MORRISVILLE, N.C. - SmartSky, a provider of inflight air-to-ground connectivity for business aviation in Morrisville, N.C., announced that it has received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its SmartSky LITE system on the King Air 350i. The certificate also covers installation on King Air models B200, B200C, B200GT, 250, 250C, 250EP, 260, 260C, 300, 350, 350C, 350CER, 350iER, 360, 360C, and 360CER, representing over 2,000 in-service aircraft.
The first installation was completed by Davinci Jets Services, a full-service MRO and FAA Part 135 charter firm. This is part of Davinci's plan to equip the majority of its managed fleet with SmartSky connectivity. Davinci has previously installed SmartSky systems on a Citation CJ4, Citation Latitude, and Pilatus PC-12.
"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. The pilots and passengers of this aircraft are absolutely delighted with the ability to connect to whatever is most important, without limitations," said SmartSky CEO David Helfgott. The King Air, previously equipped with Gogo Avance L3, was upgraded to the SmartSky LITE system. Captain Greg Mashburn commented, "So far, it's been way better, obviously. Gogo was pretty spotty and half the time our passengers or the crew couldn't even connect, let alone send a text. Now we can send photos, FaceTime, and stream videos really easily. Everyone's excited."
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In addition to the Davinci Jet Services installations, SmartSky has completed installations on four other models awaiting STC issuance, with six more in progress. SmartSky currently has STCs covering more than 6,000 in-service aircraft, with ongoing projects representing about 10,000 more.
