Rockwell Collins is introducing the addition of regional sand and dust storm forecast information into its ArincDirect flight-planning system. The forecasts are aimed at operators flying in southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
ArincDirect is obtaining the sand and dust storm information through an exclusive licensing agreement with the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, which hosts the World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Center. The center specializes in atmospheric sand and dust forecasts, with its Barcelona Dust Forecast Center for the Europe and Middle East region.
“Over the past 15 years, a number of factors have resulted in an increase in the frequency, intensity and operational impact of sand and dust storms in the Middle East and surrounding areas,” said ArincDirect senior director Bob Richard. “Integrating high-resolution forecast information into our flight and international trip support services will provide safety and performance benefits for business aviation operators in the region.”
Here at the MEBAA show, Rockwell Collins is also showcasing its ArincDirect FOS scheduling and dispatch software, which has undergone extensive improvements. FOS Version 3.0, the mobile version for iOS devices, added new push notifications for alerts and changes; smart search for finding trip and leg details; support for users who want to run FOS on multiple devices; submission of electronic flight logs for elimination of paper logs; full integration with all ArincDirect services; and the ability to submit trips from iOS devices to Rockwell Collins international trip support services.
Rockwell Collins experts are at the company’s MEBAA stand to provide information on many other products. These include the new Jet Connex high-speed satcom Internet service running on Inmarsat’s Ka-band satellite network, for which Rockwell Collins is a service provider. Jet Connex allows video streaming and other bandwidth-intensive connectivity services.
In partnership with True North Avionics, Rockwell Collins is offering its Airborne Data Router, which works with any service provider but also connects to ArincDirect for calls and texting, media content, international trip planning and weather services. For onboard media streaming, Rockwell Collins has released with Stage Content Service and is demonstrating it at the MEBAA show.
The need for operators to upgrade to meet upcoming ADS-B out mandates remains urgent, and Rockwell Collins offers solutions for all legacy aircraft equipped with its Pro Line II, Pro Line 4 and Pro Line 21 avionics suits. The mandate comes due in the U.S. at the end of 2019 and in Europe in 2020.
