Boeing

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has selected Astronautics Corp. of America to provide the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The 787 is the first Boeing aircraft that will offer dual Class 3 EFBs as a standard system.

The EFB is a key element of the 787 seamless network that "e-Enables" the flight deck by giving pilots all the information they need to fly the airplane in a user-friendly digital format. The EFB is designed to contain all documentation and forms that pilots carry -- aeronautical maps and charts, manuals for fault reporting and operations, minimum equipment lists and logbooks -- in digital format, and puts them at the crew's fingertips.

It has an on-board performance tool that instantly calculates an airplane's ideal takeoff speed and engine setting, in any weather, on any runway, with any payload. The EFB also provides flight deck display capability for optional cabin surveillance systems, and will serve as a backup display for maintenance operations.

"The EFB is a cost-effective technology solution that offers airlines greater efficiency and reliability and enhances safety," said Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

"Astronautics welcomes the opportunity to support the Boeing 787 with the EFB," said Michael Russek, Astronautics president. "The 787 program allows us to continue our work with Boeing to further expand our advanced EFB systems for e-Enabled and Network Centric Operations aircraft today and the future."

Selection of Astronautics for the 787 builds on its successful history as the EFB hardware supplier for the 777, which was the first fully integrated EFB certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for use on commercial airplanes. This system has been in service on the 777 since November 2003, and will be deployed on the 737 in late 2005 and the 747 in mid-2006. It further enhances Boeing's strategy of offering an EFB solution common across 737, 747, 777 and 787 airplanes.

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