A Legacy of Firsts
Pilot-first avionics, from the flight deck to the wiring behind it.
The large format glass cockpit, the live depiction of your aircraft on an approach plate, satellite and ground based datalink weather, the certification of the straight-and-level button – every one of those is standard across new general aviation aircraft today, and none of them were when Avidyne first shipped them.
These firsts and many others – across flight displays, autopilots, navigators and traffic surveillance – came from asking the same question: How can we simplify a pilot’s activities when the workload is highest? That question is what makes an Avidyne panel feel the way it does, and it is still what drives our development today.
Complexity reduces safety
Features that are interesting on the ramp can become a liability during high workload phases of flight or during those hard IFR, late night, diversion-required situations. Pilot-centric avionics – as opposed to feature-first avionics – prioritize that moment; it is the design case rather than an edge case. The measure of a good flight deck becomes not what it can do — but how little it asks of the pilot while it does it.
Hidden complexity, hidden costs
A more insidious cost of complexity comes from requiring major aircraft modifications as part of an avionics installation. Not only do rip-and-replace installs drive up shop time and costs, the probability of a latent fault in the wiring or configuration increases as more aircraft modifications are required.
This leads to a second conviction: Installation should be simple and leverage what exists. Avidyne avionics use existing wiring harnesses, sensors and avionics whenever possible. One example is the installation of Avidyne’s Vantage 12 displays that our customers and shops report can be achieved in as little as two days of shop time as opposed to two weeks or more.
Your panel, your way
Leveraging existing equipment allows for incremental upgrades. An owner with a good navigator, a solid engine monitor, or a radio with plenty of life left should not have to replace all of it to get a modern display.
This drives interoperability as a design requirement – another choice we keep on making because it is in the interest of the aircraft owner and operator: Vantage 12 works with existing, first generation navigators and Avidyne’s DFC90 re-uses existing autopilot servos and rigging, reducing upgrade costs by two thirds, compared to a complete replacement. The ability to replace hardware without rewiring the entire aircraft matters most to the owner facing a failure. A dead navigator or display shouldn't force a $100,000 cockpit upgrade.
Continuing the Legacy
That legacy of firsts is concrete evidence of these convictions and the prelude to what is to come. Each of our products aims to remove complexity from the pilot’s tasks – a scan, a step, a decision at the highest-workload moment.
Give us a call or ask your avionics shop what an Avidyne upgrade would take in your airplane. The answer is usually far fewer hours than you'd expect, resulting in a simpler, modern flight deck.Related Articles
