Commercial

Test Cards for the Airbus 380

As the Airbus 380 program moves forward, a specialist avionics data bus supplier enjoys a lead in producing test cards for the super jumbo’s real-time version of the 10/100-megabit/sec (Mbit/sec) switched Ethernet…

Business & GA

Wanted: Small Package, Big Performance

It’s a matter of wanting it all. Aircraft operators seek antennas that perform multiple functions with improved performance, yet are smaller and less obtrusive on the airframe. Antenna manufacturers appear to be…

Military

AV-8B: Open Systems Pioneer

Six years ago the Naval Air Systems Command (NavAir) started a program to replace the mission and stores management computers on the AV-8B combat VSTOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) aircraft with a…

Commercial

Avionics System Design: Antenna Placement

In my last column (April 2002, page 48), I noted the challenges in positioning radio antennas. Here are some additional thoughts on the subject. Take com-to-com interference, for example. Many newer radios…

ATM Modernization

CPDLC: Back on Its Feet

The Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) program–a joint government/industry effort–has progressed in fits and starts, following conditions in the aviation industry. Like other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) development programs, CPDLC felt…

Commercial

Editor's Note: Wrestling with Cabin Surveillance

SINCE THE TRAGEDY OF SEPT. 11, much has been done to bolster air travel security in airports. However, little has been accomplished to secure the airplane–save the mandate to install bulletproof cockpit…

Commercial

Electronic Flight Bags: What Airlines Want

Jeppesen Sanderson will tell you that it took 65 years for the chart-making company to produce and deliver its 1 billionth piece of paper, but it took only 24 months to go…

ATM Modernization

New Products

Audio Selector Panel Redmond, Wash.-based dB Systems has introduced its Model 300 audio selector panel, designed to accommodate various panel, switch and custom internal configurations. Certified and employing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology,…