Avionics News March 2023 - 23

tensen said. " Because of the simplicity and modularity in
the designs of our new antennas and terminals, you can
have the best of today. And when new technology comes
along, you can adapt in the easiest way possible while reusing
some of the components. Once you start doing that,
the cost of adapting to new technology is lower. "
The MROs that Satcom Direct works with install the
hardware and now the new antennas and terminals. The
hardware also consists of a router family, terminals and
handsets. This is all part of what the company calls the SD
Ecosystem.
" The whole concept of Plane Simple is to simplify
connectivity, " Christensen said. " One call to Satcom
Direct enables acquisition of the full connectivity system,
management and full customer support. The antennas are
in addition to our growing portfolio of products and are, of
course, designed to work with our routers. The Plane Simple
antennas complete the hardware suite. " SD tabulates
all of its services into one bill for a customer. Plans can be
customized to suit the customers' missions and include the
option to pay by the hour of usage. SD plans to continue
to work with the best satellite providers in each sector
whether they are in low-Earth orbit, mid-Earth orbit or
geostationary orbit.
Connectivity is becoming so important that many
business jet owners and operators will leave an aircraft on
the ground if that feature is not working and rent a replacement
aircraft. During the pandemic, some operators put
mid-level people on these jets and flew them to an airport
where the meetings with others took place. No one had to
rent a car, go downtown for a meeting or stay at a hotel,
and the aircraft simply returned home when the day's work
was done. Antenna systems have to operate on a hot ramp
in places such as Phoenix, Arizona, in the summer without
overheating when people want to be connected while the
plane is sitting on the ramp. So cooling is an important
consideration.
The amount of data being uploaded and downloaded
from business aviation aircraft is now growing at 60% per
year, and new applications and uses are constantly being
invented. " The ability to control the data inside the aircraft
also gives you the opportunity to control data that comes
off the aircraft, " Christiansen said. " As part of the digitization
of aircraft going from analog to digital, one thing driving
usage is that today's airplanes are flying computers. "
SD is helping customers take some of the information
on the aircraft and making it available to the right people
in real time where they need it and drive operational
efficiency across different tasks. Maintenance directors can
make sure the aircraft is in for maintenance or upgrades at
a point where there is not a high volume of flights scheduled,
or the dispatcher can make sure the aircraft is ready
to go at a set time. Aircraft operators can find out actual
hours and cycles of the aircraft because those data are
running automatically on board.
" Very few companies are able to take that information
and make it readily available through software, "
Christensen said. " So the third element of our solution is
software as a service where we not only give customers
great transparency into the health of the network aboard
the aircraft or the satellite network, but we also make the
information on the aircraft available to the right people at
the right time. "
In another service initiative, the company began offering
an entry into service program in 2016. This provides
professional on-site instruction and support for new and
existing customers to make sure they could get the most
out of SD products and services.
One of the company's linchpin data management products
is SD Pro, an integrated flight operations management
platform that automates flight department operations and
synchronizes communications. The PostFlight service
module in SD Pro is an electronic flight log feature that
auto-captures flight times and cycles, manages PreFlight
scheduling, third-party integration and dynamic reporting.
SD has also integrated the Polaris Aero FlightRisk
analysis system in the PreFlight module of SD Pro. Customers
of SD and Polaris Aero have immediate access
to multiple-data-source risk assessment and mitigation
advisories. When scheduled flight data is entered into the
SD PreFlight module, it is automatically transferred to the
FlightRisk tool, which immediately returns validated mission-critical
information. Then the flight operations team
and crew can make any modifications to the flight plan that
might be necessary.
" The multiple data points relating to pilot, environmental,
airfield and aircraft factors ensure a comprehensive
hazard assessment, " said Chris Connor, CEO of Polaris
Aero. Mutual customers of SD and Polaris Aero can
review detailed recommendations about needed flight plan
modifications from a single dashboard.
SD Pro users who are also MySky subscribers can
access and optimize spending management and operations
data directly from the SD Pro dashboard. " For jet owners,
understanding the real operating costs of their aircraft can
be difficult, " said Chris Marich, co-founder of MySky. He
added that MySky provides SD Pro users clear visibility
on operating costs so they can make the best business
decisions and make efficient use of their budgets. A MySky
budget tool also supports predictive budgeting analysis.
Continued on page 34
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Avionics News March 2023

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