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Carl Marbach |
AVweb
asked various vendors at AirVenture this year about the status of all the
promises we've heard in the last year or so about obtaining real-time weather
information in the cockpit. The good news is that you can get weather in the
cockpit right now. The bad news is that neither of the providers awarded FAA
contracts last year have seemingly come very far in since then.
Echo Flight
Echo
Flight of Boulder, Colo., has a satellite-based system that is operational
right now. Using a comm-like antenna on the top of your airplane, a small box
mounted under your front seat and a proprietary yoke-mounted display, you can
get METARS, TAFS and NEXRAD radar images on demand. Using the ORBCOMM
low-earth orbit constellation, Echo Flight requests data and receives the data
using their own microburst transmission technology that compresses the data
giving it the necessary bandwidth to get images and text to the display on
your yoke. The display is very bright and readable and can display lots of
textual information when not displaying weather.
Garmin
has announced that they will be using Echo Flight's software and satellite
system to display weather on their GNS 530 and 430 displays. Garmin also says
they will adopt other technologies as they become available; including the
FAA's own FISDL standard. And, according to Arnav, a forthcoming software
upgrade for these boxes will allow them to receive and display the
FAA-provided FISDL data.
Echo Flight service costs $9.95 per month for limited service and up to $55
per month for unlimited use. The system also includes email access in flight.
FAA's FISDL
Meanwhile,
at least one of the two FAA-selected providers is able to provide a TSO'd
receiver and are close to certifying their receivers and will soon start
deploying ground stations. Honeywell announced that users will be able to
receive weather signals on the Bendix/King KDR 510 receiver and display it on
FISDL-compatible versions of the Bendix/King KMD 550 and KMD 850
multi-function displays. Honeywell plans to deploy ground stations on the east
and west coasts first, then fill in the high-density traffic areas before
finally completing their CONUS coverage with the mountain states. They expect
full coverage above 5,000 feet by the end of 2001. By AirVenture 2001, there
should be enough coverage to really demonstrate how the system will work.
Arnav, the
second provider to be awarded the FAA FISDL contract, will display weather on
their MFD 5200, which is also capable of terrain avoidance and navigation
displays. The company is offering two receiver modules, one — which received
FAA's technical standard order (TSO) approval just last week — is
upload-only. Arnav also offers a second, larger "black box" receiver
that allows two-way communication, including email, under the FISDL
specification. On Sunday at AirVenture, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey cut an
"electronic ribbon" to start the first ground station operating and
as she did a display screen in the booth flashed the latest NEXRAD radar
image. Arnav also expects to complete 5,000-foot coverage in about a year and
a half.
Projected monthly costs for both the Honeywell and Arnav systems will be
about $30 per month for weather graphics, according to FAA requirements both
systems will allow uploading of textual weather like METARS and TAFS without
charge.
Is That Your Final Answer?
So the answer to the question of "Where is my cockpit weather?"
is: Some service is available today. But there will be more tomorrow. If you
can't wait for the "real deal" or don't have the panel
space/patience to wait for an installed MFD and associated receiver, you need
to talk to Echo Flight.
Echo Flight Inc.
1919 14th St.
Suite 601
Boulder, CO 80302
www.echoflight.com
ARNAV Systems Inc.
16923 Meridian East
Puyallup, WA 98383
www.arnav.com
Honeywell
One Technology Center
23500 West 105th St.
Olathe, KS 66061
www.bendixking.com
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