Affordable, Open-Interface Touchscreen Bendix/King KSN 770 Available by Year-End

In what may be one of the biggest announcements of AEA this year, Honeywell and Aspen Avionics said Wednesday they are collaborating to deliver a state-of-the-art, NextGen-ready multi-function touchscreen cockpit display to general aviation customers. The two companies have completed a development agreement to bring Honeywell’s open-interface Bendix/King KSN 770 to market before the end of 2011.

KSN 770

Honeywell’s Bendix/King KSN 770 is part of the Apex Edge series, delivering a Multi-Function Display (MFD) with GPS, Communication and Navigation capabilities for general aviation aircraft. Boasting a 5.7" touchscreen and a leading edge graphic interface, the product is based on scalable system architecture that effectively future-proofs a customer’s cockpit investment.

"Honeywell’s Bendix/King KSN 770 has an architecture that interfaces with more than 90 percent of general aviation aircraft flying today,” said Rob Wilson, president of Business and General Aviation at Honeywell Aerospace. “Many pilots will find this approach much more attractive than replacing a full cockpit suite to get the same functionality from Garmin. The new KSN 770 also will be highly integrated with Aspen’s Evolution Flight Displays, creating a range of display options for our customers beyond those provided by the KFD 840.”

Aspen will combine its experience in the light and medium general aviation markets with Honeywell’s leadership in developing display features that are operating in the most advanced business jets today. Designed to make flying safer and easier, the KSN 770 will have Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) and Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) capabilities. It will display a full complement of safety systems including onboard weather radar, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS), data link weather, traffic, and charts and maps.

Aspen Avionics President and CEO John Uczekaj said: “Customers have been hungry for more innovation and choice in avionics for the general aviation market. Honeywell and Aspen are delivering a level of technical innovation and ergonomic functionality previously only available to business jet customers. The product’s interoperability, expandable architecture and flexible interface offer a clear alternative to existing systems.”

Providing broad interoperability with legacy and modern cockpit systems for Part 23 aircraft, the KSN 770 will feature multiple control inputs to optimize the pilot interface. The high-resolution touchscreen is complemented by traditional hard keys, line select keys, display based dedicated keys and a cursor control device (CCD). This combination of traditional and leading edge interface options provides maximum flexibility for pilot input and control.

Among the features included in the KSN 770:

• Future-proofed open architecture.
• Affordable pricing.
• Extensive dealer network.
• Large 5.7” touchscreen and graphic interface.
• Integrated full-function GPS.
• Integrated localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV).
• Integrated wide area augmentation system (WAAS) capabilities.
• Integrated onboard weather radar.
• Integrated enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS).
• Integrated data link weather service.
• Integrated air traffic management, charts and maps.
• Multiple control input options.
• Full compatibility with most aircraft flying today.

The Bendix/King product family includes communication and navigation avionics, flight information services, flight controls, weather radar, Integrated Hazard Avoidance Systems and multi-function displays for the general aviation, experimental and light business aviation communities.

FMI: www.bendixking.com