Aspen Avionics has received a supplemental type certificate (STC) for its Evolution E5 dual electronic flight instrument, a lower-cost, non-TSO display intended to compete in the market with Garmin’s popular G5 flight display product. The STC allows the Evolution E5 to be sold directly to consumers by Aspen Avionics authorized dealers and aviation retailers.
Introduced in April 2018 at the Aircraft Electronics Association annual convention, the IFR-certified Evolution E5 EFI consolidates attitude indicator and DG/CDI into one display that includes a rechargeable backup battery and glide slope and localizer cues. It also offers global positioning system steering (GPSS), air-data computer and attitude heading reference system (ADAHRS) for a price of $4,995.
“The interest in the E5 has been overwhelming and we have a significant order backlog,” said Mark Ferrari, Aspen vice president of sales and customer support. “We expect to be shipping the E5 as soon as we receive the parts manufacturer ppproval, which is expected very soon.”
The Evolution E5 has a bolder and brighter display and offers higher reliability, more capability and increased processing speed all while retaining Aspen’s unique form factor design that Aspen notes keeps installation costs down. Because it uses the same basic hardware as TSO’d products from Aspen, the E5 can be upgraded to the EFD1000 Pro MAX series primary flight display through a software modification. Designed as a drop-in replacement for traditional mechanical vacuum instruments, the Evolution E5 interfaces with most legacy autopilots as well as the TruTrak Vizion autopilot, Aspen says.
A backup attitude indicator is not required when the E5 is installed.
