Weather data that’s crowd-sourced, an auxiliary power unit and brakes that transmit their maintenance status back to base while in flight, faster internet browsing speeds for passengers and pilots, and electronic flight bags that are updated in real-time.
These are just some of the advances that Honeywell believes will be made possible when the next generation of connectivity begins to roll out later this year.
Phoenix, Arizona-based Honeywell is providing its Jet Wave hardware to support Inmarsat’s GX Aviation product that is set to go live later in 2015. That service promises consistent in-flight download speeds of around 50mbps and Honeywell is eyeing the opportunity with relish.
“I can’t think of any product line that we are not considering how improved connectivity will not have an impact,” says Carl Esposito, vice-president of marketing and product management.
“The future is clear – high-speed global connectivity. We don’t want to design for 1950s ACARS technology now.”
Honeywell's flight-test aircraft – a converted 757 passenger airliner – is making its Paris air show debut this week, fresh from a series of trials of the new system held recently in the UK.
It hopes to roll-out the crowd-sourced weather data feed – which collates radar data from numerous different aircraft - next year via its Weather Information Service app, initially using existing satcom feeds “and then we will evolve it as we get more speed and capability”, says Esposito.
Source: Flight Daily News
