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New Features Introduced to Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect Flight Operations System

November 11, 2014
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Find out more about Rockwell Collins' ARINCDirect Features for Business AviationIn a move to further enhance efficiency for pilots, dispatchers and flight schedulers, Rockwell Collins has introduced new features to its ARINCDirect Flight Operations System (FOS).

Now available for download, the updates offer current customers access to new and improved features including flight tracking, U.S. and Canadian slot requests, online flight plan filing, graphical and text weather and overlay trips on the ARINCDirect mapping tool.

Rockwell Collins recently announced consolidation of Ascend flight information solutions and ARINC Direct services into one enhanced solution and the integration is a part of that move. With new cabin solutions and flight operations management, subscribers to the flight planning and data link can look forward to the new features.

Germany Supports PNR Transmission for Enhanced Border Security

November 3, 2014
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For Border Security Enhancements Use Reliable Providers of APISGerman government officials are standing firm in a decision to support passenger data transfer and retention despite objections to another personal information database.

Privacy concerns have been raised by Andrei Hunko, a member of the Bunderstag, who suggests that such a database would violate fundamental privacy rights. He believes that the tracking of potential terrorists or ‘persons of interest’ can be done with the information that already exists and there is no need for ‘yet another’ database, to which ‘police and intelligence agencies would have unlimited access’.

The German government insist that ‘urgent action is needed in the Federal Government’s view’ and suggest that a way to counter the threat that Jihadists returning from Middle Eastern war zones could potentially have across the EU.

Plans for the EU Passenger Name Records (PNR) database were suggested back in 2011 and although the German government are in support of these plans, they do concede that five years is too long a time for the retention of such information as a fundamental violation of privacy rights.

In May this year, the European Court of Justice ruled for the invalidation of EU laws governing the retention of personal passenger data, so the battle is far from won.

Middle East & Africa Airlines to Boost Plans for In-flight Connectivity

November 2, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Inflight Connectivity Providers for Business AviationMiddle Eastern & African airlines are exploring solutions to boost passenger numbers, while making improvements to operational productivity, efficiency and connectivity across all areas of operations.

Throughout the region, the market is coming into its own with Wi-Fi connectivity at the top of the list for passenger satisfaction. Consequently, this sector is becoming competitive as companies vie for the best connections at the best prices.

WirelessG, a South African-based Wi-Fi telecommunications provider has made claims to have launched the world’s first mobile service offering customers a 3G/4G data bundle that can be used on the ground or in the air – 3G, ADSL, Wi-Fi and In-flight Wi-Fi – on a single online platform. There are still technical issues, according to their CEO.

“The Ku-band satellite service we received was relatively very stable. Our airline partner did an excellent job in supporting the service onboard,” says Mr van de Merwe. “Our major problem for two years was that we could not get our in-flight Wi-Fi services out of the ‘beta’ stage in order to meet the telecommunications uptime standards we are used to when providing Wi-Fi on the ground. In our specific case, we have had too many in-flight Wi-Fi hardware problems over our first two years.”

“You cannot fix a plane while it is flying,” he continued. “You have to wait for a suitable time at minimum opportunity cost to the airline. That can take between one week and one month. A new benchmark for in-flight Wi-Fi technology solution providers is therefore to provide and support onboard in-flight telecommunications solutions that support a telecommunications carrier grade model with reliability standards that at least match aviation operation service schedules. Maybe our standards and expectations are too high at this point in time, but we refuse to take our service out of beta until it meets our standards.”

Across the world, the demand for in-flight connectivity is increasing and not just in the cabin. Applications for real-time information on the flight deck also enhances the experience for the flight crew. Swift decision making can be facilitated by reliable connectivity, yet to be completely effective, the system required seamless connections with smooth band-switching.

CPDLC FANS 1/A Package for Bombardier Challenger from Rockwell Collins

November 1, 2014
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Rockwell Collins' FANS 1/A & CPDLC CapabilitiesIt has been announced that Rockwell Collins is to offer FANS 1/A with CPDLC capability to the Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft currently equipped with their Pro Line 4 avionics systems. The upgrade will be made available in mid to late 2015 and will build upon the aircraft’s current Flight Management System (FMS) and Control Display Units (CDUs).

The incorporation of a new communications unit will give operators of the Challenger 604 access to the transatlantic route that offer greater wind-efficiency, which results in significant savings of both time and fuel for the carriers.

