• Fuselage mounted design for installation on airline-class executive and VIP jet aircraft such as the MD-80, MD-90, MD-11, DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, BBJ, B707, B717, B737, B747, B757, B767, B777, 787, A319, A320, A330, A340 and A380
• Fully operational while the aircraft is in the air, on the ground, taxiing, and during takeoff/landing
• True multi-region coverage, even in the Middle East
• Programming options from DIRECTV, CanalSat in Europe, and Showtime in the Middle East include CNN, A&E, Bloomberg, Fox, ESPN, Discovery and the Weather Channel, plus local network stations and digital-quality music channels
• Consistent and reliable as a result of improved satellite signal tracking algorithms
• Easier and simpler installation, using automatic phase alignment and system leveling
• Compatible with a wide variety of user control devices, including the cabin management system, plus IR and RF handheld remote controls and touch screen monitors

It's a different world today. You just can't afford to be out of touch. Not in your office. Not at home. And not in your aircraft. With the Rockwell Collins Tailwind 550 multi-region TV system you don't have to be. Designed for airline-class executive and VIP jet aircraft, the Tailwind 550 represents a significant breakthrough in airborne TV. Rockwell Collins’ Tailwind 550 offers the kind of content-rich, multi-region live programming you, your staff and your associates need to stay informed and be entertained while flying.

The Tailwind 550 is a fully integrated system that enables private aircraft to receive Ku-band DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) television signals, providing access to the full spectrum of digital video and audio programming currently available from DBS satellites. The system takes these signals, automatically decodes them to the correct broadcast format, and then distributes them to cabin audio-video distribution or entertainment management systems.

The Tailwind 550 represents a significant breakthrough in airborne TV. The innovative, high-tech solution offers reliable performance while meeting airborne challenges, such as size and weight limitations, flying at high speeds in a variety of weather conditions and tracking satellites in remote areas of the world.

Tailwind 550 can be configured for multiple zones throughout the cabin. With combinations of up to 32 unique programming receivers, the system provides flexibility to choose both personalized content and viewing location.

Leading satellite TV service providers (DIRECTV in the United States, CanalSat in Europe and Showtime/ARABSAT in the Middle East) have been retained to provide Tailwind 550 operators with the most comprehensive, most compelling live TV content available in the air. Passengers can catch the stock market recap while flying from London to Berlin, watch a football match on the way to Abu Dhabi or see the evening news on a flight from LA to New York. Personalized programming services provide all the primary English-language channels such as CNN, Fox News, Headline News, Bloomberg and BBC, plus local-language channels in each supported region and a diverse range of options for CD-quality music channels. In addition to the subscription programming provided, Tailwind 550 is capable of receiving a large selection of "free-to-air" TV channels.

To ensure reliable performance, extensive testing was conducted in FAA-qualified laboratories, and a variety of on-ground field tests verified reception in the regions where service is provided. With a wide variety of business, news, sports, arts and entertainment programming, staying informed while traveling in the US, Europe or the Middle East has never been easier.

The TV content provides the most comprehensive, most diverse live television in the air. The cost of the first year of programming is included with the system. After the first year, an annual subscription fee provides the programs desired. For the most current channel listings or programming assistance, just call our Member Services Center at 877-566-1640. It's that simple.

When traveling long distances, different television broadcast zones are crossed. Tailwind 550 monitors aircraft location via the aircraft navigational equipment and uses advanced multi-region, auto detection technology to switch television receivers in order to acquire new signals and keep content flowing.

Due to receiver size, atmospheric conditions and geographic locations, one of the biggest challenges of aircraft television reception has always been on-ground performance - a problem now solved. Tailwind 550 provides reliable performance and quality viewing options - in the air and on the ground.

The heart of Tailwind 550 is a rugged, state-of-the-art fuselage-mounted antenna. Unique in the industry, this four-horn array antenna is equipped with sculpted polymer lenses to ensure maximum signal reception. The antenna rotates 360 degrees, while pivoting -10 to +90 degrees for a greater "up/down" look angle of any competing solution. Its high dynamic reaction rate enables it to move two to three times faster than other antennae to keep it locked on the broadcast satellite.

Tailwind 550 represents the next generation of world-class, airborne TV. Quite simply, it is the most advanced, most reliable airborne TV system flying. But the technology is only part of the equation. With a network of Collins Aviation Service centers backing your investment worldwide, you can travel with confidence - knowing that you're never far from the most customer-focused support team in the industry.

The Tailwind 550 system enables aircraft to receive Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television signals that provide passengers with access to a full spectrum of satellite video and audio programming. The system receives programming over selected regions of the world. The Tailwind 550 system has four types of Line Replaceable Units (LRU).

1. Fuselage Mount Unit (FMU) - Fuselage DBS antenna, aligns continuously with the satellite or satellite constellation and performs the first stage down-conversion of the RF broadcast signals.
2. System Signal Processor (SSP) - Provides control information to the FMU and provides the second stage down-conversion of the RF Broadcast signals.
3. IF Multiplexer Unit (IMU) - Switches down-converted signals from the SSP to one or more RDUs. The Tailwind 550 supports two types of IMUs depending on the number of channels desired.
4. Receiver Decoder Unit (RDU) - Converts the intermediate frequency (IF) signals from the IMU to audio and video signals for display through the aircraft cabin management system.

