Intended For Older Aircraft With Glass Panel Retrofits

The Test & Measurement Product Group of Astro-Med says it has been awarded an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to retrofit its ToughWriter 4 Flight Deck Printer into Boeing 767-200, -300 and -300F Series aircraft. The required modifications and approval flights were completed by Delta Engineering, headquartered in New Castle, DE, which obtained the STC.

The ToughWriter 4 flight deck printer includes both ARINC-429 and 10/100BaseT Ethernet ports to connect to Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting Systems (ACARS) and Electronic Flight Bags. It offers 300 x 600 dot-per-inch printing resolution, the highest resolution available in a flight deck printer, providing pilots with crisp, clear printouts of weather maps, approach plates, electronic charts and other graphical information. With print speeds up to 5 seconds per page in text mode, the ToughWriter 4 gives Boeing 767 pilots immediate access to critical ACARS messages.

"The ToughWriter 4 flight deck printer gives B767 operators the safety, convenience, and added capabilities that are associated with modern cockpit printers, including high resolution, graphical printing," said Tom Carll, Vice President & Worldwide Sales Director. "This is the first of what we hope will be many Supplemental Type Certifications for the ToughWriter 4 flight deck printer as older aircraft are retrofitted with glass displays, electronic flight bags, and updated CNS/ATM systems."

Mike Natalizia, Astro-Med's Director of Engineering for Ruggedized Products, added, "The ToughWriter 4 replaces outdated, legacy flight deck printers, saving airlines a significant amount of weight. For new printer installations, the ToughWriter 4 gives pilots the ability to print text messages as well as graphics, and replaces the heavy flight bags that they used to carry on the aircraft."

FMI: www.astro-med.com