Story ID: 440CustomControlNBAA12.doc
Custom Control Means Total Cabin Control
By: AIN Staff
Caption: 
Word Count: 625
Custom Control Concepts has found its niche in business and private aviation and is offering evidence at NBAA (Booth No. 2171) that its original status as a small fish in a relatively small pond has become a big fish in that pond.

The pond referred to is the completion and refurbishment market for heavy iron; the single- and twin-aisle executive aircraft derived from airliners. In that pool, CCC made a splash recently with completion center contracts to provide cabin management and in-flight entertainment systems for three new Boeing 747-8s. The latest contract is for L-3 Platform Integration in Waco, Texas.

The package for each aircraft includes CCC’s digital cabin management system, the total high-definition (1080p) cabin entertainment package, Spectrum LED lighting throughout, LED-backlit ultra-thin, lightweight LCD monitors, audio/visual on demand (AVOD) and cabin WiFi connectivity.

According to Serae Jemera, v-p of operations and customer relations, each cabin electronics package will be customized to meet the owner’s desires, “from a 65-inch 3-D monitor to LED lighting throughout.” Customization is a key element of CCC’s success. “In fact, one of our customers has had the same CCC cabin management and entertainment system installed in the yacht and home that was put into the private jet.

“We focus on the very large business and private jet industry, but we’ve also installed our equipment in helicopters and even a private submarine. In all, our systems have been installed in more than 130 narrowbody and widebody bizliners alone,” Jemera added.

Available at the CCC exhibit here is virtually every product in its line, installed and available for demonstration in a cabin mockup. Among the latest items are:

Ÿ a line of 3-D monitors, from 47-inch to 65-inch, with a switch to shift from standard viewing to 3-D; promoted as “smart, bright, light and skinny.”

Ÿ the iPlane app, which allows users to stream previously loaded audio and video from Apple or Android devices and enjoy it on the cabin big-screen. It also allows control of all cabin amenities through a personal device.

Ÿ Spectrum Lighting that permits infinite control of cabin lighting from an Apple or Android device. It will also allow the user to simply touch any color in a photograph in the device and have that color replicated throughout the cabin lighting system.

Ÿ back-shells that ensure a custom fit for each application, and ensure “a substantial reduction in electromagnetic interference.”

Ÿ the SkyShow 3-D moving map.

According to Jemera, one of the main advantages enjoyed by CCC is that it has its own in-house lab for testing and certification. The company claims to have designed, manufactured, tested, certified and delivered more than 140 unique and proprietary systems.

Part of the CCC process of putting together a cabin package is a bench test of the finished system in its own integration lab, “where the customer can come in and push all the buttons and is encouraged to make any changes before the system is packed and shipped to the completion center for installation,” explained president and CEO Kurt Mayhall.

CCC also has a training and support team to back up more than 140 aircraft installations. This is important, said marketing administrator Jesse Swingle, “because some of our earlier customers are starting to come back for upgrades as new technology comes on line.”

CCC is growing to accommodate an expanding workload, in particular the engineering department. “Because growth in our market niche hardly felt the recession, we continued to expand,” Jemera explained. “We had a very good year last year and we expect this year to be even better.” o