Avionics display trends in Paris

Posted by John McHale

While showing me around his booth today at the Paris Air Show, Jean Cristophe Monfret, Barco's director of product and program management showed me the different ways avionics display capability is deployed today in military such as in moving map displays, electronic flight bags, video displays, etc.

While showing me around his booth today at the Paris Air Show, Jean Cristophe Monfret, Barco's director of product and program management showed me the different ways avionics display capability is deployed today in military such as in airport moving map displays, electronic flight bags, video displays, etc.

Trends that he sees in the avionics display market include providing more flexibility for the end user, improved touch screen capability, and greater use of light emitting diode (LED) technology. Meanwhile, enhanced vision and synthetic vision applications are driving future avionics display applications.

Monfret said that their MOSArt, modular open architecture avionics displays are popular because they enable system integrators to develop their software on Barco's hardware.

He said that like everyone else Barco is feeling some of the effects of the downturn in the commercial market, but that their military business in avionics and simulation remains quite strong.

Monfret also noted that the oil applications -- where helicopters are flying to off-shore platforms -- is a growth area for avionics displays.

Commercial aircraft market holding steady

Posted by John McHale

The Airbus A380 did a few flybys at the Paris Air Show today, causing many to whip out their cell phones for close up pictures and videos. However, the buzz in the Airbus Chalet was less about the 380 or the future 350 aircraft and more about how the commercial aircraft market is bottoming out.

The Airbus A380 did a few flybys at the Paris Air Show today, causing many to whip out their cell phones for close up pictures and videos. However, the buzz in the Airbus Chalet was less about the 380 or the future 350 aircraft and more about how the commercial aircraft market is bottoming out.

Folks I talked to in the very crowded chalet believe that economic conditions shouldn't get any worse for commercial aircraft sales, but are uncertain as to when orders will pick up again.

Echoing aerospace industry forecasts from earlier this year the air frame manufacturer still sees China as the biggest growth market for commercial aircraft.

Airbus did announce small aircraft orders today such as Vietnam Airlines ordering 16 more single aisle A321s along with signed agreement for two additional A350 XWBs.

The aircraft orders this week are much smaller than in past shows where Airbus would announce orders in the 100s, but business appears steady.

The mood in the Airbus Chalet appeared quite optimistic.

Attendees at the air show also were more lively today as rain stopped and the sun came out. The exhibit halls got busier and the Eurofighter dazzled those outside with very cool aerodynamics.

Raining in Paris

A steady rain welcomed visitors to the Paris Air Show at La Bourget Airport in France this morning. The wet, gloomy weather matched the somber tone of recent events.

The crash of an Air France jet over the Atlantic earlier this month combined with the struggling commercial avionics/aircraft market has subdued the mood of delegates to the 100th Paris Air Show.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) continue to create quite a bit of buzz and long-term outlooks for manned military aircraft programs appear to be strong. One of Boeing's first announcements at the show this year was the formation of their Unmanned Airborne Systems division.

But the best thing of all about any air show is that you get watch cool planes take off -- if you're into that sort of thing.

This my first trip to the Paris event and being a journalist gives me the best seat in the house. As I write this I hear jets taking off right outside my window in the press tent.

There is also a balcony above me that once the rain stops provides the most excellent perch to see the live aerodynamics. Everything from new Air France cargo planes to zero gravity planes to Tigre helicopters are on display.

My first air show more than 20 years ago in Reading, Pa., was great fun, but there weren't European Space Agency Rockets parked outside the terminal.

Raining in Paris

Posted by John McHale

A steady rain welcomed visitors to the Paris Air Show at La Bourget Airport in France this morning. The wet, gloomy weather matched the somber tone of many at the show.
A steady rain welcomed visitors to the Paris Air Show at La Bourget Airport in France this morning. The wet, gloomy weather matched the somber tone of many at the show.


The recent crash of an Air France jet over the Atlantic combined with the struggling commercial avionics/aircraft market has made delegates to the 100th Paris Air Show a bit subdued.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) continue to create quite a bit of buzz. One of Boeing's first announcements at the show this year was the formation of their Unmanned Airborne Systems division.

But the best thing of all about any air show is that you get watch cool planes take off -- if you're into that sort of thing.

This my first trip to the Paris event and being a journalist gives you the best seat in the house. As I write this I hear jets taking off right outside my window in the press tent.

There is also a balcony above me that once the rain stops provides the most excellent perch to see the live aerodynamics. Everything from new Air France cargo planes to military helicopters from Bell are on display.

