Avionics News January 2018 - 20

CRUISE-ALTITUDE TRANQUILITY
Continued from page 19

video. Rockwell Collins offers such capabilities with its
Tailwind Multiregion In-flight TV System.
For smaller Part 23 aircraft - the majority of the general
aviation fleet - portable DVD players offer a solution, as
do tablet and notebook computers. And with Bluetooth
connectivity through an aircraft's audio-control panel,
the audio from these portable video players can be piped
through the aircraft's intercom.
Of course, the flight crew would want to be able to isolate
movie audio from the flight crew headsets - but that's
within the realm of most upper-level audio-control panels
with Bluetooth connectivity.
Internet: Surfing, Twitter, texts and
emails for the practiced practitioner
"The internet is just a world passing around notes
in a classroom." Jon Stewart
Consider in-flight internet to be the solution that delivers
access to all the other media - books, music, movies, email
and text messaging - on demand at your location.
This newest of our various communications technologies
also is the one most slowly migrating into light generalaviation aircraft. Options remain limited - but growing.
Among the more viable for light aircraft is BendixKing's
AeroWave 100 system. Announced two years ago, approved
last year and now in service, AeroWave 100 supports internet
connectivity in-flight.
Sized for the upper end of the Part 23 segment and beyond,
the AeroWave 100 package employs a usage-fee regimen
different than most similar services. Instead of billing by the
amount of data used, AeroWave bills by hours logged in,
helping make the service both more predictable and more
affordable.
Similar to upper-level products available for larger
business-turbine aircraft, however, AeroWave provides
global coverage - at any altitude. Yes, that means even on the
ground.
All it needs is a clear view of the Iridium satellite
constellation providing the connectivity. And with the
company's new AeroWave 100 Active Lo-Gain Antenna, or
LGA, operators enjoy the freedom to stay connected en route.
For still smaller aircraft, BendixKing introduced at
AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 the new AeroWave Text & Track,
a compact, portable device designed to allow any smartphone
to become a satellite-messaging and tracking system.
This product provides an option for quick
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avionics news

january

2018

communication with family, friends and co-workers
through the ability to send and receive messages directly
to and from other devices. Users can send text messages
with up to 90 characters, receive messages with up to 140
characters or use one of 50 user-defined preset messages.
In addition to the ability to use Text & Track to
operate as a stand-alone tracker and SOS beacon, the
AeroWave Text & Track may be paired to a smartphone
via Bluetooth and the BendixKing app for more advanced
features, including text messaging, point of interest alerts,
interactive SOS, increased situational awareness, and
device configuration.
Garmin's Connext products and related devices also
provide a path for mobile communications on a farreaching scale. Garmin Connext integrated satellite and
ground network links can be used to provide a range of
connectivity solutions, seamlessly, for everything from
satellite-based weather and automatic position reporting to
sending text messages and initiating voice calls using your
existing contacts on a compatible mobile device using
Garmin Pilot - with graphical interface provided on most
Garmin "glass flight deck" displays and select avionics
products.
The Garmin Flight Stream 210 offers this capability in
concert with GSR 56 datalink whether airborne or on the
ground. The pairing allows the quick transmission and
reception of text messages using Garmin Pilot on an Apple
mobile device.
Additionally, users may also initiate phone calls on
compatible Apple mobile devices when connected to the
Connext network, making it more convenient and easy to
complete phone calls over a headset while in-flight. The
GSR 56 also supports the display of Connext weather on
compatible avionics.
Toys: Should all else fail, toys prevail -
no batteries needed
"I thought boxes were the best toy. When my
parents got a new car, I ran to my mother and said,
'Did it come in a box?'" Colin Angle
My first "flight" came in a box - a box big enough for
a 5-year-old to sit in, draw a crude six-pack instrument
stack on the inside, fashion a broken broom handle into a
joystick, and add drawings of rudder pedals. Rounding out
my kit: a pair of my grandfather's gas-welding goggles
- with the dark glass removed - and one of my mother's
scarves, because that's what pilots wore in all the movies.
Many people remember big hits as Christmas presents
from back in their youth - toys like building blocks,

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2018