Avidyne earns FAA certification to continue Cirrus avionics upgrades

Avidyne is systematically working through the Cirrus fleet, providing owners with options to upgrade their avionics, rolling out similar upgrades in 2022 for Cirrus aircraft produced between 2002 and 2008.

The Vantage 12 system is designed modularly, meaning Cirrus owners can choose to implement upgrades in stages, starting with the autopilot and integrated flight display, or all at once.

Vantage 12 avionics are a significant improvement on existing Entegra systems and certainly on pre-Entegra Cirrus aircraft. The upgrades include 12-inch diagonal touch screens, terrain awareness, 3D synthetic vision, and dual attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS) that offer full redundancy.

The base price for the Vantage 12 primary flight display and multifunction display (each a 12-inch XGA touch-screen display) with dual AHRS and a single air data computer for the Cirrus is $33,000 (with Entegra PFD/MFD core return). A second ADC with a second magnetometer can be purchased for an additional $9,500; other available options include adapter harnesses and a precut panel kit.

The company noted in the press release that the system will be “initially targeted” at replacing the Entegra and pre-Entegra avionics installed in Cirrus SR20 and SR22 models, suggesting future applications of the new avionics system.