TrueNorth Avionics, based in Ottawa, Canada, said Tuesday its Simphone OpenCabin airborne telecom system received FAA approval for use on the AgustaWestland AW139.
The system, which provides worldwide Iridium Satcom voice, BlackBerry and PDA data over Wi-Fi, and cabin-to-cockpit intercom via TrueNorth’s Network Audio Interface unit OpenCabin system, was installed at Air Concepts International, of Teterboro, N.J., on a helicopter owned by a multinational Fortune 50 firm. Air Concepts anticipates further installation opportunities for Simphone OpenCabin with the worldwide AW139 fleet, which includes more than 430 delivered helicopters and current orders.
“One of the strengths of our technology is its ability to provide superior airborne communications for executive helicopters,” said Mark van Berkel, TrueNorth’s president. “With its superior voice quality and built-in noise cancellation feature, not to mention its lightweight, easy upgradeability and 50,000-hour MTBF, Simphone OpenCabin is ideally suited to the demanding rotorcraft environment."