Aspen Avionics will finish the testing and certification of Honeywell Bendix/King's long-delayed KSN 770 MFD, Aspen officials announced March 23 at the Aircraft Electronics Association's annual convention in Reno, Nev.
"They [Honeywell Bendix/King] are going to rely on our expertise in the retrofit market and in light and medium GA," said Aspen Avionics President John Uczekaj.
The KSN 770 was announced with great fanfare in 2007 and Honeywell Bendix/King then expected FAA certification of the WAAS-enabled, GPS/Comm in 2008. But a long series of delays has kept the product from coming to market.
Aspen and Honeywell Bendix/King will jointly market the product once it is approved by the FAA. The product is expected to be available by the end of the year.
"This is a major step for us—and it shows commitment on the part of Honeywell Bendix/King to bring their products to market. It's a good thing for our industry,” Uczekaj said. “They have vast amounts of great technology that they can bring to the GA market—and they have capabilities that we don't have in radios and large-screen displays."
Brad Hayden, Aspen vice president for marketing, also said the KSN 770 will have a touch screen when it's finished.
Hayden also announced joint ventures between Aspen and Avidyne on the integration of Avidyne's DFC90 attitude-based autopilot, and Cobham on additional features for the S-TEC System 55X autopilot.
"Partnerships—multiple choices for our customers—is what we at Aspen are all about,” Uczekaj said. “You've got to be able to do that to lower prices for consumers and provide more options."
Hayden said Aspen has sold more than 4,000 of its pioneering glass-cockpit Evolution flight displays for general aviation aircraft, and that the company based in Albuquerque, N.M., will begin offering synthetic vision and Evolution backup displays in the second quarter of this year.
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