Chris;
I think the Americans can lay claim to having caught up with the Brits by now...
I really wonder if they are. I know Canada isn't. Canada has no CARS governing flight data analysis programs. The programs are entirely voluntary with no specifications on parameters or data handling. I believe the JARs are well ahead of this.
The FAA Mandatory parameters are:
- For FDAU-equipped aircraft, (Flight Data Aquisition Unit) manufactured before October 11, 1991, 22 parameters are mandatory;
- After that date, 34 parameters are mandatory
- After August 20, 2000, 57 parameters are required;
- After August 19, 2002 88 parameters are required.
Canada's requirement is essentially the same.
Eighty-eight parameters is barely adequate in terms of investigative capability.
Functional checks of the mandatory parameters are required once per year.
EASA has proposed rules requiring internal self-monitoring of mandatory parameters so that failures, (even the silent kind where a recorder just quits) can be addressed immediately instead of the next check, which could theoretically be 364 days away.
QARs for FOQA programs routinely record up to 2000 parameters many times at rates higher than required. The requirement for SSFDRs remains minimal while voluntary programs are exceeding minimums by a substantial amount. However, the FOQA QAR is mounted in or under the cockpit in the same area as the FDAU/DFDAU and as such is not crash-proof.
Upgrade and rule changes are driven by cost, not need.
The Honeywell 980-4700-42 was capable of 1300 parameters.