Articles and whitepapers

Inflight Entertainment for Private Jets (6/2/2006)

By Chris Nicholls, Intheairnet

The inflight entertainment industry really began to take off when rich nations, such as Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, started demanding aircraft that were primarily fitted out to be 'flying palaces'. Along with opulent surroundings with elaborate furniture and soft fittings, the latest video and audio systems were expected to be installed.

Boeing 747 jet

These VIP aircraft now range from small bizjets to Boeing 747 (B747) jets, with separate lounges, bedrooms and communal rooms known as 'majlis'. Indeed a B747 which might typically have over 400 seats in airline configuration, may only have some 50 seats in VIP layout. The demand for custom installations is not restricted to Middle Eastern clients however, as customers' aircraft can also include those used by heads of state, such as Air Force 1 (USA), as well as other wealthy individuals worldwide. Indeed it is only a matter of time before a VIP completion of the new Airbus double-decker aircraft, the A380, is undertaken.

Cabin management systems

The service we provide has now grown into what is generally known in the aircraft completions business as 'cabin management systems' (CMS) which, in essence, is not that different to home automation. We control the lighting, air conditioning and entertainment for the whole VIP aircraft. We seem to be ahead of the home automation industry by a couple of years, primarily as customers are not obviously so cost-conscious and will typically embrace new technologies. Touchscreens and video-/audio-on-demand servers for example, are now commonplace in this niche market sector.

The Intheairnet CMS Touch Screen with different menu options

Control of the entertainment systems is typically via personal LCD screens or the larger bulkhead-mounted airbornised 42" monitor. Using this, the passenger is able to select from a bank of DVDs, cameras for viewing the flight take off/landing, games, music etc, with audio reproduction ranging from Dolby Digital through to custom-designed speaker systems.

Aircraft-worthy multichannel digital audio amplifier

Some clients request the ability to play and view any current type of media, from the now humble cassette to the new much-in-demand satellite TV systems, with steerable antenna arrays that track satellites around the globe.

Aircraft requirements

The big difference between automation in the home and automation in aircraft is the safety issue. We have to comply with stringent safety standards before anything is allowed to fly, and this naturally adds considerable time and effort to product development, as well as cost. Compliance is controlled by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) in the UK and Europe.

Rigorous testing is undertaken to check factors such as smoke emission and toxicity, electromagnetic effects and radiated emission. The equipment must also be able to withstand being subjected to forces in excesses of 9G before it is approved to fly.

Technologies are presently changing from baseband video and audio multiplexers controlled via RS485, to Ethernet 100baseT or faster networks with multicast streaming of media content on an on-demand basis. This includes the introduction of structured wiring for Web access and email, the connection speeds of which, although still very slow at this time in relation to ground-based connection speeds, appear to be improving.

The Intheairnet AVSU-M scalable audio and video routing matrix

Installation

As with the aircraft equipment we design and manufacture, its installation is very closely controlled by the relevant aviation authority, and is undertaken at specialist centres. In Europe, the two largest VIP interior completion centres are provided by Lufthansa Technik and Jet Aviation. In terms of keeping up to date, we can normally expect to see the aircraft for an upgrade every two to three years - the most popular upgrade at present being the addition of satellite TV - an extremely costly modification to both airframe and equipment.

Future developments

Future developments in inflight entertainment are likely to include the expansion of wireless networks, since cable adds weight to an aircraft, and is therefore best avoided where possible. Given the issues surrounding radiated emission however, such developments have some way to go, although it is expected that passengers will be able to use their mobile phones whilst airborne, in the next year or so.

The IEC Colour Graphic Switch Panel touchpanel for passenger A/V control

As in the home, digital media storage is still very much a growth market for private aircraft. However, the copying of media such as a DVD onto a hard disk server-based system can raise issues of copyright, particularly since some aircraft are leased to other individuals, in which case the 'personal use only' caveat is called into question. How such issues are to be resolved remains to be seen, but in the meantime, banks of DVDs are doing a perfectly fine job of serving up VIP inflight entertainment.

Chris Nicholls is Sales and Marketing Director for Intheairnet Ltd, based near to Heathrow airport. Nicholls has been in the AV business for over 25 years, mostly involved with night club installations, before moving to inflight entertainment around 15 years ago.

www.intheairnet.co.uk