Entegra FMS900W Designed To Reduce Workload In Single-Pilot IFR

Avidyne Corporation has some BIG news to share at Lakeland 2008. Early Tuesday, the avionics manufacturer announced the introduction of their new Entegra FMS900W WAAS-enabled GPS/NAV/COM Flight Management System (FMS). Designed to reduce workload for single-pilot IFR operations, the FMS900W provides fully-redundant, state-of-the art VHF and TSO C146b Gamma 3-compliant turbine-class FMS capability for all general aviation aircraft.

Utilizing a fully-modular architecture, the FMS900W Flight Management System is an enhancement to Avidyne's Entegra Integrated Flight Deck platform and is designed specifically to take advantage of Entegra's large-format displays and Byteflight peer-to-peer databus architecture.

"This system represents another major step in Avidyne's commitment to enhancing our Entegra platform and to continuing to deliver on our philosophy of making flying simple," said Avidyne president Dan Schwinn. "We challenged our team to deliver an Entegra FMS that is highly capable to meet the demands of 21st-century flight yet it has to be simple and intuitive to operate, and the FMS900W has exceeded our expectations, and is by far the easiest-to-use Flight Management System in the industry."

FMS900W system components include single or dual remote-mount LRUs, each with Avidyne's GPS723 WAAS/RNP GPS Sensor and a DVX740 VHF NAV/COM module and optional ACD215 Control/Display Units. Avidyne's GPS723 sensor is a fully compliant RTCA DO-229D, Gamma 3 navigation system, and is designed to meet Required Navigation Performance (RNP-0.3).

The DVX740 -- first certified in 2006, and has accumulated thousands of hours flying in very light jets -- features a 16 Watt high-efficiency transmitter w/8.33 kHz spacing and provides four COM and four NAV channels which can operate simultaneously carrying voice or data. It incorporates innovative digital signal processing on the actual RF in software, which eliminates the need for single-channel tuning synthesizers, allows multiple receive channels that can mix voice and data, and easily upgrades to support new data formats such as VDL Mode 3 (NEXCOM).

Creating and editing Flight Plans is easy and intuitive with the FMS900W. Flight plan information can be entered via the MFD bezel controls or via a dedicated ACD215 Flight Deck Controller (FDC). All drop-down menus are context sensitive and choices are displayed in a prioritized order.

The FMS900W is compatible with all domestic and international airspace requirements and features full Airway Flight Planning capability and Avidyne's exclusive GeoFill, which simplifies flight plan entry by predicting and displaying the next waypoint or airport of a flight, based on the aircraft's position.

The FMS900W will store up to 100 user defined routes-each with up to 128 legs. It is capable of route copying, flight plan inversion and using up to 1,000 definable waypoints.

In dual-FMS installations, the fully-redundant systems eliminate the need to manually cross-fill active flight plans and user waypoints. The FMSs automatically transfer data across a dual-redundant high-speed Byteflight databus. In the unlikely event one FMS fails, the other will pick up the flight plan without missing a step.

It will also continuously nominate and tune VOR and approach frequencies to the NAV radios so the pilot doesn't have to manually tune a NAV frequency.

Its route construction, guidance and navigation are all breakthroughs in the general aviation market. All 23 ARINC-424 leg types, including RNP radius-to-fix (RF) legs, are used without modification to create the same flight plans commercial airlines use. The guidance algorithms use these leg types to determine roll-steering commands to the autopilot for all legs of the flight plan, including procedure turns and holding patterns. The navigation solutions use WAAS satellite corrections to provide a position solution to within three meters in all phases of flight.

Avidyne says it is nearing completion of the product design phase and will soon be entering into the certification phase of the Entegra FMS900W program. Announcements will be forthcoming over the next several months as we move through the certification process. Current and future Entegra owners can expect that several hardware/software upgrade paths will be offered, depending on current configuration, for those who wish to take advantage of all the benefits of the FMS900W.

FMI: www.avidyne.com