Flight Management Systems

The flight management system typically consists of two units, a computer unit and a control display unit. The computer unit can be a standalone unit providing both the computing platform and various interfaces to other avionics or it can be integrated as a function on a hardware platform such as an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) cabinet. The Control Display Unit (CDU or MCDU) provides the primary human/machine interface for data entry and information display. Since hardware and interface implementations of flight management systems can vary substantially, this discussion will focus on the functional aspects of the flight management system.