(June 2011) The FAA has issued an STC to Eclipse Aerospace for its Avio Integrated Flight Management System (IFMS), specifically designed for the Eclipse twin-engine light jet by Innovative Solutions & Support. The IFMS system is an upgrade to the already certified AvioNG system.
As was the case with other systems, the avionics package originally specified in the Eclipse 500 jet was a remarkably ambitious concept for any jet, let alone a very light, sub-million-dollar model. At the time, Eclipse was the avionics integrator and Avidyne Corp. the main supplier. The system Eclipse came up with gave the avionics package control of every imaginable system as part of the company’s plan to create a cockpit unlike any other. Avio even did away with circuit breakers, using an all-electronic version instead. But Eclipse could never deliver a complete system. As originally certified, the 500’s capabilities were embarrassingly spare. It lacked even GPS.
