Today’s business jets offer all the electronic “toys” you’ll find at home. Depending on your home, in fact, you might discover more gizmos to play with on the airplane these days.
Ultra-thin curved-foil video screens, no-touch-flush toilets and in-flight entertainment systems with holograms all loom on the horizon as possible features in the aircraft cabin of tomorrow. Today, however, the focus is on convenience, compactness, connectivity and content. No matter the product, the story is the same: people want the same technology in their airplanes that they can get at home or in their cars.
As a result, more and more off-the-shelf retail equipment is finding its way into galleys, including the ubiquitous Keurig single-serve coffeemakers, now available in the Embraer Phenom 300, among other airplanes. Overall, galleys are becoming larger and more capable. The one in the new super-midsize Dassault Falcon 2000S, for example, features a TIA Wavejet microwave, De’Longhi Lattissima Nespresso coffeemaker and an extra-wide EnFlite high-temperature oven.  
Meanwhile, a wave of new lighting and high-definition (HD) audio and video equipment is hitting the market.
LED lighting is becoming more refined and retrofit packages are now easier to install. Emteq’s 3X, for example, provides whitewash LED lighting in corporate cabins with an installation option that saves time by using existing wiring.  
If you’re looking for natural light, you may be glad to hear that Dassault’s new Falcon 5X will feature an entryway skylight in the roof with a Zenith window, a form of smart glass, from Vision Systems. The window instantly adjusts light transmission from dark to clear, or any level of tint in between, either automatically or at the push of a button. It can block UV light and 99.9975 percent of visible light, while reducing solar-heat gain inside the cabin. This same technology will be used on cabin windows of the new HondaJet and on upcoming models of Mercedes-Benz autos.
The base in-flight-entertainment and cabin-management-system technology seems to have reached a plateau, at least temporarily, with the latest focus on bringing more HD into the cabin now that satellites that can support it have been launched. Audio and video can be streamed at faster rates with seamless global coverage and fewer equipment boxes to install in the airplane.
New aircraft with these technologies, particularly HD, started showing up in 2012 and the trends are filtering downstream to progressively smaller models as satellites that could transmit in HD to airplanes began launching in 2013. You’ll see the technology in the new Cessna M2, CJ3+, Sovereign+ and Ten+; the upcoming Cessna Latitude and Longitude and new Embraer Legacy 450 and 500; the Learjet 70 and 75; and the HondaJet.  
The Cessnas feature a fiber-optic in-flight entertainment and cabin-management system called Clairity, which was developed with Heads Up Technologies. Clairity integrates the cabin electrical system, avionics and communications through a fiber-optic backbone. Touchscreen controllers at every seat, about the size of smartphones, operate lights, window shades, temperature, digital audio and video and an interactive moving map. The controllers also have Web browsers (Internet service required). Options include RGB mood lighting, Wi-Fi, high-speed Internet and satellite radio. Clairity takes advantage of the capacity of the aircraft’s Garmin digital avionics, which means it needs fewer components and takes up less space.
Passengers on the Embraer Legacy 450 and 500 will be treated to Honeywell’s HD Ovation Select cabin-management system, which allows for control of entertainment, communications, lights, temperature, window shades and more via drink-rail-mounted units, wireless handheld remotes or a galley touchscreen. The system can interface with high-speed satellite communications equipment and a variety of consumer electronics, including MP3 players and Apple TV. It accommodates the optional JetMap3HD moving-map applications and provides news, weather and sports updates. Ovation uses high-end Rosen HD monitors and Alto audio components.
The new Lears feature the lightweight Lufthansa Nice HD cabin-management and entertainment system. Lufthansa Technik developed Nice for its airliner VVIP interior completions and quickly migrated it into smaller aircraft, including the super-midsize Bombardier Challenger 300. As in the Challenger, the Nice systems aboard the Learjet 70 and 75 use transducers mounted behind panels in place of speakers to produce uniform sound throughout the cabin regardless of the ambient noise generated by aircraft movement.
Nice HD will be more compact and functional aboard the Learjet 70 and 75 with fewer control boxes and thin seven-inch HD monitors that pop up at each passenger position. You can control the Wi-Fi network and cabin functions with a downloadable app for your smartphone or other electronic device. You can also upgrade an optional Blu-ray-player-sized media center to provide audio/video on demand and to act as a server for moving maps, DVDs and other video. Two applications can be played back simultaneously in HD. The system is highly configurable and features an open-architecture design that makes for easy updating. It satisfies all approved encryption and digital-rights-management requirements for streaming HD.
Honda turned to Emteq for its SkyPro HD in-flight entertainment and cabin-management system for the HondaJet, which features Audio/Video on Demand, an interactive 3-D moving map, an exterior camera and wireless control of lighting and monochromatic window shades at each seat via passengers’ personal electronic devices. With the SiriusXM satellite-radio option, you can select station presets at individual seats.
Want an HD system on your current aircraft? Beginning next year, Rockwell Collins will be offering its Venue HD cabin system as a retrofit on Bombardier Globals equipped with the company’s Cabin Electronic System.
