The Johnson County Airport-based (OJC) service center partnered with Universal Avionics in a six-month pilot program to retrofit triple EFI-890R displays on a PC-12. With the FAA certification complete, Kansas City Aviation Center is now scheduling aircraft for the upgrade. The PC-12 is the leading selling turboprop and has more than 600 units in operation.

The EFI-890R features 8.9-inch high-definition Active Matrix Liquid Crystal displays (AMLCD), which are fully integrated with the aircraft's existing avionics. The large-format displays replace the PC-12's existing ADI, HSI, radar indicator, altimeter, VSI, RMI and airspeed indicators creating an uncluttered cockpit environment with easy-to-read, advanced flight data.

The displays also offer advanced technology and display features such as synthetic vision, aeronautical charts, satellite weather, TAWS, video and a host of other emerging applications. These features modernize the cockpit to improve situational awareness and add to the overall safety of each flight.

"On the primary flight display, pilots can easily view important flight data such as aircraft position, attitude, altitude, vertical rate, and flight progress as well as Vision-1™, the industry's first synthetic vision system by Universal Avionics," explained William Benton, Kansas City Aviation Center's avionics manager. "On the navigational display, you can easily view Vision-1™, moving maps, terrain, radar, Jeppesen charts, checklists, enhanced infrared vision, eDocs, and graphical weather. It's the most comprehensive flight deck available today."

There has been strong interest in the EFI-890R among PC-12 owner/operators, according to Angelo Fiataruolo, president and general manager of Kansas City Aviation Center. "We are in the process of expanding our capacity here at OJC and into St. Louis as demand builds for the installation."

Based at Johnson County Airport in Olathe, Kan., Kansas City Aviation Center is an award-winning Pilatus Sales and Service Center, providing general aviation services, including aircraft sales, maintenance, charter, parts and flight training, worldwide since 1966. The privately held company experienced its two best years in 2004 and 2005, and is poised for its best year yet in 2006.

Universal Avionics Systems Corporation offers a complete product line of flight management systems and cockpit instrument displays that are used on a large number of aircraft types from helicopters to business turbine aircraft to large commercial airliners. Universal Avionics offers products that meet or exceed emerging flight communications and navigation requirements.