IFE Monitors
Lumexis, based in Irvine, Calif., introduced two high-definition TV displays — a 10.1-inch and a companion 12.1-inch, expanding its lineup which already includes 8.9-inch, 15.4-inch and 23-inch monitors.
Deliveries of the 10.1-inch version will begin in the first quarter 2013, to be followed in the second quarter by the new 12.1-inch display, the company said.
The new displays feature 16:10 ratios and 1280 X 800 resolutions, with user interface via their projective capacitive touchscreens, according to Lumexis. Each contains internal memory for backup content storage and has a wide (+/-80°) viewing angle. Both may be used in seatback, in-arm and bulkhead configurations, as well as for the flight attendant panel in the galley area of the aircraft, the company said. Visit www.lumexis.com.
FAA Certification
Baker Aviation’s maintenance facility at Addison Airport in Texas has been named a certified repair station by FAA. The facility specializes in airframe maintenance for Hawker, King Air, Beechjet and Citation aircraft. Visit www.baker-aviation.com.
Online Store
Peerless Electronics, of Bethpage, N.Y., a distributor of electromechanical and interconnect products, launched an Aerospace e-commerce store.
The store offers a range of products, including switches, relays, circuit breakers, contactors, connectors, splices, heat shrink tubing and indicator lights.
Each online product includes specs, technical descriptions, manufacturer hyperlinks, photos and drawings/PDFs to assist customers in selecting the right parts for their application, the company said. Visit www.peerlesselectronics.com.
Surface Management
Saab Sensis added new features to its Aerobahn airport surface management system deployed at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The enhancements include flight specific call for taxi times to further improve sequencing and reduce fuel burn and environmental emissions. The Aerobahn platform will also add ATC voice tracking across 20 discrete frequencies to enable users to hear ATC instructions while viewing surface operations for even greater perspective on real-time operations, the company said.Saab Sensis has recently added a Delay Summary Tool and Request Response Manager to Aerobahn at JFK. The Delay Summary Tool provides historic and projected delay information, focusing on what the airport may look like two hours in the future, the company said.
Aerobahn is also operational at LaGuardia Airport, resulting in Aerobahn service to the Port Authority for all three of the major airports within the New York Metroplex (JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia), the company said. Visit www.saabsensis.com.
Autopilot STC
Avidyne Corp., based in Lincoln, Mass., received a FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the installation of its DFC90 Digital Autopilot in Cessna 182-series when it interfaces with the Evolution Pro Primary Flight Display (PFD) from Aspen Avionics, of Albuquerque, N.M. This is the first in a series of DFC90 certifications in aircraft with the Aspen PFD. Follow-on certifications are expected to include the Beechcraft Bonanza and Baron series.
This initial STC covers the DFC90 autopilot as a plug-and-play retrofit of existing STEC55X systems in 16 models of the Cessna 182 Skylane Series including the 182E, 182F, 182G, 182H, 182J, 182K, 182L, 182M, 182N, R182N, 182P, 182Q, 182R, 182S, 182T and the R182. Visit www.avidyne.com.
AS9100 Certification
TrueNorth Avionics achieved AS9100 Rev C Quality Management Certification for its Ottawa, Canada, headquarters, validating its status as a certified aerospace supplier. BSI Group Canada, the Canadian office of BSI Group, performed the audit. Visit www.truenorthavionics.com.
Aircraft Trainer
Esterline CMC Electronics introduced its Cockpit 4000 NexGen technology demonstrator. The Cockpit 4000 NexGen avionics suite is a configurable, fully integrated glass cockpit solution featuring a Large Area Display (LAD) with touchscreen technology. It is designed to enhance mission effectiveness and provide cross-platform training flexibility for advanced military trainers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and light attack aircraft, the company said.
The Cockpit 4000 NexGen core avionics include CMC’s 20-inch by 7-inch LAD with touchscreen technology as well as a digital raster capable Head-Up Display. Visit www.cmcelectronics.ca.
Recorder
Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions introduced a multi-channel synchronized recorder for use in defense and aerospace applications such as instrumentation recording, mission recording, and SIGINT/ELINT recording.
The Vortex Multi-Channel Synchronized Recorder (Vortex MCSR) is a streaming data recorder system that uses time stamping to deliver optimal synchronized play-back of multiple I/O channels. It supports the recording of various protocols such as sFPDP, Gigabit Ethernet and 10GbE. It synchronizes all data channels within the data recorder, and enables the synchronous starting/stopping of all data channels simultaneously and provides accurate time alignment between each at playback, according to the company. Visit www.cwcdefense.com.
Trainer App
QinetiQ North America, of McLean, Va., introduced an updated version of its Aviation Data Trainer application, available on the iTunes Store. The app provides air traffic controllers, pilots, airport staff and flight enthusiasts a way to memorize and test themselves on the ICAO and the International Air Transportation Association data sets or codes. The Aviation Data Trainer app is a subset of the complete Air Traffic Management suite of training applications designed by QinetiQ North America, and uses the common “learn-play-test” methodology to assist the users in memorizing the data. It includes updated data sets for hundreds of airports, telephony codes and airline and aircraft identifiers in North America, Europe and around the world. Visit www.qinetiq-na.com.
Cabin Heaters
Hartzell Engine Technologies, based in Montgomery, Ala., received FAA TSO approval for its I-Series of aircraft cabin heaters. Adapted from its military S-Series heaters, the I-Series heaters contain a new combustion tube constructed of Inconel, a material proven to provide superior performance over ceramic coated stainless steel in extreme temperature applications, the company said.
