Story ID: 
Bongiovi Audio System Installed in Hawker 900XP
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: West Star Aviation has completed the first installation of the Bongiovi Aviation Audio System in a Hawker 900XP.
Word Count: 237
West Star Aviation has completed the first installation of the Bongiovi Aviation Audio System in a Hawker 900XP, the company reported this week.

The system, first introduced in 2018 with HondaJet as its launch customer, doesn’t utilize speakers per —rather small transducers are attached to the backside of cabin panels to transmit the sound, giving the aircraft cabin a sleeker look while reducing overall weight through the elimination of speakers and subwoofers. These transducers, weighing about three ounces each, don’t require precise placement; once the installation is complete, professional audio producers “tune” each cabin to ensure maximum sound fidelity. Audio can then be operated through any cabin management system.

A West Star spokesperson said the system install was performed during a minor Chapter 5 maintenance event on the Hawker, which also involved a full exterior strip and repaint. Bongiovi’s engineers went along on a test flight of the aircraft after the system’s installation to complete the sound adjustments.

According to Rob Hamelink, the manufacturer’s managing director, “The immersive sound is unique in the way that sound is distributed evenly throughout the cabin.”

“The dynamic range and frequency spectrum coverage are phenomenal throughout the aircraft,” added Walt Marcy, West Star’s avionics technical sales manager at its Grand Junction, Colorado location, which performed the installation.