Pre-2003 Cirrus Owners Now Have Option For Integrated Flight
Deck
Owners of older Cirrus-model aircraft, rejoice! (And, get out
your pocketbooks.) Mobile, AL-based Southern Star Avionics told ANN
Wednesday they have attained the Supplemental Type Certificate
(STC) through the FAA for the Avidyne Envision primary flight
display (PFD) system for Cirrus SR20 and SR22 models, giving
pre-2003 model Cirrus owners the opportunity of retrofitting their
aircraft with a modern glass cockpit display system like newer
Entegra-equipped Cirrus aircraft.
Envision is the first large-format integrated flight display
system available for retrofit in single-engine piston aircraft.
Many other models and airframes are to follow on an Approved Model
List, including the Cessna 400 twin-piston series.
Introduced at Lakeland 2007,
Envision marked another shift in Avidyne's business model, focused
increasingly on aftermarket retrofits and installation on
experimental aircraft. Based on Avidyne’s Entegra system,
parts of Envision were introduced with the Alliant integrated
flight deck developed by Avidyne and S-TEC for King Air 200 and
King Air 90 series aircraft.
The Envision integrated flight deck for the SR-series uses a
10.4-inch diagonal Avidyne PFD with standard flight instrumentation
and pilot-selectable moving-map flight plan data, horizontal
situation indicator (EHSI), an RMI pointer, digital RMI readouts
and integrated flight director command bars.
The PFD is integrated with a solid-state air data and
attitude/heading reference system (ADAHRS) providing full
redundancy as well as much higher reliability than traditional
"spinning-mass" gyros. The PFD may be coupled with the autopilot
for altitude pre-select, vertical speed select and heading select
without the need for an external control panel.
The integrated air data computer provides a valuable full-time
instantaneous wind vector displayed on the PFD, taking the
guesswork out of finding the right altitude to optimize flight time
and wind correction while entering the pattern or flying an
approach. Trend indicators provide six-second trend data for
airspeed, altitude and heading, allowing precise control with
reduced workload when changing or maintaining an airspeed or
altitude. Vx, Vy and Vg airspeed labels make it easy to fly precise
airspeeds during critical phases of flight. Heading tick marks on
the PFD’s horizon improve the smoothness of heading
intercepts while tightening the pilot’s scan.
PFD installation kits are available through Southern Star
Avionics.