Astronautics (Booth C5854) has begun engineering testing of its air-ground communications system (AGCS) and is displaying the system this week at Heli-Expo, along with the RoadRunner electronic flight instrument (EFI), and multifunction display system (MFDS). The RoadRunner is also on display this week at the Eagle Copters' booth (C4851) in an ERA Bell 212, and at StandardAero’s booth (C6043).

Airbus Helicopters has selected the AGCS for new production helicopters, according to Astronautics president Chad Cundiff. Certification of the system is expected in the fourth quarter, and Airbus will announce its plans for which helicopters will be the first to receive the AGCS.

The AGCS is designed to meet multiple requirements for modern helicopters, from providing a secure framework to prevent unauthorized access to avionics to wireless transmission of operational and maintenance data and storage and retrieval of operational data. According to Astronautics, the wireless capability is via cellular networks when on the ground or satcom in the air.

A cybersecurity element is necessary to maintain data quality when uploading navigation databases and software updates to the helicopter’s avionics. “[AGCS] also has a safety aspect as well because getting that data off the helicopters will allow the operator to analyze what's going on and hopefully catch trends,” as well as help with managing maintenance costs, said Cundiff.

The AGCS platform is a system that consists of the AFS 6400 airborne communications server, AFS 6460 wireless connectivity module, AFS 6480 remote media device, and GSS 6000 ground-server software.

Cybersecurity is a fundamental aspect of Astronautics’s research and development and in its products, and the company is working closely with regulators on cybersecurity issues. “We think in the next few years there's going to be some rulemaking around cybersecurity,” he said. “We want to make sure the [products] we're delivering now are going to be compliant with whatever comes out of that.

“Helicopters have unique challenges…[such as] the temperatures that they operate in, they’re more susceptible to electromagnetic interference, vibration, and shock. We've got a lot of experience in developing products that meet those requirements with a high degree of reliability, so that when we put something on a helicopter it stays on the helicopter.”

The AFI 4700 RoadRunner EFI should receive TSO approval early in the third quarter, and so far it has flown in the Bell 212 and 214ST and Leonardo Helcipters A109. What makes the AFI 4700 unique is that it replaces two electromechanical or first-generation EFI instruments—the attitude direction and horizontal situation indicators—installed on thousands of helicopters. The RoadRunner EFI features a single LED-backlit display that fits easily over the same panel holes filled by the older instruments, and installation takes just two hours.

Also on display at the Astronautics booth is its six-by-eight-inch EFI, which features a new software update with radio altimeter low-altitude alert, video-panning capabilities for any video source, and customized behavior of VOR, ILS, and marker beacon indications. The update is for customers Sener and Babcock MCS España for the Spanish Navy’s AB-212 fleet.

Astronautics’s displays are uniquely able to accept any type of video interface. “We are the only company that has certified multiple video inputs on a primary flight display,” said Cundiff. For example, FLIR input doesn’t require a converter to run on an Astronautics display. “You get HD-quality video that’s certified,” he said. “We spent a lot of money developing that capability.