The FANS 1/A package is made up of Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) capabilities and Automatic Dependant Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C) which offer both enhanced clarity for pilot communications and a reduction in flight crew workload.

New & More Capable ARINCDirect Introduced by Rockwell Collins

October 22, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Rockwell Collins' ARINCDirect Bundles to Further Enhance Connectivity

Rockwell Collins acquired ARINC Inc last year in its largest purchase in its history at $1.4 billion. In the last 10 months, Rockwell Collins have folded ARINC into an information management services organisation with the former Air Routing International – now Ascend Flight Information Solutions and Computing Technologies for Aviation (CTA) businesses. Combined and branded as ARINCDirect, the marketplace is presented with a robust suite of flight planning and international-trip software with communications technology for enhanced aircraft and ground communications solutions.

Combining Ascend and ARINCDirect online, with an integration of mobile applications and consolidated customer billing was the first job for the aligned sales teams and progress was measured in subscriptions to the newly-bundled offerings.

“When we started out here, our objective was to look at where are the Ascend customers that might have different connectivity than Arinc, where are the Arinc customers that might use different international trip planning—and synch those customers up so that we can provide a combined value proposition,” Jeff Standerski, senior vice president of information management services, said. “We’ve been able to do that on 60-plus tails already within a nine-month period.”

As one of the biggest names and forefront players in the business aviation sector, Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect promises further advancement in the industry with ‘bundled’ features and integration with leading avionics systems, such as Pro Line Fusion suites and the improved iPad planning application.

Business Aviation & Evolving Connectivity

October 18, 2014
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Providers of Inflight Connectivity Systems for Business AviationWith the onboard Wi-Fi revolution firmly underway and becoming increasingly standard on today’s business aircraft, maintenance personnel and connectivity providers are finding that their workloads are becoming more complex. According to NBAA Maintenance Committee Chairman, Jim Sparks, nowhere is this more of an issue than in the business aviation community, with technicians having a different ‘need to know’ than their counterparts in general aviation.

“In business aviation, technicians have a somewhat different ‘need to know,'” said Sparks. “In our case when you talk about an [Airframe and/or Powerplant] A&P you speak of an all-purpose technician — meaning you have to service tires or diagnose slow Internet access. … You get into the world of the airlines [and] yes, in many cases they have the technology and they have the specialists who deal with it. They’re not necessarily A&Ps, they’re more network specialists because they don’t have to have the return to service authority that an A&P technician does.”

Inflight connectivity in the modern business jet has evolved at an astonishing pace. Business passengers are able to operate at 45,000 feet as effectively as they can in their ground-based offices. It is becoming clear, according to Mr Sparks, that training standards have not been as fast to evolve and demand is growing for skilled technicians in the industry.

“The current requirement for the need to know of A&P technicians was established by the FAA and is pretty much based on technology from the 1960s or earlier; it just has not evolved over the years,” said Sparks. “There are some A&P schools, some affiliated with colleges or universities that have stepped it up where they provide more knowledge than is required. But the basic requirements for an A&P, they have not changed. If you go to an A&P school to get an A&P license that’s all you’re going to get, and you’ll have a basic understanding of ‘60s and ‘70s technology equipment.”

The NBAA and the FAA are beginning to work towards to evolution of training standards for A&P technicians. Nextech for NextGen is a program that includes formal development called ‘Project Bootstrap’, providing guidance to the FAA in the revision of basic requirements.

The phases of the program will address the need for filling the gaps in these areas and also for the physical installation and maintenance of advanced IFE systems.

Parts Manufacturing for eRouter Gets FAA Approval

October 17, 2014
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Parts Manufacturing Aprroval Granted by FAASupplemental Type Certificate (STC) has been received from the FAA for ICG and Chicago Jet Group to develop and install ICG’s latest eRouter aircraft data management system on the Dassault Falcon 900 business jet. Hailed as the ‘best in class’, the eRouter promises to deliver enhanced cabin connectivity and high-speed data transfer.

ICG has also been granted Parts Manufacturing Authority (PMA) for the ERT-120.

The router is the lightest and smallest certified product in its class and is capable of multiple connections to networks such as Inmarsat SwiftBroadband and Iridium.

“We designed the eRouter with a modular architecture that makes it easy to expand its capabilities and adapt to varied systems and advancing technologies,” said ICG’s Executive Vice President, Brad Smith.

