Approval Adds To Satcom Availability On Gulfstreams, Citation
X
ARINC Direct and Rockwell Collins
announced this week at NBAA 2008 the awarding of a contract for
installation and certification of the Rockwell Collins eXchange
satellite broadband communication system on a Boeing Business
Jet.
It marks the first time that a BBJ -- the world's largest
production business jet to date -- has been equipped with eXchange
with service by SKYLink. The ViaSat Ku-band broadband terminal
hardware with the SKYLink service has previously been installed on
the Gulfstream IV, 450,V, 550, and the Cessna Citation X
aircraft.
ARINC’s customer for the current installation and
certification project is Associated Air Center of Dallas, Texas,
where the green BBJ-2 airframe is being completed for delivery to a
private owner in early 2009. This first commercial aftermarket
installation of the eXchange system in a Boeing BBJ will be
performed by ARINC’s Colorado Springs facilities "Go Team,"
using an in-house STC developed under ARINC’s recent ODA
(Organization Designation Authorization).
"eXchange with service by SKYLink is the world’s first
broadband Internet for business jets," stated Bob Hanley, ARINC
Direct Vice President, Business Aviation Solutions. "We have almost
100 private, corporate and government aircraft already equipped and
using our service from Europe to South America, and we are
delighted a Boeing Business Jet will soon join them."
"eXchange enhances passengers’ productivity by providing
the fastest broadband connectivity solution for business aircraft,"
said Tommy Dodson, vice president and general manager, Cabin
Systems forRockwell Collins. "We look forward to continued
expansion of our eXchange service offering and customer base in the
near future."
eXchange with service by SKYLink provides a high-speed Internet
connection for business aircraft, with true broadband speeds as
high as 3.5 Mbps for an "office in the sky" experience. It allows
passengers access to e-mail and corporate intranet (VPN), the
Internet, Voice over IP (VoIP) global telephone service, and
videoconferencing. eXchange also enables access to e-mail and data
connectivity for Wi-Fi enabled smartphones.
ARINC Direct recently expanded its SKYLink network to include
substantial coverage of the Caribbean, Central America, and parts
of South America. SKYLink users can now fly from Europe to North
America, across the Caribbean, and on to Central and South America
without losing access to important e-mail and Internet
applications.
ARINC Direct Aircraft Maintenance Services maintains an
engineering staff, Designated Engineering Representatives (DERs)
and Designated Airworthiness Representatives (DARs) dedicated to
STC work as well as electrical and structural engineering. In
addition, they operate an ODA (Organization Designation
Authorization) that allows ARINC Direct to: issue supplemental type
certificates (STCs); issue experimental certificates for aircraft
that are altered by the ODA under such STCs and require flight
tests; and amend standard airworthiness certificates for such
aircraft.
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