AeroMech Incorporated, an Everett, Washington-based FAA approved company that provides engineering, flight testing and certification services for Inflight connectivity, RVSM and avionics systems, has been developing an STC for the installation of Starlink high speed internet connectivity on Cessna Citation 560XL series aircraft. The STC is expected in September and includes the Citation Excel, XLS and XLS+ models. AeroMech plans to include the Citation Ascend in the STC as soon as possible.

AeroMech is now accepting pre-orders for the Citation 560XL Starlink STC equipment package. Pre-ordering the 560XL Starlink package will allow operators to lock in a discounted price and obtain Starlink on their airframe as soon as the STC is available.

AeroMech has also announced plans to pursue STCs for the installation of the Starlink aviation system on several other Textron Aviation aircraft models, including the Citation Sovereign, Citation X, Citation Latitude, Citation Longitude, Cessna Caravan, Cessna SkyCourier and Hawker 800/900 series aircraft. In addition to the Citation 560XL, AeroMech plans to complete STCs for at least two other airframes by the end of this year, with additional models to quickly follow in 2025.

AeroMech COO Anthony Wiederkehr states: “We will work hard to complete these STCs and bring the best inflight connectivity available in aviation to all these airframes as soon as possible.”

AMI Aviation Services, AeroMech's wholly owned subsidiary, will conduct Starlink installations for end users from its facilities at Sanford International airport (KSFB) in Orlando, Florida and Smyrna Airport (KMQY) near Nashville, Tennessee or travel onsite to the aircraft location via its remote “go teams”.

AeroMech will provide all developed Starlink STCs and PMA installation kits to any qualified Starlink dealer worldwide. Starlink dealers can contact AeroMech directly for questions regarding the STCs and PMA kits.

Key advantages of Starlink aviation inflight connectivity include: high-speed connectivity – customers will enjoy living-room style internet access with Starlink's high-speed capabilities for work, entertainment and communication during flights with download speeds up to 300 MB/s and upload speeds up to 35 MB/s; reliability – Starlink operates the world's largest satellite constellation and ensures continuous multi-satellite communication to every Starlink aviation antenna for the redundancy required to ensure it is the most reliable satcom network in the world; low latency – with low-latency performance consistently less than 30ms, Starlink enables real-time applications such as video conferencing, live video feeds and high-quality streaming with no buffering or jitter; global coverage – the widespread and vast Starlink satellite constellation can guarantee reliable connectivity to Starlink aviation users worldwide, even in the most challenging geographic locations; and minimal aircraft downtime – the Starlink aviation system is a ‘standalone system’ that consists of an antenna, power supply and router, and only requires power input to the aircraft. With no need to tap into ARINC or any onboard aircraft systems, aircraft downtime can be minimised.