SmartSky Networks has announced that it has been granted Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) #ST04610CH from the FAA for installation of its flagship system on a Dassault Falcon 2000EX business jet.
According to SmartSky, the work was done by hardware sales and installation partner West Star Aviation at their Grand Junction facility. Liberty Partners provided engineering support. The FAA supplemental type certificate was granted on 28 April, representing less than three months from start to finish for the entire project.
Aaron Berg, Avionics Technical Sales Manager for West Star Aviation said: “SmartSky was a great company to work with on this STC effort. The coordination between West Star, SmartSky and Liberty partners was excellent, and we are pleased to be part of enabling all Falcon 2000 series aircraft models to upgrade to SmartSky’s groundbreaking new technology.
“Its high-bandwidth and low-latency performance enables continuous data transfer to and from the aircraft powering inflight use of demanding applications like livestreaming, videoconferencing, and even gaming. This is the kind of performance our customers demand from their connectivity, and we look forward to installing more of the SmartSky systems.”
SmartSky says the two-way data flow was on full display upon the jet’s return to service flight from Colorado to the Bahamas, where nearly 7 GB of data was used in just over three hours, with more than 3 GB of data downloaded onto the aircraft and nearly 4 GB of data uploaded off the aircraft.
The Falcon 2000 series joins a growing list of aircraft types that have already been granted STCs for SmartSky’s patented ATG connectivity service.
Chris Buff, MRO Account Management for SmartSky Networks commented: “West Star Aviation is a fantastic partner. Their ability to provide a flawless installation, while minimising downtime, enabled an extremely quick issuance of the STC from the FAA. We know Falcon 2000 owners, operators, pilots, and passengers are going to love having this level of connectivity on their aircraft. With this first install under their belt, we look forward to more and faster installations with West Star in the future.”
