ATC
BBJ’s FANS flight marks a first for a business jet
A Boeing Business Jet heading to Geneva for the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in late May marked a notable milestone by becomi

A Boeing Business Jet heading to Geneva for the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in late May marked a notable milestone by becoming the first business jet to cross the North Atlantic using future air navigation system (FANS) technology to communicate with ATC.

Flying with an upgraded Smiths flight management computer (FMC), the BBJ’s pilots sent and received short text messages during the oceanic leg of the trip rather than talking with controllers on the radio. The airplane, Boeing’s own BBJ demonstrator, flew to Geneva nonstop from the company’s flight operations headquarters in Gary, Ind., outside Chicago. Until now, the FANS technology had been used only by airlines.