Unveils Newest Avionics Package At Lakeland

Avidyne Corporation unveiled its latest avionics system Wednesday morning at Lakeland 2007... the Envision integrated flight deck for experimental aircraft, which the company says brings state-of-the-art situational awareness and safety tools to the cockpits of homebuilt aircraft.

Envision for Experimental Aircraft includes an Avidyne EXP5000 primary flight display (PFD) with an integrated solid-state air data and attitude/heading reference system (ADAHRS), an Avidyne EX5000 or EX500 multi function display (MFD) and interfaces to popular autopilot, GPS, traffic, terrain, lightning, and other systems.

According to the Experimental Aircraft Association, there are more than 23,000 amateur-built/homebuilt aircraft licensed by the FAA. They represent proven aircraft designs that have been flown safely for many years. Kitplane builders and manufacturers already have been using Avidyne systems in their aircraft for several years.

Based on Avidyne’s Entegra system included in thousands of factory-new aircraft, Envision was first introduced with the Alliant integrated flight deck developed by Avidyne and S-TEC for King Air 200 and King Air 90 series aircraft.

“Kitplane builders take on the satisfying challenge of building their own aircraft to achieve the best in quality, performance and value,” said Jamie Luster, Avidyne’s Director of Aftermarket Sales. “Envision for Experimental Aircraft is a great complement to their airplanes as it combines state-of-the-art tools for safe flying with Avidyne’s hallmark ease-of-use. It also highlights the ability to tailor the system for a wide range of aircraft and panel configurations.”

“With Envision for Experimental Aircraft, Avidyne is now flying in aircraft ranging from turbine-powered business aircraft to piston twins, singles and kitplanes, said Avidyne President Dan Schwinn. “We’ll continue to build the eligibility list for Envision across a wide range of existing GA aircraft.”

Envision System Overview

The Envision integrated flight deck uses a 10.4-inch diagonal Avidyne PFD with standard flight instrumentation and pilot-selectable moving-map flight plan data, horizontal situation indicator (EHSI), an RMI pointer, digital RMI readouts and integrated flight director command bars. The PFD is integrated with a solid-state air data and attitude/heading reference system (ADAHRS) providing full redundancy as well as much higher reliability than traditional “spinning-mass” gyros. The PFD may be coupled with the autopilot for altitude pre-select, vertical speed select and heading select without the need for an external control panel.

The integrated air data computer provides a valuable full-time instantaneous wind vector displayed on the PFD, taking the guesswork out of finding the right altitude to optimize flight time and wind correction while entering the pattern or flying an approach. Trend indicators provide six-second trend data for airspeed, altitude and heading, allowing precise control with reduced workload when changing or maintaining an airspeed or altitude. Vx, Vy and Vg airspeed labels make it easy to fly precise airspeeds during critical phases of flight. Heading tick marks on the PFD’s horizon improve the smoothness of heading intercepts while tightening the pilot’s scan.

The 10.4-inch diagonal EX5000 or the 5.5-inch EX500 MFD features a high-resolution moving map display that can show flight plan information and Avidyne’s exclusive two-way MultiLink™ datalink weather service. Options include interfaces to 19 different airborne weather radar systems (EX500 only), an EGPWS/TAWS display, lightning and traffic. Additional options are Avidyne’s FlightCenter™ services for flight tracking and two-way text messaging capabilities, and CMax™ Jeppesen JeppView® electronic charts.

In separate announcements, Avidyne and Southern Star Avionics also introduced the Envision retrofit system for most Cessna 300 and 400 series twin-engine piston aircraft (shown below), as well as for 2002 and earlier Cirrus Design SR20 and SR22 single-engine piston aircraft.

Retail pricing for the Envision integrated flight deck for Experimental aircraft begins at $29,995 for the EXP5000 PFD, $13,995 for the EX5000 MFD and $8,995 for the EX500 MFD. Systems are available immediately.

FMI: www.avidyne.com