With its IFD-series navigators gaining some market ground, Avidyne announced at Sun ‘n Fun Tuesday several enhancements to the product line that expand capability and convenience for users, according to Avidyne CEO Dan Schwinn. Schwinn said Avidyne is making synthetic vision available for its entire line of IFR navigators.
The synvision features a unique in-trail or exocentric view of the host aircraft—sort of a real-time bird’s-eye view—in addition to a view that mimics what the pilot would see out the window. To execute its version of synthetic vision, Avidyne developed what it calls an integrated attitude reference system (ARS) that tells the navigator its relative position in space. In the IFD550/545 navigators, this will allow pilots to toggle between synthetic vision off and a traditional blue-over-brown display as well as an overlay of horizontal and vertical deviation indicators and a flight path marker, to name some of the new system’s features. The ARS will be available only for new IFD series navigators, while basic synthetic vision will be a software upgrade for products already in the field. The software is expected to be available later this year, as will the new navigators featuring the ARS technology.
For its expanding connectivity products, Avidyne also introduced a unique iPad-based app product called the IFD100. Communicating wirelessly with a panel-mount IFD4- or IFD5-series, the IFD100 app repeats the screen display of the panel mount on the tablet, including all of the knob and touchscreen functionality. Schwinn said for apps capable of it, the IFD100 can also work in split-screen mode. The IFD100 app allows pilots to create a flight plan at home, as they would on any flight plan app, and then synchronize with the panel mount before departure. The IFD100 app will be available later in the year, along with the company’s release of the 10.2 software upgrade that will enable synthetic vision.
