Western Jet Aviation and Collins Aerospace have announced the completion of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the Federal Aviation Administration to install the KuSAT-2000 SATCOM terminal on Gulfstream® GV and G550 aircraft. With the recent completion of the STC, Western Jet Aviation now holds STCs to offer KuSAT-2000 systems with LuxStream service on G350, G450, GV and G550 aircraft.
LuxStream, launched in late 2019, offers speeds up to 25 Mbps in the United States and 15 Mbps globally via SES’s managed Ku-band satellite network, which is powered by global geostationary high-throughput; wide satellite beams; and a flexible, intelligent ground network. Its performance has been validated extensively, with more than 25 passengers able to easily access the internet and stream entertainment content to their personal devices simultaneously at 25 Mbps.
This new solution, available as part of Collins Aerospace’s ARINCDirect portfolio of services, will provide customers with additional benefits including:
§ High-quality bandwidth capable of supporting multiple streams of ultra-high-definition content, all while fellow passengers are concurrently running other apps
§ Flexible pricing models to meet the aircraft’s mission — whether flying daily, weekly or less frequently
§ An always-on service enabled by the redundancy and resiliency offered by SES satellites
§ A turn-key solution with both hardware and service provided by Collins Aerospace, giving the operator one point of contact and access to Collins’ industry-leading global support services
David Mendelson, co-founder of PAM JETS, had an owner that was searching for a NextGen solution for international and domestic Wi-Fi service for their G450. “We worked with the team at Western Jet Aviation and selected LuxStream. Using our platform, Western Jet Aviation achieved the required STC and we are thrilled,” said Mendelson. “The new system has been reliable and has outperformed. The plane is now operating 30 hours per month.”
Jim Hansen, CEO and founder of Western Jet Aviation, is excited to be able to offer installations of the KuSAT-2000 system with LuxStream service on GV / G550 aircraft. “At the completion of the STC for the G350 / G450 in October of last year, our GV and G550 customers were already asking when we would be able to provide them with this service. The completion of this STC allows us to offer installations on GV and G550 aircraft for the first time ever.”
Western Jet Aviation has completed EASA certification for the G350 / G450. Certification for the GV / G550 is expected to be completed in March of this year.
