Every day avionics get smarter and smaller (and occasionally cheaper). This year’s Oshkosh revealed three devices that push that envelope and might save lives in IMC.
Alternative attitudes
Even though glass panels dominate the pages of aviation magazines and seem almost required to get flight training students in the door of a flight school, there are plenty of pilots and aircraft trolling the skies with conventional instruments. Retrofitting electronic flight information systems (EFIS) often exceeds the hull value of the aircraft. Even adding a simple electronic attitude indicator ends up being over $5000 in investment.
Key Takeaways:
- Three new avionics devices from Dynon, Sagetech, and Vertical Power were showcased at Oshkosh, aiming to enhance pilot safety in situations like IMC or engine failure.
- Dynon's Pocket Panel and Sagetech's ADS-B with Vision offer affordable, portable backup EFIS and synthetic vision solutions, providing critical flight data for pilots with conventional instrument panels.
- Vertical Power's high-end Runway Seeker system provides advanced emergency guidance for experimental aircraft, calculating a precise 3D glide path to a runway in the event of engine failure.
- These innovations demonstrate a trend towards smarter, more capable, and often more affordable non-certified avionics that can significantly improve safety and represent the future of integrated cockpit technology.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
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