Avionics
Connexion is coming to super-midsize airplanes
Engineers from Rockwell Collins are immersed in the task of redesigning a satellite direct TV antenna to bring Boeing’s broadband Connexion service to supe

Engineers from Rockwell Collins are immersed in the task of redesigning a satellite direct TV antenna to bring Boeing’s broadband Connexion service to super-midsize and larger business jets. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa avionics manufacturer anticipates initial flight tests of a prototype of the new antenna in the coming months and commercial introduction of Connexion hardware late next year.

Business aircraft operators have been lining up to add high-speed-data capability to their airplanes, only to learn that current antennas that work with Connexion are too big to fit anything smaller than a 737-size jetliner (the current antenna works on the BBJ). And news that Boeing is designing an even larger Connexion antenna, with a tapered radome that is 96 inches long and 11 inches high, won’t solve the problem. But Boeing thinks Rockwell Collins can.