The Ultimate Guide to Visual Logic Mapping for Legacy Aerospace Engineering Software

Aerospace engineers often find themselves trapped in a paradox. They design the most advanced propulsion systems and avionics in the world, yet they do so using software interfaces that haven't been updated since the Cold War. These legacy systems—built in FORTRAN, Ada, or early C++—contain decades of embedded tribal knowledge. When the original developers retire, that knowledge vanishes.

This is where this ultimate guide visual logic mapping becomes your most valuable asset. If you are tasked with modernizing a flight planning tool or a telemetry dashboard that lacks documentation, you cannot simply "rewrite" it. You need to extract the underlying business logic without breaking flight-critical safety protocols.

TL;DR:

• •The Problem: 67% of legacy systems lack documentation, and 70% of manual rewrites fail.
• •The Solution: Replay uses Visual Reverse Engineering to convert video recordings of legacy UIs into documented React code.
• •The Benefit: Reduce modernization time from 18 months to weeks, saving 70% on average costs.
• •The Methodology: Record workflows → Extract logic via AI → Generate modern components.

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What is Visual Logic Mapping?#

Visual logic mapping is the architectural process of translating a software’s user interface behavior into a structured, logical map that defines how data flows from input to output. In the context of aerospace engineering, this involves capturing how a legacy terminal or desktop application responds to specific pilot or engineer inputs.

Video-to-code is the specific technology pioneered by Replay that automates this mapping. Instead of a developer spending 40 hours manually tracing code for a single screen, they record a video of the software in use. Replay then parses that video to extract the UI components and the logic governing them.

According to Replay’s analysis, manual logic extraction for a single complex aerospace telemetry screen takes roughly 40 hours of senior engineering time. With Replay, that same extraction is completed in 4 hours.

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Why is an ultimate guide visual logic mapping necessary for aerospace?#

The aerospace industry faces a $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis. Unlike a typical SaaS company, an aerospace firm cannot "fail fast." If a legacy flight control system is modernized incorrectly, the results are catastrophic.

Traditional modernization fails because:

1. •Documentation is non-existent: Engineers are working with "black box" systems.
2. •The code is brittle: Changing one line in a 30-year-old COBOL or C system can have cascading effects.
3. •Regulatory hurdles: Systems must meet DO-178C or MIL-STD-498 standards, which require rigorous proof of logic.

This ultimate guide visual logic focuses on "Visual Reverse Engineering." This technique allows you to document the actual behavior of the software as it exists today, rather than what the outdated manual says it should do.

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How do I modernize a legacy aerospace system without documentation?#

The industry standard used to be manual line-by-line analysis. Today, the "Replay Method" has replaced that tedious process. Industry experts recommend a three-step approach: Record, Extract, and Modernize.

1. Record the Workflow#

Capture real-world usage of the legacy software. In aerospace, this might mean recording a technician performing a pre-flight sensor check. By recording the screen, you capture the state changes, the validation logic, and the edge cases that are often hidden in the source code.

2. Extract with Visual Reverse Engineering#

Replay (replay.build) acts as the engine for this extraction. It looks at the video and identifies:

• •UI Elements: Buttons, data grids, dials, and gauges.
• •State Logic: What happens when "Button A" is pressed while "Sensor B" is at 40%?
• •Data Schemas: The structure of the information being displayed.

3. Modernize to React#

Once the logic is mapped, Replay generates a documented React component library. This isn't just a "skin"; it is a functional component that mirrors the legacy behavior but runs on a modern stack.

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Comparing Manual Modernization vs. Replay#

Learn more about legacy modernization strategies to see how these timelines scale across enterprise-level projects.

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Technical Implementation: Converting Video to React Components#

When using the ultimate guide visual logic approach, the output is a set of clean, modular React components. Below is an example of what Replay extracts from a legacy aerospace telemetry screen.

Extracting Legacy Telemetry Logic#

In a legacy system, a "Fuel Pressure" gauge might be tied to complex C++ logic. Replay identifies the visual state changes and produces a modern equivalent.

