The Aero-News Network did another great job this year in New Orleans with the annual New Product Introduction session.
Watch the full video below. Or click here to watch it on YouTube.
Full Transcript
Video Title: Airtext AEA 2022 New Product Introduction
Speaker: Jonathan Pinson (Airtext)
Event: Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) Convention 2022
[00:18] Jonathan Pinson: Hi, my name is Jonathan Pinson with Airtext, and we make low-cost aviation connectivity products.
[00:24] Our primary product is the Airtext+, that allows up to 16 simultaneous users to use the system and connect via iOS or Android apps. It uses the worldwide Iridium network—it works everywhere in the world. The box is about a pound and is about the size of a paperback book.
[00:41] It allows everyone on board to email, talk, text, send WhatsApp messages, and access moving map data. It’s a great internet alternative for people that don’t want the large usage fees or installation expenses. It’s great for smaller Part 23 aircraft, and recently we’ve had a lot of Part 25s that may have an internet-based system domestically but can’t see spending the money for like a Ku or Ka-band solution.
[01:08] It’s $17,500 list. It’s delivering now. Data is 5 cents per text message. Phone is $1.25 a minute, and for email, you pay for what you use.
[01:17] We believe it’s “NUTS” to overpay for connectivity, so come by our booth and let us show you what that’s about. We were at one of our dealers recently and the owner of that shop said that you all offer 90% of the functionality for 10% of the cost, so we thought that was a cool way to say it.
[01:32] We’ve continued to do very well with 60% growth year over year, continuing from last year. We’ve had a lot of dealers tell us that if the interior is out or it has an existing Iridium antenna, they can put the box in in less than two days. So for those customers that are really concerned with downtime, Airtext is a great option.
[01:50] We have parts in stock. We can generally ship same-day if you get your orders to us before 3:00 PM Eastern Time. We now have over 750 aircraft flying with Airtext and will be over a thousand this year.
[02:02] So, what’s new? So last year we came out with our bulkhead moving map options, and we’ve continued to expand upon those. We’ve added two additional sizes: the 8.3-inch and the 10.9-inch.
[02:15] The 8.3-inch is $2,700 list and the 10.9-inch is $4,000 list. They can be mounted in a portrait or landscape mode to get them really high up on the bulkhead. Everything is fully automatic. The pilot or the crew doesn’t have to touch it. All the flight data is wirelessly sent from the Airtext box to the display. You just need to power it with a USB charger.
[02:35] For people that just need a moving map solution, we also sell a version of the box for $8,000 list without connectivity—does not require an antenna.
[02:44] It allows for custom logos, custom welcome messages—it’s very highly configurable.
[02:50] And for those that just want to access the map with their personal electronic device, they can just use their iOS or Android app. They don’t have to put something on the bulkhead. You can pan, zoom, spin the globe, and click POIs [Points of Interest], all of that stuff.
[03:03] Also new, we have a brand new app that’s designed for international operations and fleet operators.
[03:10] The ground crew can track the airplane anywhere in the world and see the flight data straight from the avionics. They can see their entire fleet. It allows for group messaging and individual messaging—so one-to-many, many-to-one. Your entire operation on the ground can be talking to the entire aircrew, so everyone is in touch with one another. It doesn’t cost anything extra; you just have to have an Airtext and it’s 5 cents a message.
[03:33] We’ve also added a new annunciator that… we’ve doubled the battery life and actually added a… you can send a clear text message from the FleetText app up to this panel, and then the pilot can acknowledge it with a physical button on top.
[03:48] We continue to sell our Land-DAR product. That uses a Lidar sensor to do selected audio callouts starting at 2,500 down to 5 feet, and that is $8,000 list. Approved for installation on Part 23 aircraft.
[04:01] And please stop by our booth, 408, to see more retrofit products you can offer your customers, and thank you to our dealers and customers for your business.
