MRO and completions company Flying Colours has signed an agreement with North Carolina-based SmartSky Networks to act as a sales and installation facility for SmartSky's air-to-ground connectivity equipment.

Sales and installation of the advanced antennas and aircraft base radio will be available through Flying Colours' Peterborough, Ontario and St Louis, Missouri locations. The continued strengthening of the business aviation sector is driving greater use of connected services for avionics, aircraft health monitoring and cabin wi-fi. This is increasing the demand for dependable, immediate and secure inflight connectivity, and necessitating a wider variety of options for owners and operators.

“Every time we talk to a customer about refurbishment or completions, we have the connectivity conversation," says director of sales Kevin Kliethermes. "We already have extensive experience upgrading and installing connectivity equipment and regularly advise on the most suitable options for a customer's mission profile. Adding the SmartSky equipment to our roster brings yet another dimension to our offering as it expands the choice for those seeking an unparalleled connectivity experience that supports both the cabin and the aircraft in North America.”

The SmartSky Networks equipment consists of two sleek antennas and a small aircraft base radio. The antenna and radio design has been optimised for business aviation use by providing high throughput to and from the aircraft, a key requirement for today's cloud-native applications and services. Flying Colours will be providing the entire shipset through SmartSky's latest early arrival promotion and already has equipment available for immediate installation on many STC'd aircraft types.

“We are pleased to add Flying Colours Corp to our community of partners and share in its commitment to delivering the highest quality and performance for business aviation's connectivity needs. Its track record of delivering exceptional aftermarket services, developing STCs and installing innovative systems has made it a sought-after provider for business aviation.”