Avionics News April 2015 - 26

Audio systems engineer Glen Ashworth gives project manager Shannon
Shelley an update.

ALTO AVIATION

Continued from page 25

the cabin. It takes into account the shape of the cabin, the
distances between the speakers, the materials used, grill
cloth covering and the position of the head. Of course, we
look closely at the VIP seat to ensure the best sound. Our
proprietary tools allow us to work very quickly, which is
sometimes necessary because we only have a few hours to
do our measurements and optimize the sound. The end step
is really listening, making sure that we're achieving the
optimal sound quality - our signature ALTO sound."
Expanding success
To keep up with demand, ALTO Aviation recently
added an additional 2,000 square feet to its research and
development facility in Florida. The space includes an
improved testing lab to provide more support for in-house
DO-160 and technical standard order certification testing.
The company added an aircraft cabin mockup for advanced
acoustic research. The facility also houses an electrical RF
screen room for EMC evaluation and certification testing
on new product designs.
In January, the company moved to its new headquarters
in Sterling.
"We moved from a 12,000-square-foot building to
our new building, which is a little more than 38,000
square feet," Hamilton said. "We needed more space,
but we're also looking to vertically integrate some of our
subassembly and bring all of our sheet metal fabrication
in-house."
Along with more space, ALTO Aviation also added
a new product recently - its ACAPELLA series of
26

avionics news

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april

2015

Steve Scarlata, vice president of engineering (center) brainstorms with
audio engineers Ken Shelley (left) and Glen Ashworth.

amplifiers. Announced last August, the amplifiers weigh
just more than 2 pounds, and are designed for smaller
airframes that do not have in-flight entertainment systems.
"It's a great way to add audio to an aircraft that doesn't
have an entertainment system," said Kevin Hayes, vice
president of sales. "The series is modular and very
expandable, and can scale very easily to a larger aircraft if
needed. Many people just want to have music from their
personal media devices playing over the speakers. The
ACAPELLA series is a great way to add a very simple,
elegant speaker system to interface with an iPod or iPhone."
Scarlata agreed, adding, "In addition to the cabin audio,
it also adds a full feature headphone system. The system
switches multiple inputs so it's really more of a complete
IFE system versus just an audio system."
The new ACAPELLA amplifiers are an example of
ALTO Aviation's focus on creating fit-compatible solutions
for aircraft.
"We're putting a strong emphasis on finding ways to
make installations and upgrades much simpler by having
fit-compatible devices for projects - speakers that fit in the
same spots as competitive speakers, amps that fit in the
same footprint, switches that fit in the same footprint, and
integration with existing aircraft parts," Hayes explained.
"We're committed to find ways to be innovative in our
approach to solving integration issues."
However it accomplishes the task, ALTO Aviation
continues to focus on its core capability - immersing all
cabin passengers in amazing audio.
"Our product really is sound," Scarlata said. "We're not
selling components as much as we're creating a listening
experience. Sound is our focus, our passion, that's what we
know how to do." q
Avionics News April 2015

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