On the Record with DENNY HELGESON, VICE-PRESIDENT &
GENERAL MANAGER, ROCKWELL COLLINS BUSINESS & REGIONAL SYSTEMS
First you provide the onboard backbone for cabin electronics,
then you provide the content, then repair and maintain the hardware
in your own shops. That's a good strategy for capturing as big
of a piece of the cabin connectivity pie as possible, says Denny
Helgeson, vp and general manager, Rockwell Collins Business &
Regional Systems.
"It's been a tough year from a market perspective,"
said Helgeson. "We've seen the OEMs cut back on their (production)
rates, which has caused everybody to have to re-plan. Our priorities
have revolved around what the OEMs are going to do and the timing
of new platforms, but we've been investing throughout the downturn-very
robustly.
"The essence of this is connectivity on the airplane, and
the ability to scale that solution depending on the customer."
Helgeson is now in his second year at the helm of Business &
Regional Systems, and has guided the company's ever-expanding
cabin connectivity ambitions.
"Last year we were just getting into cabin electronics with
the acquisition of Airshow," he said. "Where I see us
going is toward connectivity and information management.
"We live in a connected world. Everybody is getting used
to that experience, and one of the last frontiers where you can't
conveniently get connected is an airplane. But people are expecting
that type of office experience on their airplanes now."
With that in mind, cabin management specialists like Rockwell
Collins have been talking with airplane builders about installing
network backbones directly into aircraft still on the production
line, rather then in the completion shop. In significant success
in that respect, Bombardier has agreed to install Rockwell Collins'
high-speed LAN backbone for Airshow 21 in its Global 5000, and
Gulfstream will do the same for the G500 and G550. Rockwell Collins
is developing STCs for installation in all three aircraft.
"Putting the backbone in a "green" airplane takes
out a lot of the variability in the airplane, and reduces time
in the completion center," said Helgeson, who added that
Rockwell Collins will be the sole provider of the network backbone
for the Global 5000, G500 and G550. "They're not considering
anybody else right now."
Helgeson will be here this week talking about the company's latest
and maybe most exciting cabin-related capability-global, broadband
service. Called eXchange, the new service is meant to compliment
Rockwell Collins' Swift64 data transmission products.
He stresses that eXchange is not meant to replace Swift64. "We
believe they can co-exist," said Helgeson. "There is
still a requirement for Swift64 if you want a voice channel on
satcom."
The eXchange product is a two-way Ku-band service integrated through a Tailwind
500 TV antenna and Connexion by Boeing. It will offer megabits-per-second
range for transmission and receiving, and will offer cabin occupants
such abilities as real-time video conferencing. The partnership
with Connexion by Boeing will give the Collins service a global
capability that extends over the oceans.
Helgeson says that eXchange is expected to be ready for installation
by first quarter of 2005.
