Boeing's Class 3 Electronic Flight Bags to be installed on SonAir's 737-700s

SonAir, the air transportation arm of Angola’s national oil company Sonangol has placed a firm order to install Boeing's Class 3 Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) on two 737-700s and one 737-700C with a quick-change option (convertible from freighter to passenger). SonAir will take delivery of the 737-700s beginning in 2007.

SonAir is getting Class 3 EFBs, which are fully integrated into a commercial airplane’s avionics.

“The availability of leading-edge technology such as the Boeing Electronic Flight Bag played a major role in our selection of the 737,” said Capt. Jose Machado Jorge, executive vice president of Operations for SonAir and a member of the board. “The EFB will help as we work to create the safest, most efficient fleet possible.”

EFB is a core technology in Boeing’s vision of an e-Enabled air-transport system, where data, information and knowledge can be shared easily across an aviation enterprise. Using software developed by Boeing and its subsidiary, Jeppesen, and hardware from Astronautics Corp. of America (ACA), the Boeing EFB digitally delivers vital charts and manuals that pilots need to fly an airplane, giving them quick access to the information they need. One available option is an onboard performance tool that gives pilots the ideal speeds and engine settings for an aircraft, in any weather, on any runway, with any payload, and can create vast gains in efficiency, range and payload.

With 80 Gigabytes of available memory in each pilot’s EFB, along with dual processors and operating systems (Windows for open applications and Linux for certified applications), the Boeing solution provides plenty of room for additional capabilities as they become available, such as enhanced fault reporting and electronic logbook; real-time weather information; en route moving maps; and real-time Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) information.

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