Rally avionics
Avionics and instruments
The way ahead is connectivity, reports Ian Fraser, who discovered interesting findings at the recent LAA Rally…
T
he LAA Rally has played an important role for many of us in providing one of the few opportunities to look at the latest avionic and instrument gadgets in the flesh, before preparing the plan and budget for a build or winter upgrade. Because of my interest in avionics, I am often asked about which devices to use, and hitherto I would caveat any advice by saying ‘wait until the last minute as the technology normally moves faster than your build’. However, reports from Oshkosh this year were disappointing, suggesting that technology had plateaued, and it was with some trepidation that I started my tour of
Above LX Avionics custom panel design. Below Garmin G3000 Autoland display.
the Rally to see if there was actually anything new and interesting. I started with LX in its new show trailer, and indeed, while it had lots of examples of well-known instruments and avionics displayed for part- or whole panel upgrades, and were a good stop for envisaging what your new panel might look like, it had little new technology. In our dialogue it became clear that it thought the future lay with interconnected avionics, and the complexities and affordability of getting all the equipment to work properly together. It was keen to highlight its panel design and build service and where that is going. For those for whom the complexity of panel design and wiring is a task too far, there are a few companies that offer this service – LX has been doing it for some time and is now concentrating on how to optimise its service. For the more popular types of aircraft, it proposes to develop a standard panel design, thus significantly reducing the amount of design, integration (getting it to all work together), drawing, testing and approval necessary to produce one. This in turn should reduce the cost.
Garmin’s Autonomi
Next, I bumped into Trevor Pegrum from Garmin and asked what was new. While Garmin had no new gadgets at the show, he was keen to talk about Autoland for GA, part of its Autonomi programme. Autoland is the most 18 | LIGHT AVIATION | November 2021
