ARINC 542A PDF

Purpose: This document is intended to provide airline desires regarding the design and installation of an integral Digital Flight Data Recorder for early generation airline aircraft. Specifically, this new Flight Data Recorder is intended to be a direct replacement for older oscillographic flight Data Recorders. As such, this document will include specific requirements necessary to accommodate mandatory flight data recording and other flight data acquisition needs plus the design details necessary to ensure customer controlled interchangeability of equipment in a standard aircraft installation.

Although this Characteristic specifies the use of a magnetic medium in numerous sections, it does not intend to preclude solid-state or other types of storage which can best take advantage of the prevailing technology.