Echo Flight's StratoCHEETAH Flight Manager II combines current and forecast weather text and graphics and overlays them on a GPS Moving Map - giving pilots access to vital and rapidly changing weather information. With this system, pilots will be able to e-mail or fax position reports over the OrbComm network, allowing authenticated ground users to display current aircraft position and estimated time of arrival. Currently some 50 to 120 aviation fatalities take place yearly, where the accident was survived but death occurred due to exposure. Using the OrbComm system, pilots will be able to send specific location information.

The StratoCHEETAH computer was designed to be easily readable even in direct sunlight, and is optimized for aviation and marine applications. Benefits of the StratoCHEETAH Flight Manager II include hands-off global reception, with no frequency switching or roaming charges in the United States. The StratoCHEETAH Flight Manager II system's low-cost Subscriber Communicators provide GPS and an OrbComm data link through a single RS-232 serial port. The Windows-based software can also run on most laptops.

"Until now, non-commercial pilots did not have access to updates about potentially dangerous weather changes," said Scott L. Webster, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OrbComm. "The StratoCHEETAH Flight Manager II system will make that information available and enable position reporting and personal messaging. We believe Echo Flight's application takes the OrbComm LEO satellite system and creates a cost-effective real-world solution for pilots."

"Weather has been a major cause of fatalities since the beginning of flight," said Robert Kalberer, President of Echo Flight. "The OrbComm system will have a positive impact on the safety and utility of General Aviation. For the first time, all pilots will have access to critical weather information that was previously available only to high-performance commercial aircraft. The OrbComm system, comprised of a worldwide network of small communications satellites, is generally not subject to the line-of-sight tower problems of terrestrial-based systems and is capable of communicating with pilots on inexpensive hardware."

OrbComm provides two-way monitoring, tracking and messaging services through the world's first low-Earth orbit satellite-based data communications system. OrbComm applications include monitoring of fixed assets such as electric utility meters, oil and gas storage tanks, wells and pipelines and environmental projects; tracking of mobile assets such as commercial vehicles, trailers, rail cars, heavy equipment, fishing vessels, barges and government assets; and messaging services for consumers and commercial and government entities.

Orbital Plans Fixed Broadband Satnet

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Space

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SPACEDAILY

Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.