Avionics Manufacturers To Gather in China for CAIF 2014
Avionics manufacturers will gather in Shanghai in April for the 2014 Civil Avionics International Forum to get critical insights about the market demand from every part of the avionics supply chain in China.
The goal of CAIF 2014 is to bring avionics manufacturers together with airframe manufacturers, including Airbus, Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) to “tackle the new requirements and challenges on commercial avionics systems” in China, according to the CAIF 2014 team.
Cathay Pacific Upgrades Boeing 747-8 Fleet
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is upgrading the flight deck systems on its fleet of Boeing 747-8s with Lufthansa Systems’ Airport Mapping Database (AMDB).
According to Lufthansa Systems, the AMDB will provide the necessary airport data to run the Onboard Airport Navigation System (OANS) for the 747-8 fleet.
Integrating the AMDB with an airport moving map application supports taxi operations for cockpit crews.
Russian Avionics Compliance Gets New Leader
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| Superjet 100. Photo: Sukhoi. |
U.K.-based software testing provider LDRA has secured contracts with five major, still unnamed, avionics suppliers in Russia.
LDRA’s tool suite will provide verification of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations that the unnamed suppliers must comply with in order to deploy their products on fixed wing and rotorcraft used abroad. The tool suite has previously been used in Russia to verify onboard computer systems, integrated air data and data display, in addition to other components on aircraft such as the Sukhoi Superjet 100, Tupolev Tu-204 and the Irkut MS21.
Panasonic-China In-flight Connectivity Partnership Is Firm
Panasonic Avionics and China Telecom Satellite Communications signed a firm agreement to jointly support in-flight connectivity for domestic and international airlines flying over Chinese airspace.
The agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two companies in July. Under the terms of the agreement, China Telecom will operate a Beijing-based teleport to provide Panasonic’s aeronautical broadband service for all 39 of the Lake Forest, Calif. company’s airlines and new airlines based in China or abroad that seek connectivity in the region’s airspace.
According to Panasonic, the teleport is ready to launch the Ku-band service commercially as both companies await final approval of the partnership and service from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The service is expected to launch immediately following all necessary regulatory approvals.
AirAsia Cleared for RNP
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| Photo: AirAsia |
The Malaysia Department of Civil Aviation Authority (DCA) has approved AirAsia to begin flying Required Navigation Performance (RNP) flight paths in Malaysia.
Approval was granted following a collaborative nationwide flight path program that began in 2012 between AirAsia, DCA and GE Aviation. The program was designed to improve operational efficiency at 15 airports in Malaysia; GE Aviation’s Flight Efficiency Services has now delivered RNP flight procedures for seven airports, with the remaining eight to follow.
Performance Based Navigation (PBN) allows pilots to use onboard avionics to follow a precise track independent of ground-based navigational aids that limit where the aircraft can go. RNP procedures are an advanced form of PBN technology which can shorten the distance an aircraft has to fly during the en-route phase of flight leading to fuel and emissions reduction, according to GE Aviation.