ARINC 445 PDF

Scope and Intent

The use of aircraft-derived software in FSTDs has become increasingly widespread as greater numbers of software-based functions are integrated into the aircraft design itself. This has raised regulatory and safety-oriented questions about software management on these devices.

This document provides guidance to the flight simulation industry concerning aspects of the integration and management of aircraft-derived software on flight training devices. This includes software configuration management, software change management, software distribution, software impacts on regulatory approval, and software storage best practices in relation to FSTDs.

In addition, since FSTDs for operational reasons do not necessarily exactly represent an existing aircraft tail number in terms of aircraft software versions, the use of such software implies the need to address the compatibility and coherence of different software elements, as well as address the issues of interface management, versioning, and software selected aircraft options.

This document is not intended to encompass the configuration and control of the software used in the simulator that is not related directly to the aircraft software parts. Therefore, software in support of the Training Device Manufacturers (TDM) simulator operation or any aircraft physical simulation models is not in the scope of this report.

This document does not address the contractual issues associated with software. The rights, licenses, and intellectual property entitlements are not in this report. For such issues, reference ARINC Report 667: Guidance for the Management of Field Loadable Software.

Loadable Software Aircraft Part (LSAP) dependent can mean a few different things. In the context of a model it can mean either the model is simulating some LSAPs (i.e., an LSAP dependent on those LSAPs it models) or the model requires other LSAPs for it to function.

The subject is extremely complex and this document therefore focuses on a specific audience: one that owns or operates an FSTD. Much of the material is, however, equally applicable to TDMs and airframe manufacturers. Every effort has been made to maintain a clear focus on the topics as they relate to this audience.