Citation Next Generation In-Flight Connectivity

2010 Citation 560 Encore

Aircraft & Owner:

When most people think of Cessna, they think of smaller 2-4 seat single engine piston aircraft, but Cessna is also a leader in the jet market. Cessna’s Citation lineup started in the early 1970s and today is holds one of the top spots for business jets on the market. The Citation Encore is a more recent model, this particular aircraft being built in 2010, and came equipped with a glass cockpit from the factory. Kal Tire is one of Canada’s largest independent tire service dealers and one of North America’s largest commercial tire dealers with over 260 Kal Tire stores across Canada.

Need:

As this aircraft is used for business travel, remaining connected to the outside world is vital. This aircraft was previously equipped with GoGo Business Aviation’s ATG (air to ground) system which provided inflight internet and connectivity through cellular 3G/4G connection to the ground. With advancements in cellular network technology, GoGo has upgraded their network to higher reliability and higher speed LTE and 5G systems. With the finalization of the rollout of these network upgrades, GoGo is planning to phase out the older 3G/4G network meaning older hardware which isn’t capable of connecting to the newer network will unable to provide inflight connectivity when the day comes for the legacy network to be shutdown.

With this legacy network shutdown still years away, GoGo is encouraging customers to make the switch early by offering rebates on hardware to customers who upgrade their existing ATG systems to Avance systems.

NEW EQUIPMENT LIST

GoGo Avance L3	Platform Based Connectivity
Axxess Configuration Module	Configuration Module for Avance L3
ATG Antenna x2	Air-to-Ground LTE Antennas (Gogo Business Aviation)
WiFi Antenna x6	Mobile Device Connectivity Antennas (Gogo Business Aviation)
TM Antenna x2	Terrestrial Modem Antennas (Gogo Business Aviation)
Annunciator Switch	Panel Mounted Switch to Toggle Connectivity On/Off

Maxcraft Solution:

As a GoGo dealer Maxcraft was able to easily obtain the hardware for this job and plan out the entire job. While much of this upgrade was seemingly behind the scenes and passengers may not see anything visually different, they will absolutely notice the 1.5x increase in speed compared to the ATG system. The core of the entire GoGo system is the line replaceable unit (LRU). This small black box located in the rear of the cabin connects to all of the antennas and does all the heavy lifting to keep the passengers connected throughout the flight. The existing ATG LRU was replaced with the newer Avance L3 which can access the newer LTE based GoGo network.

On the bottom of the Citation, we replaced the existing GoGo antenna with a new antenna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the cabin, WiFi antennas were installed which communicate with the passenger’s devices connecting them to the GoGo network. On the user end of things, using the inflight connectivity is no harder than connecting to any other wireless network and simply going about your business online. While on the ground, the terrestrial modem provides connectivity, and once in the air the Avance L3 system takes over, all in the background without any input from crew or passengers.

In order to allow the pilots to control the inflight connectivity, whether that be by their choice, or to comply with regulations, two annunciator switches were installed on the instrument panels. With one press the pilots can toggle the wifi network, or cabin entertainment system on or off as required.

The Story:

We worked with this customer to minimize downtime. We came up with an action plan early in the quotation process and planned their production slot to coincide with a slower time in their schedule during the winter following Christmas. The aircraft left it’s home base of Vernon and made the quick flight to Pitt Meadows, and less than a month later the aircraft was back in the air and back to normal operations.