Flying Announces Editors' Choice Awards for 2009

An avionics software upgrade for the ages; and a pair of new-version piston twins made the list of Flying's Editors' Choice Awards for 2009. Avidyne's Entegra Release 9 upgrade is much more than a simple download. It's a game-changing update that brings one of the original glass panel systems for light aircraft back to the leading edge of avionics technology. For Diamond Aircraft, the challenge of losing its sole engine provider to corporate collapse could have been a death knell for its light twin, the DA-42. Instead, the company launched parallel programs to: a) re-engine the DA-42 with conventional gasoline-powered Lycomings of much higher power; and b) to develop its own Austro diesel engine — a significant improvement over the original in performance, efficiency and maintainability. The seemingly impossible was completed in a remarkable 18 months. Congratulations to both winners. The three Eagle of Excellence awards are scheduled to be presented to Avidyne and Diamond at the Sun 'n Fun show in Lakeland, Florida, April 13-17.