Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity provider Apcela and Liberty Partners have developed an upgrade path for installation of Apcela (née SmartSky) systems on legacy business airplanes that simplifies the certification process. Installing ATG on older aircraft using the major alteration process “gives operators of legacy business aircraft a faster, more predictable, and cost-effective path to modern in-flight connectivity,” according to Apcela.
Liberty Partners provides the FAA field-approval engineering and PMA parts for the upgrades, available for older Cessna Citations, Dassault Falcons, Gulfstreams, Hawkers, and Learjets. The company will develop supplemental type certificates (STCs) for these installations later, as more owners of those aircraft upgrade to Apcela ATG systems, and these will “migrate cleanly into the STC.”
In the meantime, aircraft owners can take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to Apcela ATG without having to wait for an STC to be approved.
“We have STCs on most newer-model airframes. For older airframes that we have not yet reached with STCs, like a Learjet 45 or Hawker 800, those don’t need a clean-sheet STC program to get modern connectivity; they need approved data, the right hardware, and a team that can install it,” said Apcela CTO Mike Dodson. “Pairing Apcela ATG’s connectivity platform with Liberty Partners’ engineering and PMA hardware lets operators upgrade efficiently, without the cost, downtime, or uncertainty of a bespoke or upfront STC program.”

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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In the meantime, aircraft owners can take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to Apcela ATG without having to wait for an STC to be approved.

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In this article

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