The System Signal Processor (SSP) acquires position and altitude information from the aircraft navigation and inertial reference system over its ARINC 429 inputs. The SSP transfers this information and the geostationary orbit location of the satellite to the Fuselage Mounted Unit (FMU). The FMU operates its azimuth and elevation steering motors to keep the antenna pointed at the satellite. The FMU receives Ku-Band radio frequency (RF) signals from the satellite, down-converts them to the first intermediate frequency (IF) and transfers them to the SSP via coaxial cables. Because the SSP can process both circularly and linearly polarized signals, it can operate in multiple regions.

The SSP down-converts the first stage IF signals, and sends the resulting second-stage IF signals to an IF Multiplexor Unit (IMU). The IMU fans out the IF signals to the system Receiver Decoder Units (RDUs). The passenger controls the two integrated receivers in each RDU to select the program channels. In response, the RDU decodes the channels and converts the IF signal to video and audio programming for the cabin monitors and audio system.

The Tailwind 550 operational features and benefits include:

1. Multi-region Service Coverage
   Satellite television services are available for reception in most major regions of the world. The Rockwell Collins Tailwind 550 has can provide premium content TV in the contiguous U.S. (CONUS), Europe and the Middle East.
2. Automatic Operation
   The Tailwind 550 reads the aircraft position and attitude from the inertial reference system. It uses this information and its configuration to control the antenna pointing direction, tuning frequencies, polarization and which receivers to activate.
3. Entire Ku-Band DBS Spectrum
   The Tailwind 550 operates with signals over the entire DBS part of the Ku-Band (10.7 GHz to 12.75 GHz).
4. Broadcast Polarization and Format Compatibility
   The Tailwind 550 system operates with both circularly polarized DBS signals (for CONUS) and linearly polarized DBS signals (for other regions). It decodes two digital broadcast formats, Digital Satellite System (DSS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB).
5. Conditional Access
   The Tailwind 550 system manages each satellite service's conditional access based on authorization from the Rockwell Collins Member Services Center. A yearly service subscription is required.
6. Control Operations
   The Tailwind 550 is compatible with a wide variety of user control choices, including IR and RF handheld remote controls, touch screen monitors mounted at various locations in the aircraft, switch panels and wireless handheld touchscreen controllers.

The FMU is the antenna front-end of the Tailwind 550 system. It gets power and data from the SSP through a multi-conductor harness. The FMU receives Ku-Band radio frequency (RF) signals from the satellite and transfers them to the SSP via coaxial cables. This low profile antenna provides optimal aerodynamic performance on airline-class executive and VIP jet aircraft.

System Signal Processor

The SSP processes data from the aircraft's inertial reference system and transfers the data to the FMU. It receives aircraft heading, position, pitch and roll information from an ARINC 429 2-wire input. The SSP receives the location of the broadcast satellite from the active RDU(s) over the secondary RS-485 bus. Finally, the SSP transmits the aircraft and satellite data to the FMU over an RS-422 bus. The SSP down-converts the fist-stage IF signals from the FMU to deliver IF signals to the IMU.

An accessory for the SSP, the Configuration Data Module (CDM) preserves a copy of the configuration data from the SSP in nonvolatile memory, and can transfer the data back to the SSP when required. It permanently stores airplane-unique parameters necessary for the initialization and operation of the SSP.

Intermediate Frequency Multiplexer Unit (IMU)

The flange-mounted IMU distributes the down-converted IF signals from the SSP to the RDUs. For a two to eight channel solution, the IMU fans out to up to four RDUs (four RDUs allow the system to decode up to eight different programming channels simultaneously). For a 10 to 16 channel solution, an IMU 16 is used. To maximize the Tailwind 550 system, two IMU 16's can be used to bring a maximum of 32 channels into the aircraft cabin.

Receiver Decoder Unit (RDU)

The RDU is the Tailwind 550s interface to the cabin management system. This unit decodes IF signals from the IMU into an audio/video program. It also receives control signals from the cabin management system for channel selection. Each RDU contains two receiver boards that can be for the same region or for two separate regions.

If both receivers are configured for the local broadcast region, the RDU provides two independent receiver outputs and can output two separate programming channels at the same time. In a dual-region RDU, if one of the receivers is configured for the local broadcast region, the RDU will output one programming channel.

Through the cabin management system, a passenger can select and control each IRD, and thus each audio/video output, independently.

(a) IR remote controls interact with on-screen menus that include program selection, maintenance and other features. On-screen menus vary with the TV service provider.

(b) An alternative to IR remote control, the primary RS-485 bus gives the cabin management system a control interface to the Tailwind 550 system.

The Tailwind 550 system supports a robust RS-485 protocol suite that works with cabin management equipment from many IFE suppliers. Examples of information available from the primary RS-485 bus include: indication of the active service/region; manual service selection options for multiple services in a given region; channel lists for services; response to a channel selection (i.e., "CNN" or "CNBC"); reconfiguration of the system (upon power up) due to swap-out of RDUs. If an RDU swap-out changes the system services or regions, the master RDU notifies the cabin management system.

A contact closure between one of the RDUs keyline outputs and the keyline out return indicates that the corresponding IRD is active. The cabin management system can use the keyline outputs as control signals.

Each receiver has a composite video output and a left/right stereo audio pair. The RDU configuration determines the system video output format (NTSC or PAL).

Radome

The Tailwind 550 antenna is surrounded by an innovative high performance radome. Extensive time and effort went into development of a radome that is both as aesthetically pleasing as it is efficient and durable.

The radome's aerodynamic design creates less drag and is 38 percent more efficient than previous models; the durable quartz-laminate construction is nearly transparent to television signals for improved reception performance.