Optical Fiber in Defense
and Commercial Applications
Did you know that fiber optic cable plays a key role in bringing In-Flight-Entertainment to your seat on commercial and corporate aircraft? Today most wide body jets used on overseas flights and some narrow-body and regional jets offer both audio and video. This may be in the form of ceiling-mounted screens or on-demand seat back systems offering movies, games and moving maps that show progress to your destination. Fiber optic cable is a natural choice in these systems for several reasons. Miles of cable may be deployed in a large aircraft and optical fiber is much lighter in weight than copper, an advantage that adds up. The high bandwidth of optical fiber can better accommodate the high demand of streaming video to each seat and the immunity to electromagnetic radiation makes it impervious to interference. The slender fiber optic cable (1.8mm) is not visible to passengers since it is tucked away beneath the cabin floor for protection.
Safety is always a concern on aircraft, and IFE cables and systems have to be certified by the FAA. OFS FlightLinx® Cables are also qualified to the ARINC 802, an international standard for commercial fiber optic aircraft cable. The qualification involves a stringent set of testing under four categories; physical dimensions and optical performance, mechanical tests, environmental tests and thermal tests. FlightLinx meets or exceeds all specifications and is tough yet flexible with high reliability.
Written by,
Cathy Ciardiello