The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the installation of the SmartSky Lite air-to-ground connectivity system on King Air B200 through 360 aircraft. This milestone was achieved with the first-article installation on a King Air 350i by Davinci Jets Services, part of their MRO division. The company is equipping most of its managed aircraft fleet with SmartSky systems.
Davinci Jets Services has also completed installations on other models, including a Cessna Citation CJ4 and Latitude, as well as a Pilatus PC-12. SmartSky is in the process of obtaining STCs for four additional aircraft models, with six more underway. Currently, STCs cover over 6,000 in-service aircraft. Upon completion of ongoing projects, an additional 10,000 aircraft will be included.
SmartSky CEO David Helfgott commented on this development: “Receiving this STC marks significant progress in the SmartSky STC lineup and in delivering our high-performance solution to a series of aircraft that has long been underserved by inflight connectivity.” He added that both pilots and passengers are pleased with the new connectivity capabilities.