Quatech's MPAP-200/300 RS-422/485 synchronous serial PCMCIA card is currently being used to interface with the flight recorders found in a wide variety of military and commercial aircraft. The flight recorder, commonly known as the "little black box" responsible for recording what went wrong during a tragic flight, is also responsible for recording maintenance, structural, and engine data. Maintenance personnel at the aircraft base download this data directly after each flight. Immediate maintenance can then be performed on the aircraft, reducing downtime and saving money for the aircraft fleets.

A typical system is pictured at left. The recorder stores flight information and voice data in solid state memory. An operator, using a portable PC containing a custom version of Quatech's card, uploads and downloads data to the recording system. The high speed synchronous RS-422 interface (up to 4 Mbps!) allows data to be downloaded in minutes. The PCMCIA card is connected to the recorder with a serial interface cable. This portable arrangement is advantageous because the same system can be shared among an entire fleet.