Pentar Avionics of Seattle announced availability of the new version of its JetLan airborne network server, the JetLan XP. Besides offering enhanced performance compared to the earlier design, company president Bob Rodgers told AIN the JetLan XP “is a much more modular system that can be upgraded to take advantage of new technology as it becomes available. It has an improved form factor because it was designed from the start for aviation use, so we don’t need an external adapter tray to cope with a variety of different interconnections.”

The company said the JetLan XP serves as an onboard local area network (LAN) allowing real-time access to the Internet, e-mail, corporate portals, Intranets, corporate ground-based data files as well as support for wired or wireless cabin networks. It offers high performance and compatibility supporting most major corporate operating systems including Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT4.0, Windows 2000 advanced server and Linux 6.0. Company e-mail products bundled with the JetLan XP permit airborne passengers to directly contact their primary network e-mail system using their Exchange, Outlook or Lotus Notes application net access with a ground server, said Rodgers.

The original JetLan, which Pentar stated was the first certified airborne data server designed specifically for network operations, currently is flying or being installed on several types of executive aircraft including the Boeing Business Jet, Gulfstream V, Bombardier Global Express and Challenger 604 and Dassault Falcon 900EX. The system allows passengers to view, monitor and download the aircraft’s flight position, progress and points of interest. The unit accepts position and trip progress updates from the aircraft’s FMS or nav system through Arinc 429 to be overlaid on these maps.

Rodgers noted the first JetLan XP will provide advanced moving-map capabilities for a Gulfstream V customer in Los Angeles. He told AIN, “The aircraft already has made its initial flight and the customer will take delivery of the certified installation in October.”

Among other features, he pointed out the new system will provide twice the memory of the original JetLan design. “It will have two removable hard drive cartridges instead of one, each able to support 30 gigabytes of personal, corporate and flight department documents or static Internet content. The current system has been upgraded to 400 MHz capability and by year-end we will be at 500 MHz or higher,” he said “By January of next year we expect to be at 1 GHz. Our current product line is completely upgradable to the higher performance components.”

He said Pentar will continue to produce the JetLan system. “It’s really quite adequate for most general aviation needs. We can’t modify it, but since it’s less modular and has less performance than the JetLan XP, we will offer it at a lower price and the customer can upgrade it by trade-in later on.” He added that existing owners can arrange for trade-ins immediately.