Avidyne has announced that XM WX Satellite Weather service will be available to operators of FlightMax EX500 Multifunction Display (MFD) systems. In addition, Avidyne announced an attractive limited-time upgrade program for EX500 owners to add XM WX. This XM Upgrade Program enables EX500 owners to receive the benefits of broadcast datalink capability at a savings of $1,575.

The XM Upgrade Program will provide a $1,000 rebate from Heads Up Technologies with the purchase of an XMD-076 transceiver and antenna (retail price $3750); an EX500 MFD software upgrade ($500 value); and a waiver of the XM subscription registration fee ($75 value), for a total savings of $1,575.

The XM Upgrade Program is available for all EX500 customers who are registered Narrowcast datalink customers on or before September 30, 2004. Installations need to be completed by December 31, 2004.

FlightMax customers now have an unprecedented amount of operational flexibility, with three industry-leading options including:

1. MultiLink– Avidyne’s exclusive MultiLink technology seamlessly integrates XM and Narrowcast datalink capability for the most advanced and easiest-to-use datalink system available, enabling the FlightMax EX500 to display aviation weather at the high-speed update rates of XM, while also offering the efficiency of lower-cost, two-way Narrowcast datalink.
2. XM– Avidyne’s XM WX Satellite Weather service gives pilots comprehensive, graphical information about weather conditions across the U.S., including full-color, high-resolution NEXRAD Radar overlaid on the EX500’s moving map; graphical and plain-English textual METARs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs and TFRs; and lightning strikes from the National Lightning Detection Network. XM provides full continental United States (CONUS) coverage with no gaps or altitude restrictions. 
3. Narrowcast– Avidyne’s integrated Narrowcast two-way datalink system provides route-specific weather data over CONUS, Canada and the Caribbean on a pay-as-you-go basis, offering a combination of exceptional value as well as the capacity to offer such future capabilities as position reporting and air-to-ground messaging. Narrowcast is an ideal datalink solution for those who only fly a few hours per month or a few months per year.

FMI: www.avidyne.com