ABSTRACT
RTCA document DO-297, Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) Design Guidance and Certification Considerations, is one of several documents that are key to the approval of avionics and ultimately the certification of the host aircraft. The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) equivalent of DO-297 is ED-124. The need for DO-297 is derived from the emergence of pioneering IMA architectures on the Airbus A-380 and Boeing B-787. Although DO-297 was too late to be part of the certification basis for these aircraft, the lessons learned from them did guide, in part, the content of DO-297. According to DO-297, IMA is a “shared set of flexible, reusable, and interoperable hardware and software resources that, when integrated, form a platform that provides services, designed and verified to a defined set of safety and performance requirements, to host applications performing aircraft functions”.
