German maintenance company Aero-Dienst has received EASA supplementary type certification for its latest GPS/SBAS sensor system installation. The STC provides the basis for an ADS-B Out solution for the Learjet 60 with Pro Line 4 avionics.

EASA requires aircraft to have ADS-B Out capability by 7 June, 2020, while the FAA requires it by 1 January, 2020. After these dates, all aircraft must be permanently and actively trackable via GPS-based aircraft data. The ADS-B system needs more exact location determination compared with conventional GPS. To this end, correction signals are needed from supplementary satellite-based systems known as SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems), operating as WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) in the USA and EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) in Europe.

Learjet 60 aircraft without SBAS can now be made ADS-B Out compliant with a combination of two STCs: The Aero-Dienst STC allows for the installation of a GPS/SBAS sensor system consisting of a GPS receiver and a GPS antenna supplied by FreeFlight Systems. ADS-B Out is then implemented in combination with the EASA STC #10058529 from CMD Flight Solutions that provides for a transponder upgrade and fulfills the latest DO-260B (V2) standard.

“In view of the fact that we have less than 14 months until ADS-B Out becomes mandatory in Europe, we are pleased to be able to provide our Learjet 60 customers with a combined STC solution that keeps costs and downtime to a minimum,” says design and modification manager Patrick Morgenstern.

Aero-Dienst offers ADS-B Out modification solutions for many other aircraft, and its in-house design organisation provides a range of modifications and certifications from interior design to cabin/cockpit connectivity and in-flight entertainment.