Flying Colours Corp. has redelivered the first
Canadian registered aircraft to have the Rockwell Collins network’s Future
Airspace Navigation System (FANS) 1/A upgrade installed in combination with
Flying Colours ADS-B solution.
The FANS 1/A system, which is available
through Rockwell Collins dealers, will improve operating costs, whilst the
addition of the soon to be mandatory ADS-B Out technology will help maintain
asset value.
This is the first time that a Canadian
registered Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft will have had this particular FANS
1/A solution, and the Flying Colours’ ADS-B Out solution, installed during a
single upgrade at the Flying Colours, Bombardier Authorized Service Facility in
Peterborough. The private owner requested the system’s modernization as part of
a scheduled 48-month maintenance inspection with the full range of enhancements
being completed in just under two months. The aircraft was returned to the
customer on 3rd August.
The ADS-B Out technology was installed under
the existing Flying Colours STC which the Canadian headquartered business owns
for this type of aircraft along with the STC for the Challenger 300 & 605 types.
Flying Colours secured approval from the Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA)
department to install ADS-B OUT technology on Canadian registered Bombardier
Challenger 600-2B16 (604 and 605) and 300 airframes in January of this year.
Whilst the new TCCA STC covering FANS 1/A complements the existing US FAA
certification. To date the Flying Colours developed ADS-B Out STC for the
Challenger 605/604, and Challenger 300 models, has been installed on more than
20 aircraft.
“The combined installation was relatively
straight forward as we are very familiar with the Challenger family,” says
Sean Gillespie,
Executive VP of Flying Colours Corp. “It made complete sense for our customer to
include these enhancements in a 48-month inspection as it reduces downtime and
the overall expense,” he adds. “We’ve quickly become the go-to completions
center for mandatory avionics upgrades on Bombardier Challenger 300, 604 and 605
types having secured our STC early. With Flying Colours ASF status and extensive
avionics experience working on these aircraft types, we are well positioned to
support local and international customers.” |