Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Rockwell Collins is demonstrating a host of new technology solutions at Farnborough 2014, from its MultiScan weather radar to NextGen communications and navigation systems.


The Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based avionics manufacturer recently achieved the first demonstration of advanced arrival and departure flight operations under the EU’s FILGAPP project. FILGAPP “aims at ‘filling the gap’ in the state of the art of GNSS-based procedures and operations,” according to the project. Rockwell Collins explained the goal as creating “new, more efficient methods of navigating airspace using satellite-based navigation and advanced FMS functions.”


The flight demonstration took police in Germany using a Hawker 750 equipped with a Rockwell Collins FMS and GNSS receiver. The tests involved the first performance of a high-precision and high-integrity missed approach/departure procedure in Europe. Earlier tests in an Air Nostrum Bombardier CRJ-1000, also equipped with Rockwell Collins avionics, assessed performance using radius-to-fix functionality connected to EGNOS-enabled LPV approaches.


Rockwell Collins (Hall 4 Stand F9) also announced that Air Algérie chose a suite of avionics from the company for its order for 10 Boeing 737s and three Airbus A330s. The A330 will be equipped with the Rockwell Collins MultiScan ThreatTrack weather radar, which in addition to hail and lightning prediction within a storm also warns pilots of threats adjacent to the thunderstorm cell. Pilots can also receive warnings of cells that are projected to be in the aircraft’s flight path using ThreatTrack’s Predictive Overflight feature. MultiScan was recently certified for the Boeing 777, and EVA Air was the first to take delivery of a new 777 equipped with the radar.


For its 737s, Air Algérie has chosen a set of products to provide a Link 2000+ solution to meet Eurocontrol’s controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC) airspace requirement. The equipment includes the VHF-2100 VHF transceiver, CMU-900 communications management unit, APM-900 aircraft personality module and CPDLC-enabling software. Air Algérie also selected the Rockwell Collins GLU-925 multi-mode receiver, which is the first to combine a GPS landing system receiver, ADF, DME and VOR.


VivaAerobus has an order for 52 new A320s and chose the Rockwell Collins GLU-925, MultiScan ThreatTrack weather radar, ADF-900, DME-2100, VHF-2100 and VOR-900.


Rockwell Collins also serves the unmanned aircraft market, and FT Sistemas selected the company’s Micro INS (inertial navigation sensor) for the Horus 100 hand-launched UAV. The Micro INS combines an integrated air data system, magnetometer and WAAS-enabled GPS receiver.

Rockwell Collins Technology Offers Variety of Solutions

Rockwell Collins announced new orders for equipment that helps aircraft fly more efficiently in congested airspace.

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