Duncan Aviation is pleased to announce that its Satellite Avionics Shop in Sacramento, California, has upgraded a Rockwell Collins TDR-94D for a Piaggio Avanti P-180, bringing the aircraft into compliance with the FAA’s mandate for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out.
Using the Approved Model List Supplemental Type Certificate (AML-STC) for Part 23 aircraft developed by CMD Flight Solutions, the team in Sacramento upgraded the TDR-94D, installed an annunciator, and rewired the inputs for the GPS, replacing the GPS 4000A with the much more accurate GPS 4000S Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS) sensor.
Although Sacramento Satellite Manager Bob Hazy initially thought they’d need a full two weeks, the shop is working on its second Piaggio upgrade now, and they’ve dropped the turntime. With enough advanced notice, he says the shop can perform the upgrade and installation in a week.
“That’s in part because the Duncan Aviation Avionics Shop in Lincoln, Nebraska, has been authorized to upgrade the Rockwell Collins TDR-94s and, with advanced scheduling, can turn them in as little as one day,” says Hazy. “They’re staying on top of the upgrades, too, and that makes it easy for us to comply with our customers’ busy schedules.”
The STC covers the following Part 23 aircraft that have Pro Line 21 equipment: Piaggio, King Air, Beechcraft Premier and Textron (500 series Citations). Some of the earlier P-180s had a single transponder installed, and Duncan Aviation can install a dual transponder upgrade on those aircraft. The installation takes slightly longer, so plan on approximately three weeks of downtime for that option.
“Speaking of Pro Line 21 equipment, one of the reasons our Piaggio customers especially like this STC is because we’re upgrading the existing system and keeping the original equipment intact,” says Hazy. “That’s important to our customers because it retains the value of their aircraft.”
The Duncan Aviation Satellite network has capacity and labor resources at the moment, and the company has developed a slot program that helps customers who may not be ready to upgrade immediately but want guaranteed hangar space and labor resources in the coming year. The program allocates two spots per Satellite Shop per month for ADS-B upgrades and holds a confirmed date, labor and hangar space for one aircraft. Owner/operators can call now to reserve the spots for 2018 and 2019 and through the rest of 2017, where space is available.
If you’re near the Duncan Aviation Sacramento Satellite Shop, give Bob Hazy a call (303.210.1668). To reserve a slot at one of the Duncan Aviation Satellite Avionics Shops near you, can any of the Satellite shops (www.duncanaviation.aero/locations/#satellites) or Regional Avionics Sales Manager Mark Francetic (702.303.4888).