Want large-aircraft cabin-tech features for a smaller airplane? Next year, you should be able to buy Custom Control Concepts’ SkyOne in-flight entertainment and cabin-management system and Sky-Fi wireless Internet connection-sharing system for business jets and helicopters. The company is known for its equipment for VIP airliners and head-of-state aircraft. These new, smaller systems feature HD Audio and Video on Demand, Custom Control Concept’s SkyShow flight-information system, PA integration, cabin-shade and other cabin-management controls, plus camera integration and wireless iPad connectivity for in-flight entertainment and cabin-management system remotes. The company says SkyOne’s next-generation 4K backbones provide four times the resolution of current 1080-pixel HD.
Both Honeywell and Rockwell Collins have developed new antennas and systems geared to HD. Honeywell’s JetWave Ka-band GX Aviation Satellite Communications terminal supports high-capacity commercial spot beams without the need to reconfigure the system, transition networks or change providers. A spot beam is a concentrated satellite signal designed to cover limited geographical areas. It allows satellites to transmit different signals on the same frequency over different geographical locations, thus allowing more channels to be carried on reused frequencies. The terminal is available in a tail-mount antenna system for business jets.
Beginning in early 2015, Rockwell Collins will deliver its Tailwind 550 direct broadcast satellite systems with an updated antenna. A drop-in replacement antenna for fielded Tailwind 550 systems also will be available. The company says the new antenna will provide 25 percent greater programming coverage for all supported regions and improve overall reliability, especially when you’re traveling between regions where satellite coverage may be weak or flying in hot or humid areas. The system allows access to hundreds of HD channels without the need to stream select content to the aircraft.
Flight Display Systems, meanwhile, has added a cockpit camera to its Smart Cabin CMS. Now, in real time, you can watch your own taxi, takeoff and landing in HD.
HD means not only crisper video but also truer sound. Panasonic is combining HD audio with active noise-cancelling headset technology in its new HD-Audio system. Its “open-ear” feature allows you to converse normally while wearing the headset. Panasonic says the system is free of clicks, pops and interference and provides a “theatre-like listening experience.” Custom software installed at the seat manages the audio streaming between the headset and the in-flight entertainment and communications system’s media and telecommunications services. You can adjust the way sound is presented through intuitive controls that are embedded within the touch panel’s graphical user interface. The system also supports wideband voice telephony for seat-to-seat, seat-to-ground and multi-passenger VoIP conference calling and you can set audio levels to encourage callers to speak softly.
Of course, you can still get surround sound that is superior to that of many high-end home theaters. The new Alto nVelop cabin surround-sound system delivers equal audio quality to each seat in the airplane through a tuned array of strategically placed components custom-mapped to the aircraft’s interior shape. The equipment allows full-volume operation without distortion.
Beyond the boxes, hardware makers and connectivity and content providers are continuing to ink deals faster than we can report them. The maxim for in-flight entertainment marketing appears to be that products are no longer differentiated by just the hardware but by what comes out of it—connectivity and content. The cable company wants to bundle your home phone, television, Internet and security systems. This trend extends upward through 51,000 feet.
Arinc Direct has allied with in-flight entertainment and communications-equipment maker Honeywell and satellite-provider Inmarsat to become a GX (Global Xpress) Aviation Value Added Reseller. The agreement provides Arinc with the ability to sell GX Aviation subscription service packages to business aviation operators. In addition to providing airtime, Arinc plans to develop applications and services ranging from entertainment, software updates and upgrades to technical aircraft maintenance and customer support.
GX is Inmarsat’s satellite Ka-band service. Ka provides higher bandwidth communications up to 50 mbps—which means faster uploads and downloads; plus better support of multiple applications and users, and the resources to handle bandwidth-intensive applications such as HD. GX will become operational later this year and is expected to be able to deliver high-speed broadband worldwide. The Ka-band is not a panacea. While it does enable faster speed and richer content, it is more susceptible to precipitation-induced distortions.
Look for more content deals going forward. Heads Up recently signed a contract with Red Touch Media that will allow the latter’s digital content to be accessed both through the cabin-management system and apps on personal devices such as tablets. The Red Touch library includes distributors of digital media, including major film studios and music labels such as NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Music Group, EMI and HDNet.  
Despite this plethora of entertainment options, sometimes you just want to make a phone call by grabbing the nearest headset. However, most look as if they were made in about 1966 and have as much functionality. Aircell is seeking to remedy this flying faux pas with its Gogo OnePhone. It features clear sound and noise-reduction technology along with a large touchscreen display on an Android-based platform. It’s available in wired and wireless variations.

Longtime BJT contributor Mark Huber ([email protected]) writes the magazine’s aircraft reviews.

NEW SECURITY TECHNOLOGY

Security technology continues to advance. More operators want their aircraft tracked and communicated with in real time, especially when they’re outside radar coverage in remote parts of the world.
BlueSky Network has developed its HawkEye 7200 portable tracker to fill this need. The device has its own battery and can also be hooked up to external power and can be placed on the cockpit instrument panel or near a window. It connects to the global navigational satellite system and includes Bluetooth to facilitate transmission of messages from tablets and mobile phones in the cockpit. Users can send emails, short-code messages and customizable electronic forms such as flight plans, maintenance records and logistics documents through the Iridium satellite network.—M.H.