Graham Warwick in Washington DC
Goodrich has entered the electronic flight bag (EFB) market and teamed with Jeppesen, which will provide applications to run on the company’s hardware. With an integrated video server for cockpit security, Goodrich’s offering can grow from a removable Class 2 to hard-mounted Class 3 EFB.
“We offer an avionics-grade system, with integrated video, from a name-brand aerospace company that can provide aircraft integration, certification and aftermarket support ,” says Jim Schmitz, director of marketing, Goodrich Sensor Systems Commercial Transport.
The company is leveraging its lead in video systems to enter the EFB market. “We were first to market after 9/11 with cockpit door video and we have 70% of the market with 2,800 production and retrofit systems in Airbus, Boeing and regional airliners,” he says, adding: “A lot of customers want video, but not in a separate box.”
Goodrich sees a “very large” market for EFB. “We think a lot of operators will embrace EFB, but so far there are not a lot of name-brand players, just smaller players in the Class 1 world,” Schmitz says. He believes a lot of early EFB users are “putting their toe in the water” with Class 1 systems “that they will throw away in a couple of years”. Others are waiting for a system that can grow, he says.
The company is targeting the upper end of the Class 2 EFB market, offering Jeppesen applications such as terminal charts and airport and en route moving maps. But Goodrich will qualify its hardware to Class 3 standards, enabling it to host applications such as controller-pilot datalink and automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast.
Goodrich has contracts with one European operator and one non-commercial customer, and expects one or two more by year-end. It intends to begin shipping units in September, and to certificate the EFB first in A320s and Next Generation 737s. “We intend to be proactive with supplemental type certification,” Schmitz says.
The EFB is available with 8.4in (213mm) or 10.4in touchscreen display and has an aerospace-grade processor and custom video card.
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Source: Flight International
