A feature called FMS Preview has been added to the Entegra Release 9 integrated flight deck by Avidyne. The company also unveiled an Entegra Release 9 flight deck for the Extra EA-500.
FMS Preview is intended to help the pilot visualize and select a desired airway, transition, approach, or initial approach fix. The feature provides a real-time graphical depiction of each proposed modification to the flight plan prior to selection.
The graphical presentation is seen on a split-screen map as pilots scroll through the list of available departures, airways, transitions, and approach procedures in the R9 Flight Management System (FMS). FMS Preview will be available as part of the upcoming Entegra Release 9.1 software that is targeted for certification later in the second quarter of 2010.
FMS Preview also includes an “FMS Centered” view that centers the map on any selected waypoint in the flight plan. This feature enables pilots to scroll through the flight plan and view the entire route of flight at a single range setting on the map, to get a better idea of the weather along the route.
“The ability to view datalink weather all along your route is a tremendous benefit of FMS Preview,” said Patrick Herguth, Avidyne’s chief operating officer. “Not only can pilots be sure they are choosing the correct procedure, they can also see the procedure relative to datalink weather on the map, to ensure they are choosing the best route or best approach for the current weather conditions.”
“FMS Preview makes selecting airways and approaches with R9 even easier, and is another example of Avidyne’s commitment to ease of use and our ‘Flying Made Simple’ philosophy,” said Dan Schwinn, Avidyne’s president and CEO. “ Entegra Release 9 is designed to make single-pilot IFR flying safer and easier, and the FMS Preview feature increases safety by enabling pilots to preview any changes to the flight plan, thereby ensuring they are selecting exactly what they want.”
Avidyne also unveiled the Entegra Release 9 Integrated Flight Deck system for the Extra EA-500 sold by Extra Aircraft of Lancaster, Pa. Extra was the first manufacturer to choose the Entegra Release 9 system as factory-standard equipment.
“We chose Avidyne for their innovation, overall ease of use, and truly redundant system architecture,” said Walter Extra, founder of Extra Aircraft. “We are quite pleased with the progress we have made in integrating the Release 9 Flight Deck into the EA-500 aircraft. Release 9 is a key differentiator for our high-performance aircraft.”
EA-500 initial deliveries are expected in late 2010.
In other news, Avidyne officials said that they have partnered with RocketRoute.com to provide Eurocontrol flight planning and tracking for the European general aviation market.
Using RocketRoute.com’s Web and mobile apps, for the first time a pilot can now prepare a route, file the route and send the route direct to their Avidyne-equipped aircraft in one simple, integrated service.
“We are bringing to all pilots a professional, low cost flight planning service. Our vision is to make planning routes and sending routes to aircraft as easy for the aviation industry, as TomTom has done for the motorist,” said Uwe Nitsche, co-founder and CTO of RocketRoute.com.
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