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TrueNorth Avionics has announced that its Simphonē cabin connectivity suite has achieved a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for installation on the Bombardier Global Express and Global Express 5000 aircraft types.
This latest EASA STC, announced at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibit (EBACE) brings TrueNorth’s popular “Elevate” cabin connectivity program to European Global Express owners and operators, and is in addition to the existing Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) STC and Transport Canada approved installations.
“This EASA STC is another important step in our aim to make it easier for aircraft owners and operators, around the world, to be more effective with inflight connectivity,” says Mark van Berkel, TrueNorth CEO. “The Simphonē connectivity suite easily integrates with the aircraft’s existing IFE and Satcom systems and offers Global Express operators a complete cabin communications solution, featuring easy to use handsets with high fidelity voice quality.”
“Those who have already installed the Simphonē suite through the Elevate program are impressed that it connects to legacy systems, and augments the aircraft’s SwiftBroadband System; essentially acting as a hub to manage entertainment, communications and information streams in the cabin. They also appreciate the TrueNorth Stylus handset—aviation’s most customizable,” continued van Berkel.
Simphonē systems installed with the TrueNorth Stylus handset provide high fidelity sound, through analog plus digital (A+D) noise cancellation, advanced Wi-Fi capabilities, and a data router. These features are all housed in a single line replaceable unit for ease of installation.
TrueNorth Avionics has also announced that Airbus Corporate Jet Centre (ACJC) has selected the company’s Simphonē communications suite. The system will be tailored to fit three different VVIP Airbus corporate jet aircraft projects to meet a variety of end-user preferences.
“It is a great compliment that Airbus Corporate Jet Centre has selected for our Simphonē communications suite, and we are enthusiastic about working with them,” said van Berkel. “At TrueNorth, we’ve long recognized that personal preferences are what make us comfortable and productive in our environments—on the ground or inflight. Essentially, our single solution, comprised of a small number of components, can be readily tailored to fit very specific styles and preferences of each aircraft’s passengers, and crew.”
TrueNorth Simphonē connectivity suite is a highly integrated solution with a small footprint that can be customized to suite a broad variety of aircraft types and communications needs. Unique in its class, the suite reduces installation costs and offers superior reliability, while also offering simplified upgrades. Once installed, Simphonē handsets can readily be upgraded to Stylus handsets without having to rewire; can be customized to suit every aircraft interior. The TrueNorth system offers a complete communications, information and entertainment management system.
“Our mission is to work with VVIPs to bring their life on the ground with them when they need to fly—which includes their communications tools,” said Bruno Cousin, Head of ACJC Procurement. “The TrueNorth Simphonē system offers the flexibility to take a single solution and customize it to each customer’s distinctive needs. This allows us to deliver high quality communications that can also be readjusted as needs change over time.”
Finally, TrueNorth Avionics has disclosed its next generation product family, Optelity. Taking advantage of the open architecture of the company’s highly successful Simphonē OpenCabin systems, Optelity, a Wi-Fi platform, is the company’s newest communications suite, designed to accommodate the latest passenger devices, and future technology developments.
“Since we first introduced our Simphonē solution, the business jet cabin environment has undergone significant change, most notably the broad expansion of onboard Wi-Fi,” said van Berkel. “Our new Optelity product suite is a Wi-Fi connectivity platform designed to work with current passenger devices, and future technology developments in passenger communications. This new system encompasses networking, telephony and inflight entertainment, all with a new complimentary avionics certified touch-screen based passenger device. Optelity systems will offer the same high performance functionality as our Simphonē systems, with a smaller footprint, and will be the fruit of an important large-scale program—the largest to-date for TrueNorth.”
The Optelity product family will work seamlessly with the TrueNorth Stylus family of handsets, and broaden the reach of inflight connectivity to include a larger range of aircraft including light jets. It will also offer an easy upgrade path for aircraft operators who are already using, or planning to purchase and install TrueNorth Simphonē systems. Lightweight, with a design to leverage future technology developments, Optelity will have increased processing capacity for the high performance expected by aircraft owners and operators.
“Optelity builds on the best of TrueNorth’s current systems,” continued van Berkel. “Our distinctive app-based approach to onboard communications, and its open architecture give us the power to develop systems that are future-ready and maximize the investment in connectivity.”
