Duncan Aviation’s Engineering & Certification Services department has developed an STC covering the equipment upgrade from Gogo Business Aviation’s legacy air-to-ground (ATG) systems to the newer Avance L3 wi-fi system for the Falcon 2000.
Completed on a Falcon 2000 at Duncan Aviation’s satellite in Chesterfield, Missouri, at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, the STC received FAA approval in late November 2023.
This upgrade allows passengers and crew aboard Falcon 2000 aircraft equipped with Avance L3 to retain inflight connectivity by accessing the newer Gogo Biz Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, which will eventually replace Gogo’s existing Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network.
Duncan Aviation said downtime for the upgrade is five business days in most cases. The upgrade entails removing the older legacy ATG system and replacing it with the newer Avance L3 system. In most instances, the existing ATG antennas already installed will provide access to the Gogo LTE network, simplifying the installation.
Because legacy ATG (8000, 5000, 4000, 2000, and 1000) equipment will not be able to connect to the LTE network, the older technology will not be supported beyond early 2026 when the network transitions completely from EV-DO to LTE and 5G, Duncan Aviation said. Without access to a network, aircraft with legacy ATG equipment will no longer have inflight connectivity.
Gogo is currently offering incentives for customers to upgrade to an Avance system: a US$50,000 rebate for Avance L5 upon service activation; a US$25,000 rebate for Avance L3 (Max and Plus only) upon service activation; a US$100,000 combined rebate for Avance L5 + Gogo 5G upon service activation.
