Western Aircraft (Booth 1475) and Gogo Business Aviation are partnering on the development of a supplemental type certificate (STC) for Gogo’s 5G in-flight connectivity system on the Pilatus PC-24 twinjet. The upgrade is available for PC-24 owners who install the Gogo Avance L5 air-to-ground system along with the full Gogo 5G provisional kit that will accelerate 5G system installation once the STC is approved.
Boise, Idaho-based Western Aircraft, a Greenwich AeroGroup company, completed the first aftermarket STC installation of the Gogo Avance L3 system on a PC-12 turboprop single in late 2020. Kerry Heiss, Western Aircraft director of sales and marketing, noted the company has serviced Pilatus aircraft for a quarter of a century.
“The Western Aircraft team is a long-standing, valued partner with Gogo,” said Gogo v-p of aftermarket sales David Salvador. “We’re excited to see their continued investments that will bring Pilatus PC-24 owners and operators this quality certification for the Gogo 5G system. Meeting future data demands in flight starts with a Gogo 5G investment today.”
In late July, Gogo announced its U.S. 5G network was on schedule for launch by year-end. The 5G service is expected to deliver an average of 25 Mbps, with peak speeds of up to 80 Mbps.