Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2017-2018 - 57
T he world seems to be moving toward a state in which we can connect to anyone at any place from anywhere and, of course, anytime. Smartphones, tablet computers, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth together treated the world to a washed-on-hot-driedon-high cycle that made it shrink even more than our earlier communications technologies. As the world gets busier and smaller in the connectivity sense, the need to connect went skyward - primarily in larger Part 25 aircraft. Avionics makers now offer solutions suitable for light aircraft - that is, Part 23 aircraft - and continue to develop more suitable for everything from the business-turbine aircraft at the upper end of the segment right down through factory-built piston and propjets and further to light sport aircraft - when the LSA manufacturer approves the installation - and experimental aircraft. It's been a long, slow slog, but today, operators of light aircraft - piston, turboprops and jets - enjoy access to systems offering a variety of ways to stay connected to people on the ground. It all started decades ago with the first flight phones, systems with high installation costs, expensive operating costs and hardware limiting them to aircraft at the upper end of the spectrum. The connections frequently were tenuous, the audio quality uneven and the time-based usage fees high enough to limit their customers from dialing up a ground number to only the most-important situations. According to numbers quoted by several avionics executives, 15 years ago, fewer than 10 percent of the world's aircraft employed any sort of in-flight connectivity; today the number is nearing 25 to 30 percent - and in another 15 years, connectivity capabilities will be in 90 percent of the aircraft flying. And consider that forecasters expect a significant larger fleet will be flying in 15 years. Clearly, in-flight connectivity is growing - and diversifying. Today's in-flight access works across a much broader spectrum. Voice communications remain an option, along with small-message-service texts and airborne internet connectivity that, while generally not (yet) in the same speed and bandwidth range as ground-based, hard-wired and Wi-Fi internet, but still robust enough to take care of business - and at costs far more reasonable and affordable than before. Consider these options available today. Calling home or surfing online ... all are options With the proper equipment installed, some of today's systems provide passengers with the option to phone home from the sky, but without using the expensive and limited flight phones of years past. Instead, some of these systems support direct calls using the passengers' personal smartphones. That's right - that Android, iPhone or Windows phone in your pocket. No special codes or access keys needed by the folks on the ground - and only an app loaded into the phone to let it connect to the airborne hardware supporting the service. So folks at the office - the land-based office - can reach you the same way they always do: dial your number. BendixKing Honeywell's BendixKing division recently announced the start of shipments of its new low-cost AeroWave 100 system with component and system enhancements created to broaden its appeal and expand its applicability. The AeroWave 100 in-flight internet solution now employs a new Active Low Gain Antenna package and the option to add Wi-Fi routers, both of which simplify installation and provide easy voice or data connectivity for passengers and crew. BendixKing prices AeroWave service plans to make them more affordable - and attractive to users - with an hours-based billing structure. This approach is easier for customers to decipher than billing based on data use. AeroWave not only provides voice and internet connectivity to passengers, but opens up a world of connected Honeywell services to GA pilots such as weather services, flight planning tools and communication with flight dispatchers or FBOs. "Building on our first-generation AeroWave 100, BendixKing is excited to enhance the system with a simpler install process and easier passenger access to in-flight internet," said Justin Ryan, former president of BendixKing when the announcement was made. "The new antenna and routers reduce the system weight, install and setup time, and component count. When you combine that with our simple per-hour plan, which eliminates the potential surprise data charges often seen on plans billed by the amount of data used ... it is now easier than ever for passengers and crew to stay connected." - 57 - Continued on following page...
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