Words From Avidyne's 'Oval Office'

We talked with Avidyne's President, Dan Schwinn, on the eve of the public introduction of the new PFD (primary flight display), to be delivered Monday, beautifully packaged in a Cirrus. This "aviation first" is a real cause for well-earned celebration at the Lincoln (MA) facility, as well as at Cirrus, in balmy Duluth (MN), where the new machine will be delivered.

It wasn't easy, being a pioneer. Heck, it wasn't easy, being an engineer.

Dan (right) told us, "We're very excited about it. It turns out to be technically pretty difficult to do." Well, not a [single] thing: "We did a handful of separate things, all of which would have been noteworthy in their own rights -- and we combined them. We designed a low-cost AHRS, and an air-data computer; the user-interface elements required a lot of FAA work," he started; but the sheer enormity of the accomplishment -- not just the engineering and manufacturing, but also the certification -- started to take over. "We did autopilot integration -- it's so cool -- but it wasn't initially set to be integrated."

There's more; not every function is just plug-and-play, even in existing units: "The GARMIN units -- all this took a lot of work, getting them all integrated," Dan reminded us.

Oh -- and it's certified in a package, called an airplane. That provides more 'opportunity' for fun:

It wasn't all done on a bench, either; there's a lot of air work involved. Dan continued, "Cirrus put so much flight time on this, themselves and with the FAA... It's been quite a project. Cirrus is in a terriffic position, because they were willing to go first on this thing. They've made this part of their offering -- their whole customer base is talking about it."

Cirrus, by at least months, is the first, but won't be the only aircraft certified with the Avidyne system. "The Diamond, and the Lancair Kits and Certified folks are all working with us on incorporating the Entegra system," Mr. Schwinn said. "Also, there's Eclipse," a couple years hence. (As others sign on, announcements will be forthcoming, and we'll have them for you, in Aero-News.)

The enthusiam is obvious: it's fun to be a leader.

"It's interesting," the prez told us. "We think, Cirrus thinks... there's an element of this PFD that's so exciting -- it's the beginning of the next generation of light planes, of usability and safety in these light planes. This changes everything. It was obviously a very big project for us -- this kind of technology is a new step, from the 'old' to the 'new' light airplanes." He explained, "We've had a lot of pilot comments, like, 'This is a revolutionary change; it's the thing that is to come.'"

He talked a bit about the Entegra in the Cirrus. It sounded popular, already: "From what we have heard, the vast majority of customers are planning on incorporating this."

'It took me 20 minutes' to learn how to use it.

"Realistically," Dan said, "it probably takes an hour to learn what everything is, where everything is, and how to use it. We tried really hard to not end up with a PFD that had a zillion features, that nobody could ever learn to use. I believe that, after a solid hour, you'll be able to use every function. There's a lot of really good features."

It's not just about how 'gee-whiz' your cockpit looks, though. Dan summed up: "I hope this makes people feel more competent and comfortable as pilots, and that it will, in turn, improve their safety." There was one other thing: "I also hope it helps Cirrus sell airplanes." [It will, Dan, it will... --ed.]

FMI: www.avidyne.com