Satellite TV Pricing Comes Down to Earth
Several products from Flight Display Systems were recently featured in the June/July issue of Business Jet Traveler magazine.
Cabin Tech ‘08
by Kirby J. Harrison and Stephen Pope
Business Jet Traveler
Satellite TV Pricing Comes Down to Earth
The biggest impediment to adding satellite television to a business jet is the
sky-high cost. Prices top out at half a million dollars for the tail-mounted
dish antenna and associated receivers, which can take weeks to install. Another
hitch is that most satellite TV antennas are so big that they can fit only on
large business jets.
Now, after more than three years of development, Flight Display Systems (the
moving map people), has gained FAA certification for its Ellipse
TV antenna and receiver system, finally giving buyers a palatable alternative
to the big-ticker multi-region systems available from Honeywell and Rockwell
Collins. Priced at $99,650, Ellipse TV uses a KVH Industries phased-array antenna
(normally found atop mobile homes and yachts) that is housed in a 35-inch-diameter
fiberglass-honeycomb radome secured to the fuselage by four leg attachments.
The installation recalls military AWACS aircraft, but designers promise that it doesn’t adversely affect aircraft performance. An advantage of the system is that the antenna can fit on smaller aircraft, down to the size of midsize jets and even large turboprops. So far, Ellipse TV is approved for installation only on the Bombardier Challenger 600, but authorization for use on more models is expected soon. The system’s DirecTV signal is available anywhere over the continental U.S. to a distance of about 200 miles offshore. Two tuners allow passengers to watch different channels simultaneously. Picture quality is excellent, although the signal can drop out during steep banks on takeoff and landing.
A High-Def War Ends
High-definition television, which boasts more than twice the video resolution
of the old standard-definition technology, looks as good in an airplane as it
does in your den… Blu-ray has emerged as the clear winner. Flight Display
Systems of Alpharetta, Ga., has introduced the Fly
HD line of cabin displays and an innovative way of playing HD movies - its
PlayStation 3 docking station allows the gaming system’s Blu-ray player to link
with cabin monitors.
The Moving Map Moves On
It is not uncommon now for the moving map to display satellite imagery and to
include a zoom feature for a closer look at the terrain over which the airplane
passes. The latest from Flight Display Systems offers a
choice of aircraft-type icons. (One option, for the devout Muslim, is an
arrow that always points toward Mecca.)
