A Challenger 604 at the Nextant Aerospace static display (SD28) demonstrates a unique partnership between an aircraft manufacturer, avionics manufacturer and modification company. The 604 is the largest business jet equipped with Rockwell Collins’s Pro Line Fusion touchscreen avionics suite, and the upgrade program is the result of a collaboration among Nextant, Rockwell Collins and Bombardier.

“Rockwell Collins has invested heavily in new products and features,” said Craig Olson, vice president and general manager, business and regional systems. “These include airport moving maps, enhanced vision systems, head-up displays and cockpit retrofits. Whether it’s through new features or behind the scenes, we continue to work hard keeping those aircraft current.”

The 604 upgrade was completed in a remarkably short amount of time, just 87 days from initial teardown to first flight on September 11.

Nextant is the installation design certification lead on the 604 program and did the work on the display aircraft at its Cuyahoga County Airport facility in Cleveland, Ohio. After the first flight, Nextant chief test pilot Nathan Marker said, “The cockpit performed flawlessly today. The touch-interactive technology is very intuitive and the overall integration provides exceptional situational awareness for the flight crew.”

The 604 is the third aircraft series to be upgraded to the Pro Line Fusion touchscreen flight deck. First was Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft King Air line, and the package is now available as a retrofit and as standard equipment on all new King Airs. “This was the first fully touch-capable landscape display [avionics system] that was successfully certified in single-pilot operations for primary flight displays,” said Olson.

The second upgrade was in the Citation CJ3, and this was the first business jet application for the Pro Line Fusion touchscreen suite. The first customer delivery took place earlier this year, with the upgrade done by Duncan Aviation. “Since then another four have been delivered by Duncan Aviation,” Olson said, “and 16 more are scheduled during the next 18 months.” The CJ3 STC has now been validated by Transport Canada, and EASA approval is expected shortly.

In the 604, the Pro Line Fusion upgrade replaces the original CRT-based avionics with three 14.1-inch landscape-oriented LCDs that are touch-enabled. According to Rockwell Collins, “Touch-interactive maps with eyes-forward flight planning, real-time onboard weather radar overlays and special-use airspace all add to a significant gain in situational awareness.”

The 604 upgrade includes ADS-B Out as standard, and FANS is optional. Other included features are SBAS-capable global navigation satellite system, LPV approaches, radius-to-fix legs, synthetic vision and more.

The STC for the 604 Pro Line Fusion upgrade is expected in less than a year, and by then there should be approximately 25 customers signed up, according to Olson. “There are about 350 active 604s out there, and we’re seeing similar interest [as the CJ3] at this stage. And there is aggressive pricing for early adopters. The upgrade will be available at Nextant Aerospace, which is developing the 604XT refurbishment program, and also at Bombardier service centers."

“Having worked on several programs in the past,” said Nextant’s Marker, “I’m most impressed by the forward-fit nature of this integration. Historically, retrofit applications have lacked some of the functionality that can be found with the latest technology seen on new production aircraft. The Pro Line Fusion cockpit not only addresses pending regulatory and obsolescence requirements that the Challenger 604 is facing, it also provides the flight crew with the absolute latest in forward-fit technology.”

ADS-B Aid

For operators that have yet to comply with the U.S. and European ADS-B Out mandate (the U.S deadline is by midnight Dec. 31, 2019, followed by Europe June 7, 2020), Rockwell Collins (Booth N4000) has introduced a new variant of its TDR-94/94D mode-S transponder.

The new transponder is designed to make installations easier for aircraft that don’t already have a controller that generates a flight ID, by automatically generating a fixed flight ID from the mode-S code for U.S.-registered aircraft.

Rockwell Collins is developing two new approved model list STCs that will cover 55 Part 23 and 25 aircraft models, and these and the new transponders will be available from dealers in early 2018.

“For many of the installed base, an entire retrofit may not make sense,” Olson said, given the low hull value of some aircraft or the remaining life. “This gives operators the capability of adding ADS-B Out without a full upgrade. With the ADS-B Out mandate deadline quickly approaching, we’ve been hard at work to bring options to the market that make it easier for owners to get equipped in time.”