Teledyne Controls Announces Successful First Wireless GroundLink^TM Trial with Qantas

LOS ANGELES - September 6, 2001, Teledyne Controls is proud to announce the successful launch of its new Wireless GroundLink^TM product. GroundLink^TM allows aircraft to immediately transmit flight data information to an airline's home base when touching down at virtually any airport. Since July 16, Qantas Airlines has been using the Wireless GroundLink^TM onboard a Boeing 747-400, and Qantas' Sydney headquarters successfully received more than 40 flight legs of data downloads via the Sprint PCS Network*.

Qantas and other airlines use flight data acquisition and recording systems onboard aircraft to monitor engine condition and other performance data throughout a flight. With current technology, data is recorded on removable optical disks, tapes or PC cards that must be removed from the aircraft and shipped to the airline's operations center.

Teledyne's Wireless GroundLink^TM automates this process by transmitting data via existing cellular/PCS networks, eliminating the risks and delays associated with physical shipment of the recorded data. Furthermore, the use of existing, and rapidly evolving, cellular/PCS data networks eliminates the need for the installation of dedicated infrastructure on the airport property and the associated capital costs to the airlines.

Teledyne Controls is currently working to add a software upload capability to Wireless GroundLink^TM.

Teledyne Controls views the GroundLink^TM as a product with almost limitless potential for both downloading and uploading information from the aircraft to/from the ground. "Wireless GoundLink^TM is one of the most significant safety initiatives to be introduced into the aviation industry in quite some time," said George Simmons, Senior Director of Marketing, Sales and Services for Teledyne Controls. "The potential for data loss and delays in information processing has been around since the inception of recording. This new product significantly reduces the risk of data loss related to the processing of the media, and provides for more timely data analysis. Can you imagine the engineering and maintenance staffs at the airline home base immediately being able to evaluate an aircraft's airworthiness upon arrival at their destination? The cost savings and increased efficiency go straight to the bottom line."

Greg Gibbens, Manager Flight Safety Systems for Qantas Airways Ltd., added "Qantas has maintained a Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program for the past 12 years and whilst Quick Access Recorder (QAR) airborne technology has advanced considerably during this period, a significant data loss problem remains within the process system where data is sourced from individual media such as tapes, disks and PC cards. A successful FOQA operation requires the aircraft data to have both recency and to also reflect all of the flights within the aircraft operational schedule. A conservative approach was adopted during the aircraft modification process. Precautions were taken to ensure that other aircraft systems were not interfered with as a result of the installation and that downlink transmissions would only occur when the aircraft was at the arrival location following completion of the flight. To date the data return is being carefully monitored and it has been noted to be consistently at 100 percent of expectations."

Teledyne will showcase the product at the European Flight Data Conference, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, September 19th & 20th, 2001.

Teledyne Controls' Wireless GroundLink^TM provides several enhancements to the typical quick access recorder function with the inclusion of multiple cellular/PCS modules. The use of automatic, wireless data transfer can eliminate the need to manually remove media, or manually transfer data from the recorder for more timely data analysis. The use of the existing (and rapidly evolving) cellular/PCS data networks eliminates the need for the installation of dedicated infrastructure on the airport property and the associated capital costs. The technology of the GroundLink^TM can be further enhanced through a subscription to the Teledyne Data Delivery Service and/or the Teledyne Data Processing Service for flight data replay and analysis. This combination can virtually eliminate all capital expenditures associated with the implementation of Flight Operations Quality Assurance (Flight Data Monitoring) and/or Maintenance Operations Quality Assurance programs.

For more information on the Wireless GroundLink^TM product, please contact Tamas Igloi, Marketing Director of Flight Data Services at Teledyne Controls.

About Teledyne Controls
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Teledyne Controls, a business unit of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, is a leading manufacturer and innovator of a wide range of air transport, business & commuter aircraft, helicopter, and airport systems. Teledyne Controls supports its many airline, airframe, helicopter, and airport customers with extensive product-support bases and worldwide facilities. More information about Teledyne Controls can be found at www.teledyne-controls.com.

About Teledyne Technologies Incorporated
Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated electronics and communication products, systems engineering solutions and aerospace engines and components. Teledyne Technologies has operations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico. For more information, visit Teledyne Technologies' website at www.teledyne.com

*Sprint PCS is a registered trademark of Sprint Communications Company, L.P.