While looking to find a more accurate means of navigation for their cargo planes in hazardous conditions, officials of the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) at Scott AFB, Ill., chose Vista, the moving-map software product from RMS Technology, Inc. in Molalla, Ore.
Following the crash of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown`s plane in Bosnia, which investigators blamed on navigational difficulties, military officials presented Vista to Defense Secretary William Perry during his efforts to require a Global Positioning System on all AMC passenger aircraft.
Air National Guard Master Sgt. Ike Isaacson, who performed Vista/GPS integration for AMC, demonstrated the system to Perry, and used a record feature on the program to show how it tracked his flight into Washington from the landing to parking off the runway, he recalls. "He was very impressed."
The first version, developed in 1994, was in DOS format for the military only, Isaacson says. AMC leaders approved the program after conducting a six-month test.
The program plots the user`s position on any map. Features unique to the military version include tracking enemy aircraft and the ability to draw a ring on the screen around a target and immediately track it, Isaacson says.
Vista operates on PCs running Windows 3.1/95 and DOS. - J.M.
For more information on RMS Technology`s Vista product, contact 503-829-6167, fax 508-663-0150 or e-mail an information request to [email protected].
Screen display of Vista, the moving-map software product from RMS Technology, Inc. in Molalla, Calif. chosen by the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command for use on its passenger aircraft
