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Someone (thanks again Kel!) pointed out there was a disconnect between the curator and I. We were aligned on the vision for the Interactive Display, and we talked about how to do it, but we didn’t talk requirements of deliverables.

Due to that, she wasn’t able to provide guidance on what I should focus on, so I was all over the place, and never finishing anything.

Kel has stepped in to guide me (thanks again!), and has provided us with some real requirements based on the vision:

Sea King Interactive Display – Initial Deliverable

1. Introduction
   The purpose of this system is to provide an interactive, educational display that allows museum
   visitors to explore the layout and function of the avionics and mission systems mounted in the
   side-facing console of the Canadian CH-124 Sea King helicopter.
   The system will present a realistic graphical representation of the console, enabling visitors to
   select individual components to view detailed information about their purpose, operation, and
   history.
2. Functional Requirements
   2.1 Display and Interface
3. The system shall display a graphical representation of the CH-124 Sea King side-facing
   console across one or more monitors.
4. The graphical interface shall accurately reflect the physical arrangement and
   appearance of the actual equipment.
5. Each equipment item in the console shall be individually selectable by the user.
6. Upon selection of an equipment item, the system shall display descriptive information
   about that item.
7. The descriptive information shall include, at a minimum:
   o The equipment name
   o Its primary function
   o The era or variant in which it was used
   o An image or diagram (if available)
8. The system should include contextual information such as how the equipment relates to
   other systems in the console.
9. The system should allow navigation back to the main console view from any item
   description page.
10. The display shall operate without requiring staff intervention for normal use.
11. The user interface should support intuitive operation by non-technical visitors, including
    children.

2.2 Hardware and Display Configuration

1. The system shall operate on a series of monitors configured to form a cohesive display
   area.
2. Each monitor shall be capable of showing either part of the overall console or additional
   contextual information.
3. The system should support both single-monitor and multi-monitor configurations to
   accommodate different exhibit layouts.
4. The system should provide the ability to mirror or extend content across displays for
   flexible deployment.

2.3 Content Management

1. The system shall load all graphical assets and descriptive content from a local or
   network-accessible repository.
2. The content repository shall be easily editable by museum staff for future updates.
3. The system should support multiple content types (text, image, video, audio).
4. The content should be stored in a structured format (e.g., JSON, XML, or database) for
   easy maintenance.
5. The system shall be capable of running offline, without dependency on an external
   internet connection.

2.4 Interaction and Feedback

1. The system shall support user input through touchscreen interaction(or mouse input.
2. The system should provide visual or audio feedback when a selection is made.
3. The interface should include accessibility considerations, such as readable font sizes and
   color contrast suitable for museum lighting.
4. The system should time out and return to the main display after a period of inactivity.
5. Non-Functional Requirements
   3.1 Performance and Reliability
6. The system shall start up automatically upon power-on.
7. The system shall be capable of continuous operation during museum hours.
8. The system should recover gracefully from power interruptions.
9. The interface shall respond to user input within one second under normal operation.

3.2 Maintainability and Extensibility

1. The system shall allow museum staff to add, remove, or edit equipment descriptions
   without programming knowledge.
2. The system should support the future addition of new display modes (e.g., top-down
   console view, 3D visualization, or interactive training scenarios).
3. The system should log usage statistics for future exhibit analysis (e.g., most selected
   equipment items).

3.3 Design and Aesthetics

1. The system shall present visuals that are consistent with the aesthetic of the CH-124 Sea
   King aircraft and the museum’s exhibit theme.
2. The system should use authentic imagery where possible, drawn from official reference
   photos or preserved equipment.
3. The layout should minimize visual clutter while maintaining authenticity.

3.4 Accessibility and Usability

1. The display shall use clear, legible text suitable for a standing viewer at typical exhibit
   height.
2. The system should include an option to display bilingual content (English/French).
3. The system should comply with basic accessibility guidelines (contrast, text size, touch
   targets).

3.5 Security and Privacy

1. The system shall not collect or transmit personal data.
2. The system shall restrict access to configuration or maintenance menus to authorized
   staff only.

Nw we have something to work to we’re making some progress for the first time in months (hence why this website is being worked on now). We’ll create a method to manage the delivery of those requirements soon, hopefully this week.

The first pop-ups for the Interactive Display were heavily based on the Aircraft Operating Instructions. Someone who wasn’t a subject matter expert, when asked to review the first efforts (last week) rightfully pointed out that it was far too technical.

However, I still though that some people (ie aviation geeks) might want to have organized access to that.

So, it’s been pushed to it’s own section, the Interactive Display will have simplified write ups (ChatGPT does this really well, thanks Kel!), and will link to it.

Although I’ve figured out how to publish the AOI sections as individual pages quickly, I don’t have the time to do the whole pub in the near future, only those sections required to support the current iteration of the Interactive Display. Anyone know somebody that would like to help?

Oh, and there are a few other pubs that would be useful:

• Other versions of the AOIs for historical reference
• The Standard Maneuvering Guide
• FLOPs and SHOPs
• ?

The Shearwater Aviation Museum‘s curator had been thinking about having a place to gather up what the Sea King did during it’s lifetime: what operations, deployments, which tail number, ships, etc. Some of that information was being gathered for the Interactive Display anyway.

It became obvious that the time was right to put all of that in one place. Which led to a need to get all the CFB Shearwater / 12 Wing, 423, and 443 historical reports. Another rabit hole…

The CH124 Sea King Tactical Fit pages came about as research into the pages for the Interactive Display developed. It was realized a lot of information was being gathered with no place to put it. Therefore, an section was created above the needs of the Interactive Display, in order to put that information in as it was gathered.

It quickly started to have a life of it’s own (or maybe it became a rabbit hole?)… when was the equipment installed, why, which modification was it published under, when did the different tail numbers have it???