Martin-Baker Choose Mekon to Create Document Authoring Application for F-35 Ejection Seat
A British firm has been chosen to develop complex software which will ensure documentation compatibility on the revolutionary fighter aircraft that will equip the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers.
Mekon, the specialist documentation management consultancy, will create bespoke software for creating and editing vital technical documentation concerning the ejection seat on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The software will simplify the creation and editing of technical documentation concerning installation, maintenance fault finding and repair; while also ensuring that these manuals are interoperable with all the aircraft’s other documentation.
Mekon were selected by Martin-Baker, the world’s leading manufacture of crew escape systems, who are providing ejection seats for the F-35. The company’s ejection seats have saved the lives of more than 7,250 airmen.
The application will be based on Mekon’s long-running and popular Eclipse Suite for
Adobe FrameMaker, which contains applications for authoring documentation in the Aerospace and Defence documentation standard S1000D. The F-35 project will enable technical experts to write vital documentation according to the Joint Strike Fighter XML Document Type Definition – a heavily modified version of S1000D.
Martin-Baker’s Documentation Manager Chris Morgan said, “We’re a long-standing client of Mekon, so we’re well aware of their expertise in the Aerospace and Defence industry. Mekon’s Eclipse Suite is the broadest and best range of applications for authoring in S1000D, providing an easy authoring environment that requires virtually no training to use. Naturally, they were always going to be the leading candidates for the F-35 documentation project.”
The project will cater for three broad types of Document Management structure: Descriptive, Flight Reference Card and Procedural Data Modules. There is also a further requirement for the creation of Warnings, Cautions and Hazard Material communications, known as the Alert structure.
Mekon’s Director Julian Murfitt – himself a leading aerobatic pilot – said: “Poorly conceived content management structures and tools can add millions of dollars to a project as complex as this. Fortunately, Lockheed-Martin has invested well in the development of a sound XML structure to ensure interoperability between the multitude of components that make up this astounding aircraft. Mekon’s authoring tools will dovetail seamlessly with the F-35’s other documentation processes, ensuring that authors can easily produce and update content in the right format, and get it right first time.”
