Story ID: 092March17
Mid-Canada Mod Adds CL604 FAA Fans Approval
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: The Mid-Canada Mod Center STC adds Fans 1/A+ capability to the Challenger 604 as a standalone upgrade.
Word Count: 403
The FAA has approved the Mid-Canada Mod Center (MC2) Fans supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Challenger 604. The STC was previously approved by Transport Canada, and it offers a lower-cost option for 604 owners and operators looking to upgrade to Fans 1/A+ capability, which is required in much of the North Atlantic Track System airspace (this year the requirement grows to include FL350 to FL390 in the NATS).

The STC incorporates the TrueNorth Avionics TN1007-100 Iridium datalink, which was tested with an Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satcom already installed in the 604 used for certification, to ensure that there was no interference between the two systems. The Fans-over-Iridium datalink “is a much less expensive alternative to the use of Inmarsat for Fans datalink communications,” according to MC2.

What makes the MC2 Fans STC even more cost effective is that it is a standalone system that interfaces with the existing Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics, but is not a fully integrated system that involves upgrading the existing FMSs. The STC adds a Universal Avionics UNS-1Lw FMS in the center pedestal, and this FMS’s control-display unit is used for all Fans datalink messaging. The STC covers a Miltope printer for printing datalink messages. A voice audible warning lets pilots know that there is an incoming datalink message. 

The Universal FMS includes an SBAS-GPS sensor, which eliminates the need to upgrade the existing FMSs with a Waas-LPV GPS receiver. 

The required recording of datalink communications is provided by a Universal Avionics CVR-120R cockpit voice recorder with an independent power supply for backup. Also included in the STC is Universal’s UniLink UL-801 communications management unit and solid-state data transfer unit.

“The Challenger 604 has become a business aviation standard around the world,” said MC2 vice-president Bill Arsenault. “Adding capability to an aircraft ‘fleet’ as large as this one brings operational advantages and cost efficiencies that owners will quickly realize. The lead customer aircraft for this STC has been in continuous operation since the fall of 2015 with proven results to support the choices made.

“While the OEMs are doing a good job of supporting their legacy aircraft, those of us considered independent modification providers are able to find alternative and sometimes more customized solutions with somewhat more flexibility in pricing. We now have several existing STCs to answer the [upcoming] mandate, and more coming.”