An Hawaiian Boeing 767-300.
Inmarsat says Hawaiian Airlines has become the first commercial airline to fly with its SwiftBroadband (SBB) Safety service on its Boeing 767-300 fleet.
The first flight took place on June 3 after a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the service was awarded.
ACARS/FANS
SBB Safety enables voice and Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System/Future Air Navigation Systems (ACARS/FANS) data transmissions when aircraft are flying over oceans, improving safety and efficiency in oceanic airspace.
The system enables the fast and efficient transfer of data messages using Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband connectivity via a secure, dedicated “pipe” to the cockpit. The ACARS message is encapsulated into an IP “message”, which is then stripped out on the ground before being fed into the ACARS data network (in this case ARINC’s).
Cobham says the multiple FAA STC was developed in conjunction with applicant L2 Consulting Services and secured following evaluations carried out in cooperation with Hawaiian Airlines (HAL), PARC CWG (FAA), ARINC/Rockwell Collins and Inmarsat.
L2 Consulting developed the integration engineering, produced the installation kits and provided certification and project management for the programme, and also provided Cobham with remote installation services.
Cobham
Cobham’s AVIATOR SwiftBroadband system was used for FANS and CPDLC messaging and for data transmission in support of Hawaiian’s new eFLIE, Electronic Flight Bag program (EFBs) during the evaluation, which monitored system operation to ensure it complied with FANS 1/A subset, RCP 240.
Cobham’s Jen Marts with the HELGA antenna for its AVIATOR 200S.
The Cobham AVIATOR 200S airborne satcom, which will be the first system to be made available, features the compact HELGA (combined HLD and Enhanced LGA) antenna which reduces the number of LRUs from three to two.
This first Inmarsat Class 4 terminal by Cobham enables simultaneous transmission of safety and non-safety services over the same SwiftBroadband channel. The new system will also afford space and weight savings.
Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins announced that its ARINC aviation communications network is playing a central role in enabling Hawaiian Airlines’ operational evaluation of the Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) using Inmarsat’s SBB service.
Captain Mary McMillan, Inmarsat Aviation’s Vice President for Safety and Operational Services, commented: “This first commercial flight of a SwiftBroadband Safety-equipped aircraft will be a key milestone in the launch of this exciting new safety service. We are very proud that the trials have been conducted in collaboration with a leading airline like Hawaiian, and of our successful partnership with aviation technology pioneers Rockwell Collins, Cobham and L2.”
Ken Rewick, vice president of flight operations for Hawaiian Airlines, added: “SwiftBroadband Safety will have a significant impact on our flight operations.
“In addition to gaining an upgraded path to FANS, we’re also in a position to implement Electronic Flight Bag and Airline Operational Communication applications such as timely weather updates, reroutes and fuel planning over a broadband channel.”
The service now begins the phase of in-use monitoring allowing Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) to assess performance against the ICAO ‘GOLD’ FANS datalink standard.
The service is expected to be commercially available from Q1 2016.
Associated stories:
Inmarsat aims for SBB Safety Services approval in 2015
APEX2014: Cobham and Hawaiian partner on Safety Services
Inmarsat completes transition of key services to Alphasat
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