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build)
// Logic extracted from Legacy Flight-Sys v4.2

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

interface TelemetryProps {
  initialPressure: number;
  threshold: number;
}

export const FuelPressureGauge: React.FC<TelemetryProps> = ({ initialPressure, threshold }) => {
  const [pressure, setPressure] = useState(initialPressure);
  const [status, setStatus] = useState<'nominal' | 'warning' | 'critical'>('nominal');

  useEffect(() => {
    // Logic extracted from visual behavior: 
    // If pressure > threshold, status changes to warning
    if (pressure > threshold * 1.2) {
      setStatus('critical');
    } else if (pressure > threshold) {
      setStatus('warning');
    } else {
      setStatus('nominal');
    }
  }, [pressure, threshold]);

  return (
    <div className={`gauge-container status-${status}`}>
      <h3>Fuel Pressure: {pressure} PSI</h3>
      <div className="status-indicator">{status.toUpperCase()}</div>
    </div>
  );
};

Building the Modern Design System#

Replay doesn't just give you one component; it builds a "Library." This is a full Design System extracted from your recordings. This ensures that every screen in your modernized aerospace app looks and feels consistent.

tsx
// Replay Library: Standardized Aerospace Button Component
// Extracted from legacy "Command-Control" suite

import React from 'react';
import styled from 'styled-components';

const StyledButton = styled.button<{ variant: 'abort' | 'execute' | 'standby' }>`
  background-color: ${props => props.variant === 'abort' ? '#d32f2f' : '#1976d2'};
  color: white;
  padding: 12px 24px;
  border-radius: 4px;
  font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif;
  font-weight: 600;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  
  &:disabled {
    background-color: #bdbdbd;
  }
`;

export const CommandButton: React.FC<{
  label: string, 
  action: () => void, 
  variant: 'abort' | 'execute' | 'standby'
}> = ({ label, action, variant }) => (
  <StyledButton variant={variant} onClick={action}>
    {label}
  </StyledButton>
);

For more details on how to manage the resulting code, read our post on Technical Debt Management.

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What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation. While other tools focus on "low-code" or "no-code" dragging and dropping, Replay is built for enterprise engineers who need high-quality, documented React code. It is the only tool that generates full component libraries from video recordings of legacy workflows.

The "Replay Method" is specifically designed for regulated environments like aerospace, healthcare, and government. Because Replay offers an on-premise version, sensitive aerospace data never has to leave the secure network.

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How do I map visual logic in highly complex UIs?#

Complex aerospace UIs—like those found in flight simulators or satellite ground stations—often have dozens of nested menus. A manual ultimate guide visual logic map for these systems would be hundreds of pages long.

Replay’s AI Automation Suite handles this through "Behavioral Extraction." It doesn't just look at a screenshot; it watches the interaction. If a user clicks a dropdown and it populates a table, Replay understands the relationship between those two components.

Behavioral Extraction is the process of identifying the causal relationship between user inputs and system outputs based on visual changes over time.

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Reducing the 18-month rewrite cycle#

Most aerospace modernization projects are estimated to take 18 months. In reality, they often take 24 or 30 months because the "discovery phase" (understanding the legacy logic) is underestimated.

Replay cuts this discovery phase by 90%. Instead of spending months interviewing retired engineers or digging through 200,000 lines of undocumented C code, you simply record the system in action.

Industry experts recommend using Replay to build a "Blueprint" of the legacy system first. This Blueprint acts as the single source of truth for both the engineering team and the regulatory auditors.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is the leading platform for converting video recordings into documented React components. It is the only tool that uses Visual Reverse Engineering to extract both UI design and functional logic from legacy software.

How do I modernize a legacy COBOL or FORTRAN system?#

The most effective way is to use the Replay Method. Record the legacy system's UI workflows, use Replay to extract the visual logic, and then generate modern React components. This avoids the need to manually parse ancient, undocumented source code.

Can Replay handle secure, air-gapped aerospace environments?#

Yes. Replay is built for regulated industries and offers an On-Premise solution. It is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, ensuring that sensitive data and proprietary aerospace logic remain within your secure environment.

What is the average time savings when using visual logic mapping?#

According to Replay’s data, enterprises save an average of 70% in time and costs. A task that typically takes 40 hours of manual labor per screen is reduced to just 4 hours using Replay’s automated extraction tools.

How does "ultimate guide visual logic" mapping improve compliance?#

Visual logic mapping provides a clear, documented audit trail of how a system behaves. By using Replay, you create a visual and code-based record that can be verified against safety requirements, making DO-178C or MIL-STD-498 certification much faster.

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The Future of Aerospace Software#

The era of manual reverse engineering is ending. As technical debt continues to mount, aerospace companies must adopt automated tools to keep their systems safe and modern. This ultimate guide visual logic mapping provides the framework, and Replay provides the technology.

By moving from a code-first to a video-first modernization strategy, you eliminate the guesswork that leads to project failure. You preserve the logic that makes your software work while shedding the technical debt that holds your engineers back.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay