Story ID: 
Mid-Canada Mod Modernizes Dassault Falcon 50
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: STCs to upgrade the Falcon 50 flight deck offer life-extending options to owners of the classic Dassault trijet.
Word Count: 232
Toronto-based Mid-Canada Mod Center is developing supplemental type certificates (STCs) for installation of a Universal Avionics InSight Display System avionics suite in a Dassault Falcon 50. The first phase of the STC, due to be approved by FAA and Transport Canada by the end of the year, includes new displays and flight management systems (FMS), while a second phase due in the second quarter of 2022 covers engine instrumentation. Mid-Canada Mod’s ADS engineering and certification division is responsible for the STC work.

The InSight Display System replaces the Falcon 50’s legacy CRT displays with four Universal Avionics EFI-1040 LCDs in portrait mode. The upgrade includes synthetic vision and electronic charts. The FMSs are replaced with two UNS-1Fw SBAS-FMSs and the pilot interface is upgraded to two Universal Touch EFIS control display units. A UniLink UL-801 communications management unit helps the Falcon 50 meet ATN B1 and other NextGen avionics standards. The package also includes Universal’s Kapture 25-hour cockpit voice recorder.  

“Operators are painfully aware that as flight deck avionics age, they become more difficult to maintain and repair, which increases operational costs and makes preserving safety more challenging,” said Bill Arsenault, president of Mid-Canada Mod Center. “The beauty of the Universal Avionics InSight Display System is that these older aircraft can be equipped with modern technology that mirrors what OEMs are installing today in new aircraft.”