Flexible Communications System Brings Worldwide Voice, BlackBerry Data, Wi-Fi More To AW139 Operators

The FAA has approved TrueNorth Avionics advanced Simphone OpenCabin airborne telecom system for use on the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter series, the company announced Monday at EBACE. Incorporating such capabilities as worldwide Iridium Satcom voice, BlackBerry and PDA data over Wi-Fi, and cabin-to-cockpit intercom via TrueNorth's Network Audio Interface (NAI) unit, the Simphone OpenCabin system was installed at Air Concepts International of Teterboro, New Jersey, on a helicopter owned by a multinational Fortune 50 firm. Air Concepts anticipates further installation opportunities for Simphone OpenCabin with the worldwide AW139 fleet, which includes more than 430 delivered helicopters and current orders.

AW139 File Photo

"One of the strengths of our technology is its ability to provide superior airborne communications for executive helicopters," said Mark van Berkel, TrueNorth's president. "With its superior voice quality and built-in noise cancellation feature, not to mention its light weight, easy upgradeability and 50,000-hour MTBF, Simphone OpenCabin is ideally suited to the demanding rotorcraft environment."

TrueNorth's Simphone OpenCabin uses a suite of enterprise-level software applications to simplify communications management and growth. The company says Simphone OpenCabin turns a company's business aircraft into an extension of its corporate IT and telecom networks. They claim such benefits as robust, 'office-in-the-sky' performance; an unlimited lifespan; significant lifecycle cost savings, since hardware needs to be installed only once; and the ability to add a wide variety of custom functions by simply uploading software.

FMI: www.TrueNorthAvionics.com