Entegra First Integrated Flight Deck With Weather Radar Display

Avidyne has announced they have added airborne weather radar display capability to the FlightMax Entegra EX5000, when interfaced with the RDR 2000 digital radar system. The EX5000 is a 10.4-inch diagonal, high-resolution, multi-function display (MFD) that is available for stand-alone applications or as part of Avidyne’s FlightMax Entegra integrated flight deck suite. Avidyne continues its market leadership by being the first to add radar display capability on an integrated flight for general aviation.

The EX5000 is also the first large-format MFD for general aviation that can display datalink graphical weather and airborne weather radar.  It is available as a retrofit for existing aircraft, or as standard equipment on several OEM aircraft models as part of the Entegra suite, including the New Piper PA46 Meridian. 

“On-board weather radar is an important tool for tactical weather avoidance and the EX5000’s large display with moving map overlay shows radar returns in a uniquely compelling and meaningful way,” said Mark Sandeen, Avidyne’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “When used in conjunction with Avidyne’s exclusive MultiLink™ datalink graphical weather for strategic weather avoidance, the EX5000 provides the most complete picture of your flight situation available.”

“Weather radar is the next logical step for FlightMax Entegra as Entegra’s market acceptance continues to broaden among higher-end aircraft,” said Bill Munroe, Avidyne’s Director of OEM Product Marketing. “Multi-Engine Piston and Turbine aircraft with integrated flight decks benefit from having on-board weather radar, as well as datalink weather, and Avidyne is the first in this market to offer both capabilities in an integrated flight deck system.”

“This opens up many new aftermarket opportunities for the EX5000,” said Jamie Luster, Avidyne’s Aftermarket Product Marketing Manager. “Many aircraft owners and operators can now realize the benefits of having integrated radar and datalink on our industry-leading EX5000 moving map display, by taking advantage of the additional panel space made available by the removal of a dedicated radar display.”

The EX5000 MFD provides full-featured moving map display capability including navigation, topographic terrain, obstacles, special use airspace, lightning, traffic, and Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS).  The EX5000 is also available with integrated MultiLink datalink capability, which includes XM WX datalink weather interface capability and FlightCenter services providing flight tracking and two-way text messaging capabilities. 

The EX5000 is also available with CMax™ Electronic Approach Charts, Avidyne’s implementation of Jeppesen’s JeppView® electronic charts service. 

The radar-capable EX5000 provides dedicated knobs for bearing and tilt control, as well as one-button access on the map display to turn the radar ON or put it into TEST or STBY mode. In addition to overlaying weather radar returns on the moving map, the EX5000 also provides a dedicated radar page with a traditional radar indicator presentation, and includes support for the RDR2000’s Vertical Profile™ display capability. The EX5000 also supports many other radar modes including Ground Map, Target Alert, Auto Tilt, Sector Scan, and Avidyne’s exclusive BeamView™ and TiltView™.

The FlightMax EX5000 is available with or without an RDR2000 radar interface.  The EX5000 is available as standard equipment on many new OEM aircraft. Contact the respective OEMs for pricing and availability.

For aftermarket applications, the FlightMax EX5000 with integrated MultiLink datalink starts at $13,995 and the RDR2000-compatible EX5000 with integrated MultiLink datalink starts at $16,995. There is no additional charge for the XM WX interface. The CMax™ Approach Charts option is $2,495.  Aftermarket systems are available now. XM and Multilink require the XMD-076 XM WX Receiver, which is available from Heads Up Technologies for $3,750. 

FMI: www.avidyne.com