DO-160, Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment is a standard for the environmental testing of avionics hardware. It is published by the
Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics
RTCA, Inc. (formerly known as Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) is a United States non-profit organization that develops technical guidance for use by government regulatory authorities and by industry. It was founded in 1935 and was re-in ...
(RTCA) and supersedes DO-138.
Outline of contents
Introduction
The DO-160 document was first published on February 28, 1975 to specify test conditions for the design of avionics electronic hardware in airborne systems. Since then the standard has undergone subsequent revisions up through Revision G.
Purpose
This document outlines a set of minimal standard environmental test conditions (categories) and corresponding test procedures for airborne equipment for the entire spectrum of aircraft from light general aviation aircraft and helicopters through the
jumbo jets
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...
and
supersonic transport
A supersonic transport (SST) or a supersonic airliner is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupol ...
categories of aircraft. The purpose of these tests is to provide a controlled (laboratory) means of assuring the performance characteristics of airborne equipment in environmental conditions similar of those which may be encountered in airborne operation of the equipment.
The standard environmental test conditions and test procedures contained within the standard, may be used in conjunction with applicable equipment performance standards, as a minimum specification under environmental conditions, which can ensure an adequate degree of confidence in performance during use aboard an air vehicle.
The Standard Includes Sections on:
The user of the standard must also decide interdependently of the standard, how much additional test margin to allow for uncertainty of test conditions and measurement in each test.
Version History
*RTCA/DO-160, RTCA, INC., February 28, 1975
*RTCA/DO-160 A, RTCA, INC., January 25, 1980
*RTCA/DO-160 B, RTCA, INC., July 20, 1984
*RTCA/DO-160 C, RTCA, INC., December 4, 1989
*RTCA/DO-160 C, Change 1, RTCA, INC., September 27, 1990
*RTCA/DO-160 C, Change 2, RTCA, INC., June 19, 1992
*RTCA/DO-160 C, Change 3, RTCA, INC., May 13, 1993
*RTCA/DO-160 D, RTCA, INC., July 29, 1997
*RTCA/DO-160 D Change 1, RTCA, INC., December 14, 2000
*RTCA/DO-160 D Change 2, RTCA, INC., June 12, 2001
*RTCA/DO-160 D Change 3, RTCA, INC., December 5, 2002
*RTCA/DO-160 E, RTCA, INC., December 9, 2004
*RTCA/DO-160 F, RTCA, INC., December 6, 2007
*RTCA/DO-160 G, RTCA, INC., December 8, 2010
*RTCA/DO-160 G Change 1, RTCA, INC., December 16, 2014
Resources
*
FAR Part 23/25 §1301/§1309
*
FAR Part 27/29
*AC 23/25.1309
*RTCA DO-160
Bibliography
*Aircraft Systems: Mechanical, Electrical and Avionics Subsystems Integration (Aerospace Series (PEP)) (Jun 3, 2008) by Ian Moir and Allan Seabridge
*RTCA List of Available Documents, RTCA Inc., https://web.archive.org/web/20130512172348/http://www.rtca.org/Files/ListofAvailableDocsMarch2013.pdf (March 2013)
*Avionics: Development and Implementation (Electrical Engineering Handbook) by Cary R. Spitzer (Hardcover - Dec 15, 2006)
*Avionics Navigation Systems (April 1997) by Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried
*http://www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de/publications/Incidents/DOCS/Research/Rvs/Article/EMI.html
*The European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment EUROCAE ED-14
Certification in Europe
*Replace FAA with
EASA
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...
,
JAA or
CAA
CAA may refer to:
Law
* Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India
** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
* Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...
*Replace
FAR with JAR
*Replace AC with AMJ
See also
*
Environmental Tests {{noref, date=January 2021
Environmental testing is the measurement of the performance of equipment under specified environmental conditions, such as:
* extremely high and low temperatures
* large, swift variations in temperature
* blown and settli ...
*
Avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
*
Hazard analysis
A hazard analysis is used as the first step in a process used to assess risk. The result of a hazard analysis is the identification of different types of hazards. A hazard is a potential condition and exists or not (probability is 1 or 0). It may, ...
*
RTCA/DO-254
*
ARP4761
*
ARP4754
ARP4754, Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) ARP4754A (''Guidelines For Development Of Civil Aircraft and Systems''), is a guideline from SAE International, dealing with the development processes which support certification of Aircraft systems, ad ...
*
HIRF
A high-intensity radiated field (HIRF) is radio-frequency energy of a strength sufficient to adversely affect either a living organism or the performance of a device subjected to it. A microwave oven is an example of this principle put to control ...
*
Reliability (semiconductor)
*
MIL-STD-810
MIL-STD-810, U S Department of Defense Test Method Standard, Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests, is a United States Military Standard that emphasizes tailoring an equipment's environmental design and test limits to the ...
*
RTCA/DO-178B
External links
* {{Official website, 1=http://www.rtca.org/content.asp?contentid=91
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Electronic design
RTCA standards
Avionics
Environmental testing
Aviation standards