BendixKing, a division of Honeywell, today announced the AeroVue—a new cockpit retrofit for the Beechcraft King Air 200. The avionics package, priced at $100,000, offers the capability and features of competing avionics suites costing twice as much, said BendixKing president Kevin Gould. The system includes three 12-inch-diagonal display screens, dual GPS and air data and attitude heading reference systems (ADAHRS) units, dual Mode S transponders, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out, electronic charts, and synthetic vision, plus a flight management system with Honeywell’s coupled INAV (integrated navigation) feature.
Pilots can use point-and-click functionality to input navigation and communications data using an optional trackball controller, or via buttons and a keypad. Wireless in-flight internet access is via BendixKing’s new AeroWave 100, which operates through the INMARSAT satellite system. The AeroWave 100 offers internet connectivity in 50-hour blocks of time, at $1,999 apiece.
The AeroWave system is also available independent of the AeroVue, at $19,999. In appearance and operation, the AeroVue system closely resembles the Honeywell Apex avionics suite used in the Pilatus PC-12 and the Primus Epic/EASy system used in the Falcon 7X.
First deliveries of the AeroVue will take place in the first half of 2015, and Gould said that customers placing $500 deposits before Aug. 31 will receive a $25,000 installation credit.
BendixKing’s long-awaited GPS navigators, the KSN 770 and 765, have been certified and will go on sale in August, 2014, the company said in a press conference. The $13,995 KSN 770 was designed as replacement unit for BendixKing’s aging KLN 89 and KLN 94 navigators, as well as the KX 165 com and KMD 540 multifunction display. The WAAS-equipped KSN 765, which comes without VHF nav or com radios, is priced at $12,995.
The units can be set up to show single- or split-screen views, and can show electronic charts, traffic, and have optional interfaces to weather radar and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS).
