“From the very beginning, Aspen has been committed to develop general aviation solutions for pilots that are innovative, safe, affordable, and contribute to future growth in this important segment of the economy. This is a segment of the flying public that at best, has been underserved”, said John Uczekaj, president and CEO, Aspen Avionics. “Aspen has done a great amount of market research and our findings were that VFR pilots, and IFR pilots that are not current represent over 50 percent of the flying population. The Aspen EFD1000 VFR PFD combines situational awareness and safety into a single-flat panel liquid crystal display that can be easily upgraded to a fully IFR-capable Evolution Pro PFD. At current exchange rates, the Aeolus Sense is selling for just under $600 – and if you already have an i-thingy, that is a pretty cheap six-pack solution.Aspen Avionics Develops Industry’s First Certified Glass Panel Primary Flight Display (PFD) for VFRĪspen’s Evolution 1000 VFR PFD meets the needs of VFR pilots now and provides an easy upgrade to an Aspen Evolution EFD1000 Pro PFD for IFR operationsĪircraft Electronics Association, Nashville, TN - March 13, 2014: Aspen Avionics, manufacturer of the Evolution Flight Display system, today announced it has developed the industry’s first certified glass panel PFD built specifically for VFR pilots. No, I am not going to give up all the big, fancy, capable boxes in stalled in my panels – but if I was looking for an inexpensive panel for a simple machine, or as a backup in something more capable, the Talos Aeolus would be worth a look. Talos gives away the black and white version as a back-up for pilots – the color version can be purchased, or self-activates if you buy the ADAHRS box. Once linked to the Aeolus, the display changes to full color and the air data becomes real and alive (the black and white version tells you that you are looking at GPS-derived speed and altitude). In an emergency, this might be enough to keep the wings level and the airplane upright. The software used on the iPad is downloadable from the App store for free – if you are willing to use the iPad’s internal sensors and look at a black and white picture. Getting a good compass calibration with he little box sitting on the cockpit floor (near steel rudder pedals, cables, electrical bundles, etc.) is problematic – but if this was installed in a nice magnetically quiet location in the airframe, I am pretty sure it would do a god job at providing basic flight instruments. While the first unit we had exhibited some problems in attitude stability and the WiFi link to the iPad was flaky, the second unit seems to confirm tat the first one had some sick hardware, and is performing just fine. I’ve been flying with this little unit in my RV-8, with the air data tapped into the test ports under the panel, and the power just coming from a 12 volt outlet. It includes an internal magnetometer to track magnetic heading as a bonus. The Aeolus Sense box has ports for pitot and static, a temperature probe (so that it can do TAS calculations), and a GPS input so that it knows where it is and how it pointed. If I had an ultralight or no-electrical airplane, this would be a neat panel solution. Problems with glare and brightness aside (and these issues seem to vary widely from pilot to pilot and cockpit to cockpit), the iPad (or iPhone) can make a nice panel display for a VFR fun flyer. This small cube is a full ADAHRS – attitude and air data computer – that communicates with my iPad to give me a real-time six-pack of instruments to use as a backup to the big expensive panel – or as a primary panel in a small, simple airplane. I have recently been experimenting with a compact little box from Talos Avionics called the Aeolus Sense. But there is another end of this business – the inexpensive yet capable end that can help folks who just want to fly get and stay in the game. I spend a lot of my time installing and flying behind the latest in top end experimental avionics – full touch screen EFISs, advanced autopilots that will fly a coupled approach and make you coffee while doing it, and audio systems that rival a concert hall in capability and clarity.
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