DAT LT is an airline established more than 15 years ago in Lithuania which nowadays provides a mix of services including scheduled flights, ACMI (charter and leasing) and cargo.
Operating a fleet of x18 ATR turboprops of various sizes and generations (including the latest -600 variant), time has come for the company to modernise 13 units, from a cockpit perspective and in response to the requirements posed by the ADS-B Out mandate (CIR (EU) No 1207/2011).
This opportunity for modernisation will permit, in addition, harmonising the different types of avionics architectures currently present in the fleet as well as achieving a transition from a mix of up to 4 FMS types to only 1. The central piece of the overall solution is the EGNOS-capable Universal UNS-1Lw SBAS-FMS.
“Once the program is completed, our pilots will not have to spend time learning and keeping up to date with 4 different boxes. There are cases today, such as unscheduled aircraft changes, where pilots need to reset their minds in minutes if the new aircraft has a different FMS than the one they were supposed to fly. This situation will end in the coming months” says Paulius Jakas, DAT LT CAMO Manager.
Moreover, the benefits do not end here: “When analysing the options available in the market to add ADS-B Out capability, we realised that, with just a bit more investment, we would also benefit from LPV approaches. LPV comes as a bonus over the ADS-B Out baseline and therefore, we decided to go for it. We are confident this will increase our competiveness in the market” adds Mr. Jakas.
The FMS will be supported by x2 Collins TDR-94D transponders and Universal’s LPV Monitor. An STC will be developed by the Texas-based Aircraft Systems and Manufacturing, Inc company to modify the first aircraft before end of 2019.