Story ID: 814TeledyneParis2013raw.doc
NAS Saves With Teledyne Data Loader
By: Nigel Moll
Caption: 
Word Count: 435
Norwegian Air Shuttle officials say that the airline’s adoption of the Teledyne Controls enhanced airborne data loader (eADL) for updating the navigation databases of its 42 Boeing 737s is saving it approximately $11,700 per month.
  
Aleksander Geist, senior avionics engineer at Norwegian Air Shuttle, said, “The installation of eADL has resulted in immediate and demonstrable improvements, and a real competitive advantage. Nav databases have to be changed every 28 days, and the process typically uses a set of six floppy disks that have to be loaded manually, each one in turn. If one of those disks fails to load, you have to start the process all over again. With eADL the speed of loading is the same but the process is automatic, which means the engineer can spend that time doing better things.
  
“With eADL we have significantly reduced our dependence on floppy disks and all of the hassle that goes with it, and considerably improved the control and management of essential software.”
  
Teledyne notes that the distribution process can be further automated with its wireless GroundLink data loading system, which allows software to be transmitted directly from the LoadStar ground server to the eADL internal mass memory.
  
That internal mass memory is another benefit of eADL, according to Teledyne, because it can store on board the aircraft all required software parts, including applications and databases. “This not only alleviates searching for software discs during line operations, but also allows the entire contents of the aircraft’s software binder, or data vault, to be carried and stored electronically on every aircraft, facilitating LRU replacements and reloading at any location worldwide,” the company said.
  
The eADL is a plug-and-play drop-in replacement for existing Arinc 615-3 onboard data loaders and for the Airbus MDDU. It does not require modification to the existing aircraft provisions, and has both EASA and FAA approval for standalone and WGL-Dataloading installations.
  
Teledyne Controls also announced that its Wireless GroundLink Comm+ cellular communication system is now certified for retrofit to the Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and MD-80 series and the Airbus A320 series, A330 and A340. The system is an enhanced version of Teledyne’s WQAR, which has been in service for more than a decade, and it wirelessly connects an aircraft’s equipment with operators’ back-office systems. The technology, featuring multiple channels of cellular high-speed data, requires no infrastructure investment and delivers efficiency improvements for “numerous applications that can benefit from aircraft data connectivity when the aircraft is on the ground,” according to Darby Shields, vice president of airline eOperations at Teledyne Controls.