Begins Scheduling Installations

Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC), which just six months ago announced that it had received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to install the three panel Universal Avionics’ EFI-890R display on Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop aircraft, announced today that it would shortly also receive an STC for a two panel Universal installation.
The Johnson County Airport-based (OJC) service center once again has partnered with Universal Avionics to retrofit either dual or triple EFI-890R displays on PC-12’s.
Commenting on the additional offering to PC-12 owners, Bill Benton, Technical Product Development Manager for KCAC noted that during the marketing of the three-panel display system a number of operators inquired about a two-panel option with the ability to retain their existing center radio console with its integrated database system. “Our two panel option not only achieves that objective but also reduces the capital investment requirements significantly.” Benton noted that while final detailed pricing could not be established until the full STC is achieved, he noted that the two-panel system would be priced very competitively at $239,000.
The new two-panel display will also feature Universal’s EFI-890 R Vision-1™ Synthetic Vision System (SVS). SVS provides an egocentric 3-D View for PFD and EADI applications. The system maintains the standard foreground symbology with traditional flight director cues and replaces the blue/brown background with imagery depicting the terrain view in real time for the direction the aircraft is heading, complete with pitch and roll. The Universal Avionics Synthetic Vision System Egocentric 3-D View is the most realistic rendering of terrain available. This technology brings in a new era of situational awareness and safety. Universal Avionics was the first to certify a Synthetic Vision System in June 2002. The Exocentric View provides a 3-D perspective of the aircraft from behind and to the left with respect to the flight plan and surrounding terrain.
SVS enhances pilot situational awareness by providing the advanced dynamic terrain image integrated with the flight plan and projecting the flight path of the aircraft. SVS allows the pilot to “see” the terrain ahead in 3D as he monitors the flight instruments. This provides a view that simulates day VFR. The topographical coloring is similar to that used on aviation sectional charts. Hills and mountains appear in shades of green and brown while oceans and other large bodies of water are in blue. Special shading on the digitized terrain and a grid overlay that conforms to the landscape on the synthetic world below help the pilot get a sense of movement in flight, particularly when flying near the ground.
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.
In addition to synthetic vision, the displays also offer advanced technology and display features such as 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-1TM, the industry’s first synthetic vision system by Universal Avionics,” explained Benton. “On the navigational display, you can easily view SVS, 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 KCAC. “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., KCAC is an award-winning Pilatus Sales and Service Center, providing general aviation services, including aircraft sales, maintenance, avionics, charter, parts and flight training, worldwide since 1966. The privately held company experienced its three best years from 2004 thru 2006. Last August KCAC completed the first phase of geographic expansion with the purchase of a 42,000 sq ft facility at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) in Chesterfield, MO. Re-named Midwest Aviation Center (MWAC), KCAC just completed a major refurbish of the facilities and will hold a grand opening celebration in mid-February.
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.