Webinar on Dos, Don’ts for Aircraft IT Installation

Business aviation has always been about efficiency and productivity en route. That’s becoming increasingly the case, thanks to advances being made in cabin data telecommunications technology and techniques.

Picking up on a discussion started during NBAA2012, Members of the NBAA Maintenance Committee will share some of their experiences with installation and maintenance for onboard information technology (IT) systems in a webinar titled “Modern Office in the Sky: 12 IT Lessons for Aircraft Communications.” The webinar will take place Wednesday, Dec. 12 from 1 to 2:15 p.m. EST.

“This webinar is aimed at Members who are contemplating installations on new or legacy aircraft involving modern communications equipment or updates,” explained Jo Damato, NBAA director of educational development and strategy.

The panel will be moderated by Damato and Marlin Priest, chairman of the NBAA Maintenance Committee. It will feature two experienced maintenance people: Brad Townsend of DuPont Aviation and Jim Janaitis of IBM.

“The idea of a project like this is to create a cabin environment that mimics the speed, flexibility and security of today’s office environment – only it’s airborne,” Damato said. “But as you can imagine, it’s a remarkably complex undertaking, and there is no substitute for the knowledge you can gain from someone who’s gone down that road before.”

Topics include:

• Key considerations for those who are completing transformational IT work on aircraft;
• Communication updates vital to the retrofit of aircraft already in service, and;
• Critical communications and operational information for those who operate the aircraft once the modifications are complete.

According to Eli Cotti, NBAA’s director, technical operations, “Today’s aircraft systems are built to a limited and specific set of circumstances, not like home or office, and expectations may not be met.”

Outfitter and retrofitters need to understand the equipment capabilities and community system limitations, Cotti added. However, he continued, as “the nature and size of ‘pipe’ (bandwidth) continues to improve, the future will be better.”

The webinar will be recorded and stored for On Demand playback, Damato said.

Register now for the webinar.