FAA Certifies Eclipse Aviation's Avio NG

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FAA Certifies Eclipse Aviation's Avio NG

The FAA has certified Eclipse Aviation's Avio NG Total Aircraft Integration system, which provides centralized control of virtually all of its Eclipse 500 VLJ (very light jet) systems and avionics functions.

The milestone was achieved ten months after the company announced that it would replace the avionics equipment that was supplied by Avidyne. Eclipse led the integration effort with partners that included Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S), Honeywell, Garmin International and PS Engineering.

Eclipse says the certification marks the completion of "an intensive effort" to develop an improved EFIS (electronic flight information system) and more CNS (communications, navigation and surveillance) functionality for its 500. The company sees the Avio NG system as significantly reducing pilot workload by simplifying tasks, generating useful information and acting as a virtual copilot.

Eclipse 500 with Avio NG

Source: Eclipse Aviation

Eclipse believes its Avio NG installation also will give its VLJ customers greater resolution in their PFD and MFD (primary flight and multi-function displays), along with enhanced user interface features, four-color weather radar and greater overall systems reliability. It also provides increased functionality for optional equipment, including a third AHRS (attitude heading reference system), a Skywatch HP collision avoidance system, class-B TAWS (terrain awareness and warning system), DME (distance measuring equipment), ADF (automatic direction finder) and a mode S enhanced transponder with diversity capability.

The Avio NG's platform architecture was designed to align with the FAA's NextGen (next generation air transportation system), Eclipse says, so that its envisioned technology can be incorporated with little or no cost. In the near term, as additional Avio NG functionality is certified in early 2008, Eclipse 500 customers will be able to add these features through what the company describes as simple software updates.

Aircraft 105, the first production Eclipse 500 equipped with Avio NG, has just received its certificate of airworthiness and will be delivered to its owner in the coming weeks. Eclipse intends to ensure a homogenous 500 fleet by modifying all in-service Eclipse 500s with Avio NG by the end of 2008, at the company's expense. 12-27-2007.

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