Never-Ending Lineup includes Class III PFD, EA100 Autopilot Attitude Interface, Engine Monitoring and Evolution Backup Display

Aspen Avionics has filled in the blanks after a series of announcements was made a few days ago during ANN's LIVE Aero-Streaming of AEA2010's exciting New Product Introduction forums. The company has added details about pricing and availability for new products to be released by the company this year. Two of the products, the EFD1000C3 Pro PFD for Class III aircraft, and the EA100 Autopilot Attitude Interface will be available by July 2010. The Engine Monitoring upgrade for the Aspen MFDs and the Evolution Backup Display product will ship by the end of 2010.

“Aspen more than doubled its product line in 2009, and will continue to bring innovative and affordable avionics solutions to the GA retrofit avionics market in 2010 and beyond,” said John Uczekaj, President and CEO of Aspen Avionics. “This year we have already launched our helicopter display line, which was met with much enthusiasm by the rotorcraft community. During the remainder of 2010 we will introduce enhancements to our existing displays, as well as entirely new products that will take Aspen into different and emerging markets.”

In 2010 Aspen Avionics will release the following upgrades and products:

Evolution 1000C3 Pro Primary Flight Display (PFD) Class III

Certified for Class III aircraft that weigh 6,000 to 12,500 pounds, the Evolution 1000C3 Pro PFD will be available in July 2010. The unit will be based on level B software and can be combined with Aspen’s Evolution 1000 MFD and 500 MFD for a complete glass cockpit solution for heavier aircraft.

“Our dealers tell us that there is a lot of pent up demand among their customers who are awaiting an Aspen Class III PFD,” said Mark Ferrari, Aspen’s Vice President of Sales and Customer Support. “Our solution is aggressively priced and will appeal to the Class III aircraft owners, including the larger fleet operators.” The 1000C3 Pro PFD has a list price of $12,995.

EA100 Autopilot Attitude Interface

The EA100 Autopilot Attitude Interface provides digital-to-analog data conversion between the Evolution 1000 Pro PFD and an aircraft’s attitude-based autopilot system. By enabling the PFD’s AHRS to provide accurate and reliable attitude information directly to the autopilot, aircraft owners may now have the option to remove aging (and expensive) legacy attitude mechanical gyros when they install Evolution Flight Display Systems.

The first version of the EA100 will allow the replacement of the popular Bendix/King KI-256 attitude indicator and will support the KAP 100/200 series and the KFC 200 series autopilots that require inputs from that model of gyro. Future versions of the EA100 Interfaces will support additional Bendix/King, Collins, Cessna/ARC and Sperry autopilot systems. The first version of the EA100 will be available in July 2010, and will have a list price of $2,495.

Evolution Engine Monitoring

Available Q4 of 2010, the Evolution Engine Monitoring feature will display critical engine data on Evolution 1000 series and 500 series MFDs. The engine information will be displayed in a highly graphical EFIS format, directly in the pilot’s primary view, reducing their workload and increasing safety. This feature will be offered as an upgrade to the Evolution MFDs.

“Digital displays are more reliable and precise than mechanical gauges,” said Brad Hayden, Vice President of Marketing for Aspen. “It makes sense to bring such important information right in front of the pilot so they can be aware of their engine’s performance and get early indications of potential issues. Also, thanks to the unique ability of our MFDs to show data in multiple window configurations, the pilot can choose where and how the engine information will be presented in relation to other navigation and hazard inputs.”

The Evolution Engine Monitoring feature will work with any engine monitoring system that provides RS232 display outputs. Various engine data management systems will be tested for compatibility with the Evolution displays throughout product development and specifications released as they are certified. The Evolution Engine Monitoring upgrade will list for $495.

Evolution Backup Display

The Evolution Backup Display is designed to replace legacy mechanical backup instruments in OEM and retrofit glass panel installations. It is highly compatible with existing avionics, and reportedly provides more backup functionality at a less expensive price than other EFIS backup displays available on the market today.

Based on the unique EFD1000 platform, the Evolution Backup Display has the same level of functionality, interoperability and reliability that have made the Evolution 1000 Pro PFD such a popular choice among aircraft owners. A specially designed software load allows the flight display to be rotated onto its side into a landscape orientation, and the Attitude Direction Indicator (ADI) and the Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) are represented vertically in this new configuration. The landscape orientation allows the unit to be conveniently installed below or above an EFIS display panel and easily readable
by the pilot.

When connected to the aircraft’s GPS, the Evolution Backup Display provides seven backup functions in the event of a primary EFIS failure, including attitude, altitude, airspeed, HSI, VSI, GPS flight plan, and GPS steering. The unit presents the backup data via the intuitive, easy-to-read Evolution interface, and like the EFD1000, contains a thirty-minute backup battery and will remain working even in the event of electrical failure in the avionics panel.

“The Evolution Flight Display is a natural product for the backup display market. Safety and reliability have been built into the product since its earliest designs,” said Hayden. “If the primary EFIS in the cockpit fails, transitioning to a glass backup display interface, rather than a mechanical instrument, will be much more intuitive and less stressful to the pilot in an emergency situation.”

The Evolution Backup Display will be available in December 2010, in various configurations with different features, starting below $10,000.

FMI: www.aspenavionics.com