FreeFlight Systems reports that Hawker Beechcraft Services-Tampa has integrated an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) compliant suite of FreeFlight avionics for the King Air 200.
Hawker Beechcraft Services-Tampa received approval for the King Air 200 avionics package via FAA Field Approval application of FreeFlight Systems’ existing Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the King Air C90A aircraft, company officials noted.
The field approval process is applicable to ADS-B systems that have previously been approved under a Type Certificate amendment or under an STC, and is an important tool for enabling the thousands of ADS-B installations that will need to be completed before the Jan. 1, 2020 ADS-B mandate, officials added.
“The Field Approval process allows the general aviation community to take advantage of the heavy lifting we have done to obtain broad STC approvals for our ADS-B products,” explains Tim Taylor, president of FreeFlight Systems. “The process reduces costs for end users by taking advantage of the skills already available in the installation community. Our STC takes care of the complexity of the ADS-B system performance — the installer uses his skills to ensure a safe and compliant installation.”
In addition to achieving ADS-B Out compliance, integration of similar systems via the Field Approval policy offers significant reductions in operator costs, company officials noted.
Hawker Beechcraft representatives estimate a cost of under $40,000 to accomplish its recent Field Approval for the FreeFlight Systems’ King Air B200 ADS-B solution, which includes dual FDL-1090-TX Extended Squitter Transponders; a 1201 WAAS/GPS Receiver Unit and a FDL-978-RX Universal Access Transmitter that enables pilots to display weather and traffic conditions to portable iPad devices.