Horus
Every take-off is paired with a cruise record: the system matches them, the operator resolves the doubtful ones, and trends reveal engine wear in advance.
Open the live prototype horus.foxdim.ru
“Horus” is an aircraft-engine monitoring system. To compare an engine over time, the take-off and cruise of one flight must be tied into a pair. The system does it automatically, but some records stay unpaired or need a check — and the operator handles those. The demo for 01.05–30.06.2019 holds 26 records: 14 linked automatically, 3 under review, 7 unpaired, 2 resolved by hand.
Why we took it on
This is routine analytical work: hundreds of rows with dozens of parameters, where beauty doesn't matter, but what matters is that the operator misses nothing and can come back to a doubtful record. I designed the interface as a resolving conveyor — status filters, progress, a queue with “1 of 10” — and kept the data in the form engineers know: short parameter codes, units, a time scale.
What blocked — and what changed
What blocked
- A table of dozens of parameters doesn't tell which records are already linked and which are not.
- For an unpaired record it's unclear why no pair was found and whom to choose from.
- A manual decision has to be told from an automatic one — otherwise the data can't be trusted.
- Parameter trends are viewed by phase and period, and the parameter set must be configurable.
What changed
- Above the table — tabs with counters: “All 26”, “For review 3”, “No pair 7”, “Resolved manually 2”, “Auto 14” and the indicator “Unresolved: 10 of 26”.
- The table is split into TAKEOFF and CRUISE, with a “Link” column between them holding status chips: interval in minutes and the way — auto, manual, check.
- A “Pair picker” side panel: the record, a time scale with the search window, candidates and three actions — “No pair”, “Skip”, “Link”.
- Charts by flight phase with a “Raw / Raw + Smoothed” switch and a reference book of parameter sets.
How I worked
- 01
Resolving as a queue
Instead of one long table, a queue: status counters, the remainder “10 of 26” and the “1 of 10” stepper in the picker panel.
- 02
Status lives in the row
Five link statuses — automatic, needs a check, resolved by the operator, no pair, marked “no pair” — differ by colour and caption; the legend is at the bottom.
- 03
Explain, don't only suggest
When there is no pair, the panel gives the reason: no records in the 5–60 minute window — maybe a date error. The record's and candidates' parameters stand side by side to compare by eye.
- 04
Data in the engineer's language
Codes TAT, EGT, N1, PALT are kept as they are; aircraft and engine parameters are tinted differently and grouped.
Screens that move the work
Flight matching
Aircraft › RA-73263 › Flight matching. Parameters: aircraft number, engine configuration, engine 1 or 2, period and the CRUISE search window after take-off — from 5 to 60 minutes with a “Recalculate” button. The table splits into TAKEOFF and CRUISE; in the middle is “Link”: “+16 min auto”, “+21 min manual”, “+52 min check” or “No pair — pick”. A status legend at the bottom.
- Status counters and the remainder “10 of 26”
- Pick a pair from the row itself
Picking a pair for a CRUISE record
A panel on the right over the table: “CRUISE record, looking for TAKEOFF”, a “1 of 10” counter and arrows. A red block explains: no record in the 5–60 minute window. Below — the record's parameters, a time scale with a green search zone, the list of remaining unpaired TAKEOFF records with time deviation, and three actions: “No pair”, “Skip”, “Link”.
- The reason for “no pair” is written in words
- “Link” stays disabled until a candidate is chosen
The same for a TAKEOFF record — in the dark theme
A TAKEOFF record of 26.05.2019, 14:17 is looking for CRUISE, the counter reads “2 of 10”. Aircraft and engine parameters in two coloured blocks, the time scale marks the record with a ring, four unpaired CRUISE candidates with time offsets. A symmetrical interface for both search directions.
Charts and trends
The report section: period — all, month, quarter, year or dates; view — chart, table, trends; phase — TAKEOFF, CRUISE, NEW PHASE; smoothing “Raw / Raw + Smoothed” and an offset slider. Chosen parameters appear as chips by group: aircraft, engine 1, engine 2. The report downloads as a PDF.
- Three report views over the same data
- Smoothing turns on with a single switch
Reference books and parameter sets
On the left the reference sections: aircraft — manufacturers, families, types, owners, operators; engine — engines, manufacturers, families, types, owners, statuses; import — parameter sets. The table shows five sets with the flight mode TAKEOFF or CRUISE and a “Create set” button.
Adding an entry to a set
A side form “Add entry”: set name, flight mode, parameter code and description; below, the list of codes already added — for example ZPSN12 — N1 INDICATED (%RMP) — with a bin at each. “Save” and “Cancel” are pinned at the bottom.
The outcome in numbers
- The operator always knows how many records remain and walks through them in order without losing their place.
- A decision on a record is made with context: reason, parameters, time scale and candidates — in one panel.
- Reference books and parameter sets are configured inside the system, without going to developers.