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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 2936.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY FAA seeks NEXCOM bids The US Federal Aviation Administration will seek bids from communications systems manufacturers for the next phase of its Next Generation Air/Ground Communications (NEXCOM) programme later this year. The move follows the FAAs recent selection of ITT Industries Aerospace/ Communications for the multi- mode radio for NEXCOM. Manufacturers will be asked by the FAA later this year to bid for a competitive contract to build prototype radio interface unit (RIU) and ground network inter face unit (GNIU) for NEXCOM demonstrations in 2003 and 2004. Jim Eck, the FAA's air- ground communications product team leader, says key site imple mentation of NEXCOM could be accomplished by the end of fis cal year 2007. The FAA recently selected ITT Industries Aerospace/ Communications over Raytheon to provide the radio component for NEXCOM in a contract ini tially worth $21 million. The 37,000 radios will be installed at 1,500 existing remote air-to- ground communications and back-up emergency communi cations facilities serving 21 air route traffic control centres (ARTCC) from 2003. The radio accommodates 25kHz analogue voice signals; an 8.33kHz ana logue voice transmission; ARINC's VHF Data Link Mode 2; and the FAA's preferred VHF Digital Link Mode-3. Meanwhile, one of two sys tems that Northrop Grumman's Logicon is providing to the FAA to even out the flow of air traffic has failed to meet expectations. While the traffic management advisor has won praise, con trollers are refusing to use the passive final approach spacing tool (pFAST), which provides runway assignments and land ing sequence numbers for optimal runway loading. Controllers who have tested it say it generates poor aircraft tagging information and is unreli able, and suggest a redesign. SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS EMMA KELLY / LONDON Inmarsat's high-speed data service will be available soon Swift64 services for passenger and cockpit applications should be ready before year-end Satellite communication (satcom) specialist Inmarsat expects its long- awaited high-speed data services to become available this quarter through to early 2002. The services, dubbed Swift64, will provide much faster data speeds for in flight passenger and cockpit applications than are currently available and they come as the airline demand for in-flight e-mail services is booming. The two types of Swift64 services will provide data rates of 64kbit/s compared with the current 9.6kbit/s. The mobile ISDN service will provide a clear channel to the aircraft, ISDN connectivity and is charged at a per minute rate, while the mobile packet data service will provide a shared channel and will be charged per megabit. The for mer will be offered in the fourth quarter, while mobile packet ser vices will follow in the first quarter of next year, says David Featherstone, head of Inmarsat's aeronautical operations, portfolio and partnership marketing. Inmarsat concedes that service introduction is later than it hoped, but says that "development timescales of some of the avionics manufacturers was slower than we would have liked". Swift64 involves a minor upgrade to satcom avionics. Applications include in-flight e- mail, file transfer, internet access, video conferencing and opera tional applications. Its introduc tion corresponds with "a wave of interest in in-flight e-mail and internet", says Dick Smith, techni cal manager. Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Varig and Virgin Atlantic are all equip ping their fleets for in-flight e-mail provider Tenzing's services, which operate via the Inmarsat satellites. Swift64 is initially expected to be taken up by corporate aircraft operators, but a number of airlines are interested in testing the ser vices. Two initiatives with unnamed airlines will see Swift64 tested "very early", says Smith. Swift64 also has cockpit applica tions, including extended twin engine operations clearance, updat ing the navigation database and graphical weather information. In response to increasing data demands, Inmarsat is already plan ning faster rates. The new Inmarsat-4 satellites, to be opera tional from 2004, will provide rates up to 432kbit/s on long-haul air craft and 32 to 128kbit/s on medium- and short-haul aircraft. Inmarsat is also aiming to get higher rates out of the Inmarsat-3s. AIRCRAFT ACQUISITION JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON Spanish regional looks to ATR deal Air Europa Express is negotiating with BAE Systems over the early return of its entire fleet of British Aerospace ATP turboprops as it prepares to replace them with ATR 72s. The Palma de Mallorca-based regional arm of Spanish carrier Air Europa currently has leases on 17 ATPs with BAE's Aircraft Services Group, which are not due to start expiring until 2005. The airline has been frustrated by BAE Systems' inability to provide additional air craft as the airline expands, coming up against the UK manufacturer's policy prohibiting more than half of its aircraft portfolio being con centrated in a single airline. The carrier is thought to have taken an .*=£&=& Air Europa Express' ATPs could soon be on their way back to BAE operational decision to try to return the ATPs early to ensure fleet commonality as it expands. After an evaluation which included Bombardier's Dash 8 Q400 and regional jets, sources close to the negotiations say that it is finalising a deal with ATR for up to 20 70-seat ATR 72-500s for deliv ery from 2003. Airline sources say that the plan could take up to three years to complete, and will depend on the terms of BAE's lease return plan for the ATPs. BAE says that a managed return of the ATPs would fit in well with its strategic plan for the aircraft, which is increasingly focused on the cargo market. BAE says that demand for the freighter version of the aircraft has been stronger than expected and will continue after the launch, later this year, of West Air Sweden's cargo door-equipped version of the aircraft (Flight International, 20-26 June 2000). 16 28 AUGUST - 3 SEPTEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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