investigate the ability of fiber optics to realize these benefits on specific Bell platforms. The design effort undertaken at Bell produced a fiber optic architecture designed to mimic and replace existing copper wires to take advantage of the inherent benefits of fiber optics without undergoing modification to qualified and existing avionics systems electronics. This paper discusses the designs and results of the implementation of this fiber optics study at Bell as applied to two specific platform designs, the UH–1Y/AH–1Z and BA609 avionics design.