As Rockwell Collins integrates its Ascend flight information services program with newly acquired flight support giant Arinc, new flight planning tools have been added to simplify flight operations. With its new identity, Arinc Direct will focus on four pillars of service for flight department customer: international trip support, cabin connectivity, flight deck connection and flight planning, said Dave Poltorak, vice president of aviation and network services at Rockwell Collins.
A new feature called “tankering” simplifies the complex calculation of finding the optimal fuel load and the best place to purchase fuel based on a list of parameters such as fuel price, ramp fees, winds and performance. “This new tankering feature is fully integrated with our online flight planning system and allows up to 15 legs of a trip to be analyzed at once, which can dramatically reduce fuel costs – and save time – for our customers,” said Bob Richard, staff vice president at Arinc Direct.
The Arinc Direct mobile tablet app has also added a new feature that allows operators to make quick weight and balance and performance calculations. Other features within the app include trip details, weather, approach charts and more. The Arinc Direct app is free and, while information can be synced to the user account from a computer, the app does not require an Internet connection to change the parameters to make new calculations.
Poltorak, said there are currently 3,500 aircraft subscribing to Arinc Direct’s services. While the new services are already functional Rockwell Collins is in the process of merging the Ascend and Arinc websites and apps into one.
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