Duncan Adds Gogo 5G to Company Citation Excel

MRO provider Duncan Aviation recently installed a Gogo 5G air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity system in the company’s own Cessna Citation Excel as the North American ATG network continues to evolve. Gogo went live with its 5G ATG service late last year, and it now provides coverage throughout the contiguous U.S. and parts of Canada.

Duncan flies its Citation Excel, N1KD, to shuttle company team members between its facilities and satellites. As such, the MRO said, “The company is fully aware of how important it is to remain connected and productive during the flights.”

Noting that the ATG network now provides a significant boost in speed—up to 80 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, per Gogo—several company executives shared their experiences with the service.

Among them was PK Duncan, fleet program manager for the company, who reported that he was able to use the system during a two-hour flight. “I used the Gogo 5G system to answer emails, update schedules, and itemize my Microsoft To Do applications through Outlook. I was even able to bounce back and forth from Outlook to our internal myDuncan system and our internal company platform, allowing me to fully use my computer during both legs of the two-hour commute,” he said. “The speed and connection were stable throughout the flight and exceeded my already high expectations.”

V-p and general counsel Kramer Lyons added that he used the system to log into Duncan’s VPN and download documents. “The Wi-Fi worked great and allowed me to stay connected to my team while we were working on several projects,” Lyons said.

Bruno Mazzani, business development manager for Duncan’s satellite operations, trialed it on his Android phone. “I tested it using YouTube, Instagram, and Netflix, among others, and everything worked smoothly without glitches. I also had a couple of voice and video calls on WhatsApp, which worked well,” Mazzani said.

During one flight, 16 devices were tested. “With a full plane and a high number of devices connected, I wanted to put as much pressure on the system as possible. During the flight, I was also able to be in constant contact with Gogo representatives to share my experiences,” said Nate Klenke, manager of the Lincoln completions/modifications service sales team.