Bombardier Business Aircraft’s biannual three-day Maintenance and Operations Conference opened yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with brand ambassador William Shatner as a surprise keynote speaker. The actor recounted his passion for aviation and the importance of connectivity (he went on a test flight with the Bombardier Wave datacom system late last year).

The conference brings owners, operators, vendors, partners, suppliers and Bombardier team members from all over the world to discuss the latest improvements for the Bombardier Learjet, Challenger and Global fleets, as well as operational requirements. Admission to the conference is free for operators.

To address the looming ADS-B and Fans mandates, customer liaison pilots at the conference are walking owners and operators through the requirements and helping operators find available solutions. On this note, Bombardier has already issued a Service Bulletin or made an STC available with a third party, depending on the platform, so operators can meet these mandates.

It is holding technical breakout sessions on each aircraft family today and tomorrow. For pilots in attendance, the company is offering sessions on runway safety awareness, multiscan radar, human factors and international operations.