Lyngy, Denmark and London, UK – Cobham SATCOM and Inmarsat (ISAT.L) announced that Cobham’s AVIATOR 300D and Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) have enabled in-air connected Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) for the first time. The live EFB capability was achieved as part of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supervised technology evaluation with Hawaiian Airlines (HAL) to monitor the transmission of communications data over SB-S on the first-ever commercial flights to utilise Inmarsat’s next generation, IP-based broadband service on the flight deck.
Rockwell Collins’ ARINC aviation communications network establishes the links and provides the managed service, enabling seamless, secure connectivity anywhere in the world without interruption. The secure broadband capabilities of SB-S enhance airline safety and operations through more powerful and flexible communications and the availability of real-time, in-air information for pilots, crew and air traffic management. HAL has equipped its fleet of Boeing 767-300 aircraft with the current generation of Cobham AVIATOR avionics and Inmarsat SB-S service.
With data already being successfully collected during the on-going evaluation using the Cobham Compact Satellite Data Unit (CSDU) interface, the latest advancement confirms the AVIATOR/SB-S system can also be used to channel ACARS data via the Aircraft Data Management (ADM) technology, or Aircraft Interface Device (AID), to another interface as well: the pilot’s EFB. Thanks to digital technology, conventional flight bags that weighed more than 40 pounds (18 kilos) have been replaced with tablet computers, virtually eliminating bulky paper documents and increasing overall convenience and flight crew productivity.
The technology breakthrough being announced today takes the EFB to a new level by allowing pilots to obtain real-time information while in flight, rather than waiting for downloads while on the ground. Applications include graphical weather, telemedicine, passenger data, aircraft documentation, and more. These enhanced features will become the centrepiece of Cobham’s AVIATOR S product family which is designed specifically to leverage Inmarsat’s new SB-S service and will ensure a system configuration that can meet the requirements of all aircraft types.Cobham SATCOM’s upcoming AVIATOR S product line will offer smaller, lighter, and more powerful SATCOM solutions to the airline industry and addresses the growing demand from airlines for continuous secure data exchange between their ground operations and their aircraft.
SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) is Inmarsat’s next generation platform offering global, high-speed, secure IP connectivity for the flight deck. Through its breakthrough “always on, always secure” applications such as flight data streaming (“Black Box in the Cloud”) and real-time Electronic Flight Bag applications, SB-S enables everything from safer operations and better communications to improved fuel efficiency and optimised fleet performance.
