North America-headquartered Flying Colours Corp. will be promoting its ADS – B Out expertise during NBAA- BACE 2019 – Booth C7215 – having performed nearly 50 ADS-B Out installations in the last 18 months, the company says. As the number of aircraft being equipped trends upwards avionics experts at both its Peterborough, Ontario. and St. Louis, Miss. 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 maximize 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 Kliethermes. “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.”