SmartSky‘s in-flight internet hardware is now certified for installation on the Dassault Falcon 2000EX business jet. The company developed the STC in partnership with hardware sales and installation partner West Star Aviation at their Grand Junction facility. Liberty Partners provided engineering support.
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. – Aaron Berg Avionics Technical Sales Manager for West Star Aviation
Of note, the companies coordinated the installation during a maintenance window for unrelated work. The total program took less than three months, from arrival at the MRO facility to issuance of the STC.
The STC opens access for installation of hardware across some 450 Falcon 2000s operating today.
Chris Buff, MRO Account Management for SmartSky praised the efficient and exacting installation work of the West Star team, “With this first install under their belt, we look forward to more and faster installations with West Star in the future.”
A LiTE option for Lear
Separately, SmartSky also began the STC process for the LiTE product on a Lear 60. The smaller kit delivers connectivity for smaller aircraft. When the LiTE platform was announced in 2018li SmartSky indicated the target market was aircraft with MTOW below 19,000 pounds – light jets and smaller turboprops. It also was introduced with a flat-rate pricing scheme; no word on whether that is still in play.
While the LiTE kit does not deliver the full bandwidth potential of the core SmartSky offering, the company is confident it can support streaming video and other services on board.
SmartSky LiTE customers will also be able to access Skytelligence-powered applications from other providers such as those designed to optimize fuel management, maximize flight planning efficiencies, monitor weather or access dynamically optimized re-routing recommendations.
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