FreeFlight Systems of Waco, Texas, announced today at the AEA International Convention and Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn., that it has received FAA STC approval for an ADS-B OUT solution for the Sikorsky S-76A/B/C models. FreeFlight worked with Peregrine Avionics and DAC International to develop the STC. The ADS-B OUT solution is a 10090ES system, with high-integrity Waas GPS position source and an ADS-B rule-compliant mode-S transponder.

FreeFlight pioneered ADS-B approvals, having developed the first STC to meet the Jan. 1, 2020 mandate. That system was for the AgustaWestland AW139. FreeFlight also collaborated on an STC for the S-76C+/C++.

A new program for FreeFlight is a long-term agreement to supply its FDL-978-TX Rangr-G ADS-B transponder to Exelis for airport ground vehicles. This is part of Exelis’s Symphony Vehicle Movement Area Transponder (VMAT) airport operations system. VMAT will be used to provide tracking of all types of vehicles on the airport surface at 35 airports in the U.S. that are equipped with airport surveillance detection equipment (ASDE-X). It can also be used at airports with airport surface surveillance capability (ASSC).

Air traffic control displays, cockpit displays and portable devices can be used to view the equipped vehicles on the airport surface. Portable devices will use Exelis’s MobileVue application. According to FreeFlight, “the Rangr-G is the first and currently only FAA-certified [universal access transceiver] for ground vehicle installation." The Rangr-G operates on the 978UAT frequency that is also used for ADS-B IN datalink weather and traffic services.