Van Nuys, California-based Part 145 repair station Thornton Aviation is the first West Coast MRO provider to install a SpaceX Starlink satcom system in a Gulfstream G650. The airplane is operated by a local charter management company.
According to Vince Russo, Thornton Aviation's director of avionics, a second G650 is undergoing a Starlink installation, with a third scheduled in June. Recent Starlink installations include two G550s and a Bombardier Global Express, and all of the upgrades were done using Nextant Aerospace supplemental type certificates. The Starlink system weighs 48 pounds, and installation took three weeks.
“In the past six months, we’ve performed more than 20 installation projects ranging from small cockpit USB upgrades to full-blown cabin management systems,” Russo said. “We work on all models from the Citation CJs to the large-cabin Gulfstreams, Bombardiers, and everything in between. Being able to offer a full range of services while delivering a high-quality product makes us an appealing choice for operators.”
Thornton Aviation employs more than a dozen technicians in its avionics shop, and it is a dealer for Alto, Collins, Garmin, Gogo, Honeywell, SmartSky, Starlink, Universal Avionics, and Viasat equipment. It recently upgraded three King Airs with Gogo Avance L5 air-to-ground connectivity systems, which are also provisioned for the Gogo 5G service that is rolling out later this year.