European company offers GPS based EFIS

Moving Terrain, a German avionics company, has developed a GPS–based electronic flight information system (EFIS). Called MT–EFIS, the system uses a WAAS GPS signal to show turns, climbs, descents, and pretty much everything else a primary flight display does.

So long as the aircraft is moving, a company representative said the display serves as a reliable back up with virtually no lag, as shown in a video on the Moving Terrain’s Web site.

Moving Terrain takes a proprietary GPS that updates four times a second, worldwide terrain data, and some user–generated data to interpolate angle of attack, true altitude, climb and sink rate, digital radar altitude (derived altitude from known terrain), rate of turn, flight path, and more. The system has no gyros and doesn’t require any other sensors.

Although the company is only marketing the experimental product in Europe, a representative said it will work anywhere there is a reliable WAAS signal, as in the United States. It’s also portable, as power can be provided by the cigarette lighter.

The full system, including Moving Terrain’s display, the EFIS software, and the company’s GPS, is €6,460 (approximately $8,242).