The customer selected Flying Colours Corp. based on the team’s flexibility around the installation process. “Timing was the biggest challenge for sure on this project,” said Kevin Kliethermes, director of sales for Flying Colours Corp. “Due to flight schedules, the project was broken into two separate events and required all team members to work in concert to be successful.” The work was completed at the company’s Peterborough, ON. headquarters by the avionics team, which worked in close collaboration with Honeywell, Bombardier and its avionics colleagues at its Spirit of St. Louis facility in order to expedite the project within the challenging time frame.

As part of the Primus Elite upgrade, six all new Honeywell DU-875 displays were installed to replaced old cathode ray tubes (CRT) monitors. The Primus Elite Advanced Features’ (PEAF) software suite is optimized on aircraft carrying a full complement of the new DU-875 displays. PEAF adds a Synthetic Vision System (SVS) which provides 3-D color images of runways, terrain and obstacles, giving pilots a clear view of the virtual flight path. This increased level of situational awareness is particularly useful when flying to unfamiliar locations, in bad weather, or at night, as it helps reduce pilot workload and consequently errors.

The display upgrade also brings brighter, clearer, high resolution pictures to the pilots, yet the system runs cooler so creates less heat in cockpit making for a more comfortable working environment. In terms of operations the displays are seven pounds lighter per unit and overall lowers the cost of operations while doubling reliability. “There are numerous benefits to this upgrade,” said Kliethermes. “It removes CRT obsolescence issues and it enables updates in the cockpit to the latest technology with a relatively quick turn time.”

Complementing the flight-deck upgrade Flying Colours handled the installation of the Honeywell Ka-band JetWave system with the Flying Colours avionics team mounted a new radome, tail antenna and the Honeywell JetWave hardware which when connected with Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX Ka-band network supplies the fastest broadband available for business aviation. The high-speed cabin WiFi delivers improved connectivity services enhancing the passenger experience. Video streaming, internet access, e-mailing, voice, cell phone usage and Honeywell’s GoDirect suite of apps, are now available from take-off to landing around the globe (not including the polar regions).

About Flying Colours Corp:

With facilities in Canada, the USA, & Singapore, global aircraft services company Flying Colours Corp, brings over 25 years of experience to every facet of its business, which includes Green Completions, Interior Refurbishment & Modifications, Heavy Maintenance, Exterior Paint, Special Mission Modifications, Connectivity and Avionics Installations.

Flying Colours specializes in all mid to large sized business aircraft, including the Bombardier Global Express and Challenger families, Dassault Falcon, Beechcraft/Hawker and Gulfstream models. Flying Colours is an Authorized Service Facility for Bombardier and a Bombardier Preferred Completion Center.

www.flyingcolourscorp.com

 

Further information-

Contact: Jane Stanbury – Flying Colours Marketing and Communications Director

Email: jstanbury@flyingcolourscorp.com

Cell: +1 438 998 1668 or +44 7803 296 046

As the number of aircraft being equipped trends upwards avionics experts at both its Peterborough, ON. and St. Louis, MO. facilities are still anticipating a last-minute dash for ADS-B Out equipage as the 1 January 2020 mandate draws closer.

Equipage has already taken place on a wide variety of aircraft including Bombardier Global, Challenger, and Learjet types as well as Dassault Falcon, Embraer Phenom and Citation aircraft. As a Bombardier Authorized Service Facility Flying Colours owns ADS-B Out Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the Bombardier Challenger 300, 604 and 605 aircraft. These STCs are also validated by EASA and TCCA. Sales of the STCs have ramped up in the last four months with more than 25 sold to other installation companies.

Flying Colours Corp. currently has 10 aircraft at the North American facilities undergoing equipage as part of wider maintenance or avionics upgrade projects, with a further 12 aircraft booked in before the end of the year. Significantly Flying Colours Corp. has seen a rise in demand from mid-to-large cabin owners and operators from corporate and private clients, while the number of small-cabin installations has remained stable.

Kevin Kliethermes, Director of Sales at Flying Colours explains most ADS-B Out installations have been part of a wider aircraft upgrade. “We help owners maximise budget and aircraft downtime by completing a number of different projects in parallel. Work on avionics, interiors, maintenance and paint can all take place in parallel at one of our facilities. For us the 1 January is not the end of the ADS B-Out mandate, but the beginning and we want to help the industry in North America and beyond be prepared for this important airspace management milestone, and the requirements of NextGen still to come.”

“The industry seems to be doing a good job of meeting demand for compliance with a good majority of aircraft now equipped, but we still think there will be a rush to the finish line. We’ve noticed an increased demand from owners and operators who regularly use their aircraft, and recognise they need to make sure they’re ready,” says Kevin Kliethermes, director of sales for Flying Colours Corp. “We can accommodate a few more aircraft this year, but owners need to call quickly so that we can develop a compliance solution for their aircraft in time. If they don’t call us, they must call someone to avoid having their aircraft grounded post-deadline.”