Aspen Avionics announced significant upgrades to its Evolution systems, providing the latest processor technology, added features and clearer, more colorful displays. The Evolution MAX systems are expected to be available before the end of the year and previous Aspen customers can upgrade their systems for a very affordable price.
“Our unique approach to designing and engineering new products for the general aviation community gives our current customer base (approximately 14,000 worldwide) a path to cost-effectively upgrade to the latest Aspen displays without investing in a new cockpit installation,” said Aspen’s president and CEO John Uczekaj. “With the MAX series, we continue to maintain that long-standing commitment to our existing customers while pledging to provide our new customers affordable avionics and upgrade paths.”
A key feature to the MAX PFD is the GPS-aided AHRS, which continues to provide flight data if the pitot static system fails. The MAX system also works as an audio panel interface and has the ability to increase the size of fonts. New MFD-specific features include countdown timers, metar flags, 350 nm zoom levels and height AGL on the navigation map.
The Evolution systems are approved for more than 600 aircraft types. The cost for the Evolution Pro 1000 MAX PFD is $9,995 while the MFD500 MAX MFD runs $5,495 and the MFD1000 MAX MFD $8,995. Existing customers can swap out their systems for a much lower price, ranging from $1,995 depending on when the system was installed.
Uczekaj said the goal was to make the trade out so quick that it can be done concurrently with an oil change. The trade out, including return to service, is expected to take approximately four hours, Uczekaj said, though it will vary depending on the avionics installer.
Aspen is also ready to launch its lower cost non-TSO’d Evolution E5 electronic flight instrument, which starts at $4,995. The E5 can be upgraded to the Pro MAX at a later date.
