Avidyne certifies business-class FMS

Introduced at the National Business Aviation Association’s 2019 conference, the Atlas multifunction FMS is designed to be an easy retrofit installation for turbine aircraft that is also easy to use, Avidyne Corp. noted in a May 10 news release. Dzus mounts (twist-lock fasteners and rails for avionics) and Avidyne-designed GPS Legacy Avionics Support allow Atlas to support a wide range of legacy avionics, including direct interfaces with Collins Aerospace ProLine 21 and Honeywell Primus electronic flight information systems for vertical approach guidance. That allows Atlas to take advantage of localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) and satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) capabilities, even when connected to legacy avionics that do not support this level of navigation precision.

“This unique integration capability enables EFISs certified before the availability of LPV approaches to have coupled approach guidance on these and other SBAS approaches,” the company noted.

Atlas also includes other features not found on rival FMS, including a hybrid touch-screen interface and a spill-proof QWERTY keyboard. Creating a flight plan is facilitated by one-touch departure, airway, and arrival inputs coupled with Avidyne’s patented GeoFill waypoint nomination feature. Atlas meets TSO-C146c requirements for full SBAS/LPV guidance, and is an approved position source for ADS-B. Weather and traffic information can be added to the moving map as an overlay, and Atlas can connect via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to a range of popular electronic flight bag apps including ForeFlight.

The form factor—7.5 inches tall, 5.75 inches wide, and 10.615 inches deep—is compatible with a range of legacy FMS that Atlas was made to replace. The Melbourne, Florida, firm hopes many operators of Cessna Citation 560XL, Excel, and XLS models, the first supplemental type certificate approvals to go with the recently granted technical standard order, will exercise that option. Avidyne has been collaborating with maintenance, repair, and overhaul firms to identify additional aircraft for which to seek STC approvals, and the company noted additional Part 25 and Part 23 STCs will be forthcoming. Avidyne announced an introductory price of $44,999 for Atlas, including the relevant STC, and the new FMS will be sold and installed by its MRO partners.

“Certification of the Avidyne Atlas is a huge step forward in FMS capability for turbine-class aircraft, and a big leap forward for our company as we continue our growth into the turbine markets,” said Avidyne CEO Dan Schwinn, in the news release. “We’ve targeted Atlas as an FMS replacement specifically for console-equipped jet operators to provide a highly-capable navigation and flight management solution that pilots will find incredibly easy to use.”