My first air show more than 20 years ago in Reading, Pa., was great fun, but there weren't European Space Agency Rockets parked outside the terminal.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Cold fusion, hot topic

Posted by John McHale

Most folks I talk to whether it be for stories in Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine or developing content for our conferences focus on what is the next disruptive technology, the one that will not only change the way we do business but affect people's culture and everyday life.

One that created a lot of buzz at our Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum last week was cold fusion. Dr. Frank Gordon, head of navigation and applied sciences at the U.S. Navy Space and Warfare (SPAWAR) command in San Diego discussed cold fusion and more in his keynote address at the conference.

Gordon described how scientists at SPAWAR San Diego recently ran the first demonstration that produced high-energy neutrons from low-energy nuclear reactions. These experiments "that have been replicated by others provide compelling direct evidence that nuclear reactions are occurring in the cold fusion experiments," Gordon said.

According to Gordon cold fusion could power the entire planet with just water from the oceans. Gordon said the next step will be "conducting more experiments and understanding the underlying physics."

Gordon also discussed how "scientists at several universities are taking advantage of nonlinear dynamics that inherently exists in most systems" to greatly improve capabilities.

"Biological systems are nonlinear and scientists have developed techniques" to take neurons out of leaches, place them on an encapsulated silicon substrate and then inject a solution to keep the neurons alive," he said. "After a period of time, the neurons start communicating with each other and techniques have been developed where the neurons can actually control basic operations without conventional software."

During his talk Gordon showed a demonstration where these leech neurons navigated a virtual maze.

Gordon said his group is "working on implementing nonlinear capabilities that mimic biological processes in computer chips to produce ultra low power electronics and new sensors with significantly improved capabilities."

This was just a taste of the some the fascinating work the Navy lab is working on. Gordon had the packed conference room riveted.

One attendee and a member of our conference advisory board told me that he thinks either Gordon is speaking science fiction or he has to got to go home and reorganize his "entire investment portfolio."

Call your broker, buddy.

Suppliers training primes

Posted by John McHale

During a recent internal meeting a colleague suggested we should "train our customers" on how to better take advantage and keep up with our online media, even posting their own product updates. Some in the audience chuckled or were a bit cynical at the concept -- including me. Perhaps we snarled to soon.

This week I paid a visit to a military electronics supplier in Chatsworth, Calif. -- Aitech Defense Systems, and when I arrived they were in the midst of training one of their major customers/system integrators on how to use their space single-board computers and systems and maintain them.

"It cuts way down on customer support calls," and also gets end-users more involved in the design process, said one Aitech engineer. "We are looking to get them even earlier by going directly to the military academies and training them there," he added.

I was quite surprised when Aitech's vice president of sales and marketing, Doug Patterson, told me that not many of their competitors go this extra step. The "customers in the class" seemed quite enthusiastic.

I don't know if what works for users of space-qualified computer systems will work for those who buy advertising... but maybe it's worth another look.

Aside from the tour of Aitech's fairly new facility -- it opened last year -- one of the highlights of the trip was taking the train to Chatsworth from San Diego where we had just finished up hosting our Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum and Avionics USA conferences.

It's been a long while since I've taken a train because I didn't realize they had power outlets! That along with my wireless card made the train a relaxing spot to do work and catch up on email.

The ocean views didn't hurt either...

Talking next-generation avionics and ATM technology in San Diego

Posted by John McHale

Next-generation avionics and air traffic management technology that will improve fuel consumption, reduce runway incursions on the ground, and save lives in the air highlighted our inaugural Avionics USA conference in San Diego this week.
Next-generation avionics and air traffic management technology that will save money on aircraft fuel consumption, reduce runway incursions on the ground, and save lives in the air highlighted our inaugural Avionics USA conference in San Diego this week.

The show, which concluded on Tuesday, was the first expansion of our Avionics Amsterdam event. It was stressful launching a new event in the middle of economic downturn, but things went smoothly.

The last session held a healthy percentage of the opening session's attendance. That was due more to the nature of the topic -- technologies for reducing runway incursion -- than anything else. Runway incursion and electronic flight bags were the highest regarded portions of our European event, so we made sure we closed with them in San Diego.

However, I've yet to go to a conference where the last session topped the keynote in audience participation. This was year was no different, as Tim Tuttle, ATM program manager at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, kicked off our event with an excellent talk covering next-generation avionics technology and the future of the market from Boeing's perspective.

The down part of the week was that we began our conference the morning of the Air France crash over the Atlantic Ocean.

Rumors were swirling that it was due to an electrical failure on the plane. One commercial airframer said to me Monday morning: "John, it's very disturbing, these things shouldn't happen anymore.”

Maybe it didn't as there are reports on that Air France received bomb threats just before the crash.

Regardless the gentleman was right. It's very disturbing.