Omission of the miniQAR
I am writing to inform you of an omission in the referenced article (Avionics Magazine, April 2000, page 34). Although the article’s main focus is on FDRs and CVRs, the article deviates when an especially interesting product or recent development has been introduced. Avionica’s miniature quick access recorder, the miniQAR, is just such a product. There is nothing available in the industry that records more, weighs less, and is more reliable than the miniQAR. Here is what it can do:
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Records up to 400 hours of flight data,
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Stores data in solid-state memory,
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Weighs 5.5 ounces (156 grams),
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Does not need special mounting racks,
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And it costs less that 50% of FDRs, FDAMS, and/or OQARs.
The miniQAR was originally developed to connect directly to the existing cockpit-mounted FDR access connector on B757s, B767s, and most B747s, thus, eliminating the need to modify aircraft wiring or install special mounting racks.
Scott Moore
Director-Business Development
Avionica Inc.
Website: www.avionica.com
Not Quite So New
Your May cover story is about the Boeing 767-400’s latest avionics upgrade–including the latest Ethernet capability. However, someone at Boeing (or in your office) managed to get one of the oldest 767-200/300 cockpit photos I have seen in the last 10 years or so. It is a picture of the 767 as it was originally built–including the mechanical stabilizer trim handles to the left of the throttles. The displays on the cover picture are the old, common 757/767 CRT’s, not the current 767-400ER LCD displays. Also, the current-build 767s (200/300 and 400) do not have the stabilizer trim handles to the left of the speed brake handle; they have been replaced by an electrical switch.
Attached is a picture from our Website of the current 767-400ER cockpit photo.
Aside from the above issue, you have a fine quality magazine that I read from cover to cover the day it arrives at my office.
Thanks for all the good work,
Richard E. Duncan
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
737/757 Product Development Group
Thank you for your letter and corrected photo. We must attribute the mix-up to a communication problem and will make every effort in the future to get the most recent photos available. –Editor