The I-Series heaters feature a replaceable spark plug with an integral ground electrode to improve serviceability. Visit www.hartzellenginetech.com.
EO/IR Turret
L-3 WESCAM introduced its MXTM-10D electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging and designating turret. The MX- 10D will operate as a medium- to low-altitude tactical surveillance and target designating system for fixed- and rotary-wing platforms, as well as tactical UAVs.
In June, the MX-10D underwent flight testing at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground. Testing was conducted from an armed MD500E helicopter and a C208 Cessna fixed-wing aircraft. During the event, both aircraft and mission profiles yielded exceptional performance in all modes of flight throughout the HELLFIRE operational envelope, the company said. The MX-10D can be configured with up to six payloads, including the laser target designator. Additionally, it incorporates advanced image processing on all sensors to improve haze penetration, enhancing target identification and situational awareness via image fusion.
Visit www.wescam.com.
ELT Approval
Kannad Aviation received approval from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and the Japan Telecommunications Bureau for the INTEGRA 406 GPS Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). This approval means the INTEGRA 406 GPS ELT can now be sold, installed and certified on aircraft throughout Japan.
The INTEGRA 406 GPS ELT has an internal 406 MHz back up antenna and embedded GPS receiver, making it fully portable. Thanks to the internal antenna, even if the aircraft suffers considerable damage through impact, the INTEGRA will activate automatically and still have the ability to transmit and send both aircraft identification data and GPS position.Visit www.kannadaviation.com.
TV Platform
Inmarsat launched of SBTV, a platform that enables airlines to provide real-time and updated on-demand entertainment content to passengers’ own devices.
News, sports and other video content is transmitted to the aircraft over the SwiftBroadband network and then distributed wirelessly to passengers’ own devices, which can include smartphones, laptops, tablets and other personal media players, the company said.
SBTV enables airlines to select and tailor the volume and variety of content they offer their passengers, uniquely enabling customization for specific routes or regions, providing a strong product differentiation opportunity, the company said. Visit www.inmarsat.com.
DO-178B/C Qualification
Rapita Systems, based in York, U.K., released a tool qualification pack to aid DO-178B/C certification of projects that use its RapiTime tool to determine worst-case execution time.
The company said its RapiTime DO-178B/DO-330 tool qualification pack will perform exactly the same role for DO-178B/C certification of projects where RapiTime is used to conduct on-target timing analysis, verification and optimization. Visit www.rapitasystems.com.
Blu-Ray Player
Flight Display Systems, based in Alpharetta, Ga., introduced a Blu-ray player for in-flight entertainment. The Blu-ray player is a front slot loader, which allows the unit to be mounted in horizontal or vertical orientation, the company said.
The system allows for advanced 1080p video processing, and it supports DVD upconversion and audio CD playback. Visit www.FlightDisplay.com.
Flight Planning
Bendix/King, a division of Honeywell, introduced myWingMan, a flight planning and in-flight navigation support application. It provides full enroute navigation on a moving map display, real-time weather information, and synthetic vision for improved flight navigation and safety. In addition, Bendix/King unveiled a KMA 30 Bluetooth-enabled audio panel that enables simplified and always connected wireless communications in the cockpit. Designed for general aviation pilots, myWingMan features an advanced synthetic vision system; preflight planning; and weather capabilities including airborne XM satellite weather. Visit www.honeywell.com.
EFB Software
iPad Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) will soon be able to incorporate real-time flight data into iPad Apps with a new Software Development Kit (SDK) being developed by the flyTab team led by Avionics & Systems Integration Group (ASIG), of Little Rock, Ark., and supported by Shadin Avionics, of St. Louis Park, Minn., and AppOrchard, of New York City. The flyTab SDK gathers real-time information from a wide array of aircraft systems and sensors.
The flyTab suite enables Class 2 iPad EFB by tethering iPads to aircraft electrical and data systems. Continuous power is provided through the flyTab Power Conditioning Module. Flight data is streamed through the flyTab Aircraft Interface Module, developed in partnership with Shadin Avionics. Now with the flyTab SDK, data can be streamed into iPad Apps. Visit www.flyTab.aero.
Wi-Fi STC
FAA issued a supplemental type certificate to Banyan Air Service, based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida, for the installation of a Honeywell Aspire 200LG Satcom system on Gulfstream models GII/GIII/GIV.
The Aspire 200LG system turns an aircraft into an Internet hot spot and enables pilots and passengers to use Wi-Fi-enabled devices including, Android, Blackberry, iPhone and iPads to access a multitude of applications including email, Internet browsing, smart phone connectivity and voice communications.
The complete STC data package consists of the Aspire 200 LG SwiftBroadband Satcom system with optional CNX-200 Cabin Gateway with accelerator, augmented with a Honeywell Sky Connect dual-channel Iridium Satcom. By certifying both the Aspire 200’s standard router and the CNX-200 accelerator for Wi-Fi operation, Gulfstream operators can choose either router or install them both, the company said. Visit www.banyanair.com.
Radar System
Cassidian has developed Scalable Modular Aerospace Radar Technology (SmartRadar), an airborne ground surveillance radar that, through use of the ultra-high-resolution radar technology, can monitor wide areas with stationary targets while at the same time detecting and tracking moving targets at great distances. The company said a special modular architecture permits scalability of bandwidth, frequency band and processing performance.
One version of SmartRadar is integrated into a pod equipped with an autonomous cooling system, making possible immediate adaptation to various mission aircraft, the company said. Visit www.cassidian.com.