High-speed WiFi connectivity fit for a King Air

Back in 1964, when Beechcraft introduced the King Air model 65-90, the company never imagined that, some 60 years later, it would have delivered over 7,500 various models and that the fleet would have amassed well over 60 million flight hours, making it the most popular twin-turboprop of all time.

Paralleling the King Air’s popularity has been Stevens’ reputation for providing individuals, businesses, and government entities with an ever-expanding array of upgrade and MRO service offerings to help make the “King” even better.

Keeping a close eye on what its customers need has helped Stevens maintain its leadership role. In today’s world, nothing is higher on a King Air operator’s “must have” list than reliable, high-speed, WiFi connectivity.

“Our decades of technical expertise with King Airs made us the ideal choice to partner with Gogo on the Galileo HDX STC,” explained Stevens’ Director of Avionics, Rob Reed. “From developing the engineering, to the prototype installation and earning the FAA STC, the whole process went very smoothly.”

While the company’s technical prowess is unmatched, its long-standing reputation with King Air owner/operators was equally important. Customers have been coming to Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems for MRO services since 1950, and for the past 25 years, the company’s been the go-to source for their aircraft connectivity needs.

“We average 20 connectivity installations a year, and as technologies have advanced, so have our capabilities and offerings,” Reed said. “We are experienced and authorized to install all of the latest air-to-ground (ATG) and low- (LEO) and geostationary-earth orbit (GEO) satellite solutions for all classes of business aircraft.”

Gogo Galileo makes King Airs go faster.

“Like all business aircraft owners, King Air 200/300 series operators want the best high-speed, low-latency, WiFi connectivity, and no other system does it better than Gogo’s Galileo HDX,” Phil Stearns, Director, Sales and Marketing for Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems, said. “With six passengers, two crewmembers, all using multiple devices, we’ve seen download speeds as fast as 58 Mbps and uploads at 11 Mbps, connected to the Eutelsat OneWeb Low Earth Satellite constellation, with zero buffering.”

Gogo’s Galileo isn’t only fast; it’s also very low-latency, making it ideal for real-time streaming and video conferencing with anyone, anywhere in the world.

“Speed is important, but another benefit of Gogo’s Galileo HDX system is that King Air crewmembers and passengers can connect to the Internet at any altitude – even on the ground, so they’re never out of touch,” Stearns added. “It makes flight planning and altering schedules to meet passenger needs so much easier because they can check weather and confirm reservations at their destination while still on the departure ramp. Bottom line, you can run your business in the air like you do on the ground.”

The “little” antenna that makes the biggest difference.

While all the speeds and capabilities of the Gogo Galileo system are amazing, what truly sets it apart is housed in an unobtrusive box on top of the King Air’s fuselage – Gogo’s revolutionary HDX electronically steerable antenna (ESA).

“The Gogo Galileo HDX is the lightest and smallest form factor antenna available for enterprise-grade satellite connectivity,” Reed said. “The STC also allows us to place the HDX antenna and Gogo SCS internal router in optimal locations across the different King Air models, further simplifying installations.”

“Unlike other satellite systems, with the Gogo Galileo HDX system, there are no LRUs installed in the cabin area, saving that precious space for passenger use,” he continued. “If the King Air operator already has a Gogo Avance L3, L5, or LX5 ATG system, they can easily upgrade to Galileo by adding the HDX antenna and a few wires.”

Long live the King!

Complementing the Gogo Galileo HDX’s ease of installation is the simplicity of updating the system’s software, ensuring the owner always has the best performance and reliability Gogo can deliver.

“Our customers trust Stevens to provide them with not only the best solutions today, but for the foreseeable future,” Stearns said. “Fulfilling that trust is another reason we developed the Gogo Galileo HDX STC in the first place.”

“Like our long list of other King Air cockpit and cabin upgrades, including our recent installation and certification of the first Garmin Autoland/Autothrottle STC in a King Air 350,” he continued. “the Gogo Galileo HDX STC continues our commitment to provide our customers with the services and ongoing support to make their aircraft as capable, reliable, and safe as possible.”