Story ID: 551PentastarADSB
Pentastar Aviation Develops GIV ADS-B Upgrade
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: The STC helps GIV operators achieve ADS-B OUT compliance well before the 2020 mandate.
Word Count: 165
Pentastar Aviation (Booth C7329) has developed an ADS-B OUT upgrade for the Gulfstream IV equipped with Rockwell Collins avionics. The upgrade meets the latest RTCA DO-260B standards and costs less than $100,000. In the U.S., ADS-B compliance is required after midnight Dec. 31, 2019.

The GIV upgrade includes installation of a Rockwell Collins GPS-4000A position source, according to Pentastar avionics engineering manager Jesse Beard, and the existing transponder is upgraded per a Rockwell Collins service bulletin. No changes are made to the flight management system, he added.

“It is a simple modification,” said Greg Schmidt, president and CEO of Pentastar Aviation. “But it is necessary not only because it is mandated by the FAA but because it will make the skies much safer, and we are excited that we have been able to devise a solution that costs less than $100,000.”

Pentastar is offering a 15-percent discount on its posted labor rate for workorders “fully executed” before Dec. 31, 2015.