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Tamarack is working toward STC approval of a fuselage-mounted LEO satellite antenna system.
Tamarack Aerospace Group has developed an inflight connectivity system for Cessna Citation light jets that is intended to access low-Earth-orbit satellite networks.
Tamarack, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, describes the new AirConnect system as a permanently installed, fuselage-mounted, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite antenna with an aerodynamically optimized, low-drag fairing.
The system is undergoing FAA certification flight testing on a customer-owned Cessna Citation CJ1, the company announced on May 21. It expects to obtain supplemental type certification (STC) approval from the FAA in the third quarter.
Tamarack provides the low-drag fairing, the aircraft integration, the electrical architecture, and the certification work that makes it a legal permanent modification on every Cessna Model 525-series variant.
Tamarack AirConnect is intended to support high-speed inflight connectivity from SpaceX Starlink and Amazon LEO, both based on LEO satellite networks. It uses either the Starlink Mini or Amazon’s future compact LEO antenna options.
“Customers will select, subscribe to, and contract their preferred service plan directly with their chosen provider,” Tamarack says. “Tamarack Aerospace Group is the developer, STC holder, and installer of the Tamarack AirConnect hardware system and is not a reseller or provider of satellite connectivity services.”
If a customer decides to switch connectivity providers later, the antenna swap is expected to be a relatively straightforward activity because the core installation stays in place.
The initial Tamarack AirConnect STC program covers all models of the Cessna 525, 525A, and 525B type certificates, including the Citation M2, CJ, CJ1, CJ1+, CJ2, CJ2+, CJ3, and CJ3+.
Tamarack completed installation of an AirConnect system on a customer-owned Cessna Citation CJ1, which has been operating since March under an Experimental certification in support of the STC program.
The system is designed to be installed in approximately three days at a Tamarack-authorized service facility. Tamarack says it is accepting reservations for system installations, giving operators the opportunity to secure a priority position in the Tamarack AirConnect queue. Pricing information will be announced this summer.
“Portable Starlink setups, while popular, carry practical limitations well known to Citation operators: direction-dependent signal loss, and the ongoing management of cables, suction cups, and improvised mounts,” Tamarack says. “Tamarack AirConnect eliminates all of these.”
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