With provision of airborne connectivity to Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) the eRouter can deliver efficiencies on the flight deck with the addition of cabin connectivity for passengers and cabin crew for use of tablet PCs and Smartphone technology at speeds comparable with those on the ground.

“The eRouter’s modular architecture also reduces costs by offering operators only those services they might currently require, yet providing a forward upgrade path for future and emerging requirements,” Smith continued. “It has a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows operators to install updates in the field and permits many configuration options and flexibility to tailor the functionality to an operator’s specific needs.”

Nextant Remanufactured Business Jets in UK for the First Time

October 14, 2014
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First UK Remanufactured Business Aircraft DeliveredThe world’s only remanufactured business jet, the Nextant 400XTi is being delivered to the UK, the maker, Nextant Aerospace has announced this week. The aircraft will be operated by SaxonAir, Norwich-based business jet operators and exclusive UK sales representatives for Nextant.

Although six other 400XTi’s have been delivered to Europe, this is the first to come to the UK and it is hoped that the UK charter market will benefit from the addition as the aircraft can fly non-stop from London to any European city faster than any other in its class. The greater part of the European fleet operated in excess of 80-90 monthly hour and is a strong revenue generator.

Chris Mace, Group Commercial Director for SaxonAir Group said, “The 400XTi’s range allows our customers direct travel anywhere in Europe for considerably less than any other light jet and without sacrificing performance or comfort. The aircraft allows us to offer the productivity benefits of business aviation to whole new customer segments.”

Remanufacturing is growing stronger in Europe as operators focus on financial aspects. Other benefits include reduced environmental impact of remanufacture, compared to the manufacture of new products. In the U.S. the remanufacturing industry is worth around $50 billion, with yearly growth expectations of around 15%.

“There has been a lot of talk in Parliament and in the press about the benefits of remanufacturing,” continued Mr. Mace. “The 400XTi is proof of concept. The 400XTi performs like a new-build aircraft by every meaningful metric but costs a fraction as much to own and operate. That delivers value both to our business and our customer’s bottom line.”

At half the purchase price of a new production aircraft, Nextant is pioneering the concept of remanufacture for business aviation.

4G Internet for Business Jets

October 11, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Other Providers of Business Aircraft Passenger ConnectivitySmartSky are ready to announce the launch of their new 4G Internet service for business jets, after developing in secret for three years.

Ryan Stone, president of SmartSky Networks is pleased to finally share the news with the aviation world and will conduct an official ‘airing’ of his new product at this month’s NBAA exhibition.

High-speed internet access on business jets is not a brand new concept, with many other communications solutions on the market, such as the end-to-end solutions delivered by industry-leader, ARINC Direct, but SmartSky 4G is being launched as ‘the nation’s first airborne 4G LTE-based technology’ and promises speeds up to 10 times faster than current systems.

Utilising air-to-ground datalink, the network will access 60MHz of spectrum, which compares with 4MHz in most in-flight internet provision.

“This is going to be really, really important,” said Stone. “We’ve been developing this in stealth mode for three years. It feels good to finally be able to share.”

SmartSky is currently selecting test clients to begin its beta testing program next year, with a view to general release to the business aviation sector in 2016 on a subscription basis. Ultimately, Mr Stone wants to see his system in commercial airliners in the future.

NBAA Provides Debut Opportunity for Vertis Aviation

October 9, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Vertis Aviation, basedBusiness Jet Exhibition in Switzerland and part of the 28 East Group, an independently-owned aviation company, will make their exhibition debut appearance at the National Business Aviation Association show (NBAA) in Orlando later this month.

Vertis Aviation are now in their fifth year and market seven long-range, large cabin aircraft for luxury charter:

  • Airbus ACJ319
  • Bombardier Global XRS
  • Bombardier Global Express
  • Bombardier Global 6000
  • Gulfstream G650
  • Airbus Corporate Jet
  • Dassault Falcon 7X

Vertis COO, Neil Turnbull notes that the highest demand are for the Bombardier Global XRS and the Airbus ACJ319 with its award-winning interior by Tim Callies, both based in Moscow at the Vnukovo Airport and both making regular trans-Atlantic routes.

Also being heavily promoted at the NBAA will be the Gulfstream G650, which is a relatively new addition to their portfolio. Vertis were the first European company to market the desirable aircraft and have watched its popularity rise, particularly during the recent World Cup tournament.