AVIONICS AND INSTRUMENTS

The way ahead is connectivity, reports Ian Fraser, who discovered interesting findings at the recent LAA Rally…

he LAA Rally has played an important

Trole 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

sophisticated of a series of new software functions within its G3000 panel systems (it’s coming to others soon) being developed in the USA. It states, “Just press a button and it will fi nd a suitable fi eld and land hands and feet off, even setting transponder codes and providing an audio commentary as it does it.” That sounds rather pie in the sky for most of us, but is it? As well as the fl ight computer and navigator, Autoland would involve connecting a three-axis autopilot (AP), auto-throttle and autobraking. While the three-axis AP is a relatively well understood and available product for homebuilders, auto-throttle and autobraking may seem daunting. But there are now several FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) devices and engines, such as SDS Aero’s EM5, Lycoming’s iE2, or the Rotax 9-series iS on the experimental and permit to fl y markets today. They are just an interface and software (SW) update away from auto-throttle. Autobraking is the one component that is not ‘off the aviation shelf’… yet look at the automotive industry. You can buy a modern car anti lock braking system (ABS) module – which is all you need to add an autobraking capability to your existing brakes – with a CAN-BUS interface (a standard digital interface already used in some of our aircraft and most modern cars) for £400 or so, and all that is needed is connection to your hydraulics, and to a SW app in Garmin’s fl ight computer. There is nothing to stop this happening on a Permit aircraft. Of course, it would involve a signifi cant modifi cation application, and the LAA’s Mod process would be challenged with this one, but look at what we already do now with avionics compared with only 20 years ago. I would not dismiss it out of hand. But Garmin’s real message at the Rally was that safety ‘gets you out of trouble’. Functionality through its Autonomi programme continues to add valuable features to its various products, and some of these features will arrive in systems such as G3X soon – keep an eye on Garmin’s press releases. While it is relatively low profi le at the moment in our world, I expect we will hear a lot more about fl ight automation now everything is becoming interconnected. Perhaps once they have harnessed the autobrake they could do a taildragger anti-ground loop app under the same programme…

Above top Trig Avionics’ new TX56 nav/comm with CDI screen.

Above left

uAvionics’ AV30 with its AI screen…

Above right …and in traffi c mode.

Below Radio Spares’ RS232 Bluetooth interface.

SkyDemon challenge

Moving on around the stands, I chatted to SkyDemon, where innovation also seemed to have plateaued. It is, after all, almost universally recognised as the best Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) / navigator out there, and it is diffi cult to identify what else it could do in its current environment. In preparation for the Rally, I had been looking at what was new in the USA and came across a product from Guardian Avionics: ‘Smartplane’. This is an electronics module that provides a link between much of the aircraft’s on-board electrical and electronic data and an app in a tablet (iPad). Its product is a datalogger, so doesn’t compete with SkyDemon, but to me its innovation is the compete with SkyDemon, but to me its innovation is the long-awaited interface between the main aircraft long-awaited interface between the main aircraft electronic systems and a tablet. Right now, electronic systems and a tablet. Right now, SkyDemon is completely segregated from the aircraft, so its growth potential is capped, but if they become connected, well…. they become connected, well….

While I understand its reticence to make this leap, connecting to the aircraft’s avionics would open the door to many new functional opportunities, such as routes for autopilots, frequency preloading for radios, traffi c from installed ADSB in, datalogging etc. There should be no new abilities needed for them, as we already do this with the specialist aviation EFBs such as the Garmin Aera series, but we can’t do it from the tablet-based ones yet. I do wonder why not? After all they are all just computers… The Guardian interface is not actually best suited to this particular role but, for example, the electronics to connect a tablet via Bluetooth is an industry standard module linking an RS232 or NMEA interface (sorry about the jargon, but they are common Permit aircraft electrical interfaces) via Bluetooth (for the tablet or phone) priced from £20-£200. But it could also be done with Wi-Fi on a similar basis, or even connected directly via RS232 to a tablet’s USB or Apple’s lightning interface. What is needed from companies like SkyDemon is SW in the tablet to connect its existing functions to the outside world. The necessary hardware would follow in short order, it is very DIY. This would offer a very affordable enhancement. Moving on round the show, Trig Avionics, our UK-based radio manufacturer, was exhibiting its much-anticipated TX56 and TX57 Nav / Com radio, for those who need a VOR navigation function. As is usual with its products, it has thought about ease of replacement, including interconnectivity, and it is small enough to fi t in all the spaces left by the old 25Khz units. As a bonus, it also includes a VOR CDI in its display, so could be used without that space consuming 3 1/8” CDI. If you need a VOR /COM it is a good option, and Trig hopes to have it available in the fi rst half of 2022.

Mode S ADSB

The next exhibitor I called at was uAvionix, the small Montana-based (USA) company that has turned the Mode S ADSB world upside-down with its innovative miniature

Right: The aircraft specifi c, but expensive, auto tyre pressure monitor. EC products. It was there with its SkyEcho, but was also exhibiting an interesting complimentary instrument, the AV30. At fi rst glance it looks like a normal electronic combined horizon / DI, but it also includes a traffi c display mode, and does it in an interesting way. As well as a traditional PPI (radar) display it offers its ARC display. This biases the display more on the ahead picture than behind, and allows target fi ltering to reduce the targets to those within a specifi c height band and that constitutes a potential hazard. So now we have a single display giving required heading, course and threat traffi c with little other clutter. We are getting there. Together with its ability to link to SkyEcho for the EC targets through Wi-Fi (its twist on connectivity) this looks like a serious contender for a VFR primary cockpit display or even IFR back-up (if it gets LAA approval). I hope to look at this in more depth later in the year in my Electronic Conspicuity review. The message I got from the show was that ‘interconnection’ is where innovation is actually concentrated right now. To me the show highlighted that the underlying technology has indeed plateaued and there are very few things that a state-of-the-art airliner can do today that we can’t in a Permit aircraft. If the avionics developers have anything to do with it, the gap will get even narrower, but it also highlighted just how much our equipment is becoming dependent on other devices to be fully functional.

Interconnecting gadgets

Just like an airliner, the gadgets we can buy need to talk to other gadgets to exploit their capability fully. So, if I am now asked what equipment I recommend, I add the proviso to look and think about how you might want to interconnect it with other current or future devices in your aircraft. Connectivity is the future and, back to my fi rst visit at the show, LX is certainly on the right track. Finally, a new item that wasn’t there, which was a pity, but I can guess why. Checking the pressure of those ever-leaking tyres under the wheel pants is a pain, and if we could just press a button as part of our walk round check, it would be a real bonus. An electronic tyre pressure monitor does just that, checking electronic pressure sensors screwed into normal tyre valves via a radio channel. They have been around the car world for several years now but recently I stumbled across this aviation specifi c one in Aircraft Spruce’s catalogue. The unique thing about it (compared with car and motorbike ones) was that the display had a picture of an aircraft to help poor overstressed pilots work out which tyre was defective. Presumably following ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ are considered too challenging for us… Oh, and the other unique thing was that at $400 + tax and freight, it was more than 10 times the price of the same device for a car or motorbike from eBay or Amazon aviation. Why? It’s not certifi ed, no more rugged, no better tested nor had any other of the processes used to justify the premium prices we pay for aviation equipment. If you have an overweight wallet ACS can fi x it for you with part number 05-04367. ● Next month I will compile my annual review of Electronic Conspicuity. I am planning to look at traffi c displays and question human factor aspects. If anyone has any views let me know on the LAA chat site under the EC topic. ■