Hazard Display And Terrain Awareness
Aspen Avionics says its
AT300 Multifunction Hazard Awareness Display has entered full-rate
production and is now being shipped to dealers. First end-customer
deliveries of the non-certified AT300 display occurred in
January.
“This milestone marks the transition of the company from a
product development phase to a manufacturing phase” said
Peter Lyons, president of Aspen.
The AT300, which was announced at AirVenture in 2004, uses a
high resolution 2.5 inch 240 x 480 AMLCD to provide brilliant,
full-color moving map multifunction display (MFD) technology in a
standard 3 inch instrument format. The AT300, which has been
designed to replace a legacy VSI, includes a vertical speed
indicator as part of its multifunction display, allowing it to be
installed in even the most crowded aircraft instrument panel.
The system employs an integral terrain database and
sophisticated software algorithms to render a detailed, TAWS-like
terrain moving map to alert the pilot to areas of potentially
hazardous terrain and/or man-made obstacles along the aircraft
flight path. The AT300 is unique among available MFD systems in its
ability to be installed in an aircraft without requiring
replacement or relocation of any of the other existing avionic
systems (other than the legacy vertical speed indicator), or any
structural modifications of the instrument panel.
Retail pricing of the non-certified AT300 has been set at $3495,
making it one of the most affordable multifunction displays
available today.
“Controlled
Flight into Terrain (CFIT) accidents account for approximately
one-third of fatal general aviation accidents that occur during IMC
operations” said Lyons. “Modern terrain awareness
technology, such as that offered by the AT300, affords an
unprecedented opportunity to significantly reduce the likelihood of
CFIT accidents. We are hopeful that the long-awaited introduction
of affordable terrain awareness products to general aviation (GA)
will help to improve the overall safety record associated with
piston-engine GA flight operations.”
The company also says it's expanding its network of Aspen
Avionics Authorized Dealers. “Interest in the AT300 product
by dealers has been overwhelming” said Lyons. “Our
dealers are excited by the value proposition that our product
offers the aircraft owner.”
Most of Aspen’s dealers plan to keep a demonstration unit
available in their showrooms for customer evaluation. Also today,
the company announced that the AT300 certification effort, which
was initiated late last year, is proceeding on schedule.
“We’ve already met with the FAA so that we could get
an early start on gaining agreement on key aspects of the
AT300’s approval, including the certification schedule,
equipment qualification requirements, and software assurance
levels” said Jeff Bethel, Aspen’s Chief Technology
Officer.
Based on progress to date, the company remains confident that
they will receive FAA certification of the AT300 display later this
summer. Pricing for the certified AT300 display has been set at
$3995.