New Flight Management System From Avidyne
(continued)  Though the FMS900w can be operated using only the concentric knobs and soft keys on the Entegra flat-panel display, Avidyne also has created a control display unit (CDU) with a full keyboard. The CDU is ideal in airplanes that have cockpit space to mount the unit off the vertical. It is very difficult to use keyboards mounted vertically in the instrument panel because your hand bounces around in turbulence. The CDU also has something I had not seen in an FMS before -- a "qwerty" keyboard layout. Other FMS keyboards have the keys in alphabetical order, but Avidyne believes the standard computer "qwerty" keyboard layout is easier to use even though you can't get both hands on it as you do a full- size keyboard. Some handheld communication devices use the same layout with good acceptance so Avidyne isn't inventing something new -- except in aviation.
Once up and flying, the FMS900w shows you the fixes in the flight plan with a host of additional information such as time en route, arrival time for each fix, fuel remaining, crossing altitude if applicable and so on. Graphical metar flags show airport conditions along the route, and clicking on a flag brings up the full metar decoded in plain English.
In flight the system feeds wind corrected roll steering commands to the autopilot so that it can automatically intercept and fly any procedure, including holds, arcs, procedure turns and curved approaches. When on an assigned vector the system draws a dotted magenta line ahead of the airplane showing your track over the moving map. When intercepting a course or approach leg the dotted magenta line shows the system's calculated path to accomplish the intercept even when transitioning from a GPS computed course to raw data guidance, such as an ILS.
Another helpful display technique is a dashed magenta and white line that shows the next active leg on the moving map. This is particularly useful in the terminal environment where arrival procedures and approaches can have many legs close together. The dashed line visually confirms what the system intends to do next so you are not surprised.
The digital nav-com is also a smart system that anticipates your next move. Based on your flight plan and position the radio suggests the ATC frequencies you will probably be changed to next and they can be activated with a single button press. The nav portion of the radio tracks and identifies automatically up to four VOR or ILS signals, typically looking ahead of and behind the airplane.
I had a chance to fly the FMS900w in a Cirrus SR22 that Avidyne has been using for development work and can report that the system is more intuitive to use than any FMS I have encountered. I used the vector line to intercept an airway, watched the system fly a full procedure to an ILS, and then a missed approach and hold. The map presentation is very easy to understand, and the flight plan list kept me totally informed on the sequence of legs in each procedure.
The FMS900w combines many great concepts that build on Avidyne's goal to make real life IFR flying easy for the single pilot. If development stays on track the system should be available next year, but Avidyne hasn't dropped any hints yet about pricing or in which airplane it will be certified first.
Discuss this article in our forums
| 
Copyright @ 2009 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
