Bell Textron has received STC for the Installation of QuantiFLY, a new aircraft communication unit powered by Truth Data designed to offer a low-cost, lightweight and fully automatic FDM solution currently available for the Bell 407GXi and Bell 429. Bell developed QuantiFLY with Appareo and FDM analytics to enable operators to affordably use the data from QuantiFLY to be actionable and drive safety.

“As an innovator, we are continuously exploring advanced solutions to provide customers with smart helicopter technology to enhance their flight experience,” says Michael Thacker, executive VP of innovation and commercial business. “The introduction of QuantiFLY will offer greater visibility into flight operations while integrating seamlessly with our current connected fleet offerings for our commercial aircraft.”

Bell selected Appareo Systems for connectivity hardware based on its proven track record for both world-wide cellular telematics and aircraft data monitoring. The device utilises cellular (4G LTE/3G GSM) on the ground data transmission to off board aircraft fight parameter and maintenance data via the cloud for processing and analytics. Bell worked with Microsoft to build on its Azure cloud infrastructure to route data securely around the world. The data is then uploaded to Bell's MissionLink, an innovative off-board data platform that delivers intuitive analysis to customers.

Bell collaborated with Truth Data, a proven leader in rotorcraft flight data monitoring, to provide a scalable flight data analysis platform and benchmarking capabilities to better identify safety issues and reduce operator risks. Coupled with QuantiFLY, this provides a completely automatic FDM service. Network regulatory and certifications include Verizon Network, Vodafone, CE, IC, FCC and RCM.

QuantiFLY is offered as an aftermarket kit forward or retrofittable for legacy and new aircraft, analogue and digital through Aeronautical Accessories. QuantiFLY equipment features dual-core ARM cortex A9 processors, 512 MB DDR3L RAM, 32 GB eMMC standard storage, LTE CAT 4 cellular radio with 3G/2G fallback, bidirectional communication, 100BASE-TX 10/100 ethernet, discrete I/O, RS-422, ARINC 429 RX (up to 10 Hz), inertial measurement unit & GPS, secure boot, low power mode, ultra-low power sleep mode, and the unit weighs less than two pounds