Esterline CMC Electronics is launching several new products here at NBAA, including its next-generation electronic flight bag (EFB). It has the look of a tablet but is aviation grade and has an aviation information server (AIS) that enables connectivity with increased security. In addition, the Canadian manufacturer is debuting a new GPS sensor that ties together multiple capabilities to meet varied navigational requirements around the word, as well allow lower approach minimums.

The new PilotView CMA-1310 EFB looks and operates as a tablet, but with improved functionality that can tie into the cockpit.

Early EFBs pre-dated tablets and were big and bulky, said Claude Chidiac, CMC v-p products, strategy and customer support. “When tablets arrived, the aviation industry was quick to adopt them. But within a year or two after that, everyone realized that tablets are not aviation products, they are not avionics grade equipment, and they are not connected into the aircraft.”

The new CMC line is “aviation grade, but now smaller, lighter, with high-definition touchscreen,” he said.  The products “look more like commercial tablets but with the pedigree of quality and certification credentials.”

The CMA-1310 tablet, with a high-resolution 10.1-inch display unit, has a dimmable, multi-touch screen. Based on the Intel multi-core technology for improved processing, the EFB provides a range of communications interfaces.

The CMA-1525 AIS, provides the communications bridge, connecting the tablet and the aircraft as well as the aircraft to the ground. 

The AIS connects the EFB to cockpit systems, facilitating the transfer of data and providing a firewall to build in another layer of security, said Jean-Marie Bégis, product line director, EFB and aircraft wireless systems at CMC Electronics. The AIS also provides air-to-ground connectivity, enabling either Wi-Fi, cellular applications, or both.

Chidiac called the products the “first manifestation of a new line of connectivity products,” and said they are designed for forward fit or retrofit.  The technology already has been incorporated on recent Bombardier C Series aircraft delivered to Swiss International Airlines, but is scaled for the business jet market.

CMC is displaying the products at its booth here (3619). 

Esterline also is rolling out the CMA-6024 GPS Sensor, which will facilitate Satellite Based Augmentation System and Ground Based Augmentation System (SBAS/GBAS) capabilities and Category l/ll/lll precision approaches, once available.

The CMA-6024 is an evolution of the CMA-5024 GPS system, said Alain Beaulieu, CMC's GPS product manager.  The GPS/SBAS/GBAS sensor is embedded with a VHF Data Broadcast (VDB) receiver to provide complete precision approach and navigation capabilities that are compliant with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP).

Adding GBAS to other navigation capabilities enables precision approaches “on any kind of terrain,” Beaulieu said.  He noted changing requirements with the decommissioning of ILS equipment and increased use of in various regions of SBAS Localizer Performance/Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LP/LPV) and GBAS Global Navigation Satellite System Landing System (GLS) GAST-C/D precision approaches.  “In a business jet, you want to have a capability to land and take off at any airport,” he added.

In development for nearly 18 months, CMC anticipates the sensor will be available next summer.  This will come on the market as GBAS Cat-III approaches become available. “We want to be ready at the same time as the market is ready,” he said. 

CMC is in discussions with OEMs that are using the predecessor 1524 system. The sensor also is designed for both forward fit and retrofit applications.