Hawker Beechcraft Adds Broadband Connectivity To King Air Turboprops

Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) says it has selected the Thrane & Thrane AVIATOR 200 system to provide broadband connectivity for its Beechcraft King Air family, including 90, 200, 300 and 350 model aircraft. The company is offering pre-certification pricing for system installation at its factory-owned HBS facilities. Certification of the system is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010. The announcement, made at EBACE in Geneva, follows the successful introduction of high speed Internet on the company's line of midsize Hawker business jets in 2009.
 
"While the King Air already reigns as the most popular business turboprop of all time, we continue looking for opportunities to further improve its capability, versatility and value through systems like that of Thrane & Thrane's AVIATOR 200," said Christi Tannahill, HBC vice president, Global Customer Support. "The possibilities are truly endless with on-board broadband connectivity and we expect King Air operators all around the world will enjoy the added productivity that broadband connectivity delivers while developing new ways to utilize their aircraft. Corporate operators can refine business proposals en route to meetings, air ambulance operators can convey real-time audio and video status of their patients, while cargo operators can re-route aircraft, update manifest and report aircraft status."

The Thrane & Thrane AVIATOR 200 features lightweight and compact equipment designed to work as a standalone system for aircraft not currently equipped with satellite communication. The system provides international broadband connectivity utilizing SwiftBroadband service over the Inmarsat satellite communications network.

AVIATOR 200 permits Wi-Fi enabled devices such as Smart Phones, Personal Digital Assistants and laptop computers to access the Internet wirelessly for audio and video communication, e-mail correspondence or access to a Virtual Private Network to download corporate files. These services can be accessed via wired or wireless connections built into the AVIATOR 200, alleviating the need for external wired and wireless routers. 

FMI: www.hawkerbeechcraftservices.com