Avionics News April 2016 - 30

UNIVERSAL GROWTH
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technical expertise to continue to create effective interface
solutions with a wide range of avionics.
"That's long been our strong suit, and I'd say we still do
it better than most," he said. "We have a lot of legacy talent
here. People with more than 30 years of technical experience and expertise with nearly every type of avionics system
around. That, along with the diversity and capabilities found in
our avionics, are two big reasons we've been able to have our
equipment selected for installation on so many aircraft types.
"I like to say that one of Universal's major differentiators

in the market is that we have a unique combination of expertise, product offerings and engineering agility to efficiently
meet each customer's needs. As we look at it, we don't offer
avionics - we offer avionics solutions."
Those unique product offerings are clearly a major reason
why Universal's products are selected for out-of-the-ordinary
installations. For example, the Multi-Missions Management
System, which is an option for its SBAS-enabled FMS, offers
six pre-programmed flight patterns developed for search and
rescue, surveillance, maritime and border patrol, geophysical
survey and flight inspections.
Ready when NextGen is
Clare explained that with a foundation deeply rooted in
providing the right solution for the immediate situation, Universal has its sights squarely set on being a primary player in
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the ongoing evolution of the NextGen airspace network.
"From a product perspective, the first NextGen solution
we developed was our SBAS (satellite-based augmentation
system) FMS," he said. "Through early discussions with the
FAA came the requirement for aircraft to be able to fly LPV
approaches. So we modified our FMS to support all of the
upcoming approach performance-based navigation requirements: P-RNAV, B-RNAV, RNAV, as well as supporting both
FANS 1/A+ and ADS-B."
In addition to those capabilities, Universal's family of FMS
products also provide operators around the world with the
option of other NextGen-type navigation functions, including
WAAS, European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service,
multifunctional satellite augmentation system, and GPS-aided
geo-augmented navigation.
"Our FMS is probably the biggest contributor to the future
implementation of NextGen within our specific product line,"
Clare said. "But it's not the only NextGen solution we have
available. Two others are our UniLink UL-800//801 Communications Management Unit and our family of cockpit voice
and flight data recorders."
Clare explained that while Universal's CVR/FDRs don't
garner much press, their capabilities are critical to the successful implementation of NextGen capabilities.
"By going all digital for future communications capabilities
like CPDLC (controller-pilot data link communications) and
FANS, you need a means of recording both voice and data/
text messaging," he said. "Our new generation of CVR/FDR
units offers operators a variety of customizable recording
configurations, whether it's voice, data or voice and data."
Universal growth
While it has enjoyed enviable success as a stand-alone
avionics solutions provider for nearly 35 years, Universal's
forward-thinking team has a FL410 view of the current trend
in avionics equipage - namely, the integrated panel.
"The growing trend is toward the rip-and-tear approach
to panel upgrades," Clare said. "Pilots and owners want the
modern look and capabilities offered by large LCD displays,
digital radios and the like. So the solution is often just to take
everything out and start over. There are advantages to that
approach in some situations.
"But there are still thousands of mid-life aircraft out there
whose owners want new-generation capabilities without the
high cost (often equaling the value of the airframe) of a ripand-tear. With our current product offerings including LCD
displays, radio controllers, FMS, etc., we have the equipment
to fulfill the needs of these owners while controlling the total
cost of the upgrade.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News April 2016