Avionics News May 2016 - 30

Courtesy of Sandel Avionics

Sandel's Avilon panel on display at the 2015 NBAA Convention and Exhibition. The small screens above the large array of screens
compose the Path Preview Panel.

ROYAL OPPORTUNITY
Continued from page 28

navigation advisor. "They have the capacity for Avilon,
and they can install the system while the airplane is
down for other work, like a phase inspection of the
engines."
The shops can install an Avilon panel in five days,
said Block, because it does not use any legacy avionics
beyond the weather radar transmitter and receiver, the
standby attitude indicator, and the autopilot servos.
Employing the latest technology and practices, Sandel
designed a new integrated avionics system from flatpanel displays to all the boxes that provide a full menu of
capabilities, from ADS-B Out and In, TAWS, and Mode
S, to an autopilot controller, flight management system,
and preview screens designed to help pilots avoid loss of
control, especially in the airport environment.
"Too often in this market, the pilot is not fully
aware of what the airplane is doing," said Fulton, and
alleviating this reality was an Avilon design goal.
Part of the system's Path Guidance Panel, the preview
screens, "lateral on the left, vertical on the right, shows
what the airplane is programmed to do now - and
what it is programmed to do next. The preview screens
automatically present this information as the system
works through the flight plan."
Totally replacing the existing panel with Avilon
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avionics news

may

2016

greatly reduces the amount of labor it takes to sort out
the integration of the legacy equipment and its wiring.
And that labor is directly related to the King Air's age
and the piecemeal upgrades made over its operational
life, said Reb Risty, Sandel's marketing director. Now,
one of the four install shops removes the old panel and
its rats-nest of wiring, which accounts for 80 percent of
the project, and plugs in the new panel, built by Sandel
for that King Air, taking into account other upgrades
such as engines.
Given the wide variance that results from no two
airplanes being exactly the same, there is little reason
to get specific about the install costs of any integrated
avionics system. But Avilon changes that dynamic
because it does away with the labor variable of making
the old work with the new. "When the hull value is
below a million, the numbers don't work (for traditional
avionics upgrades), but Avilon starts to make sense for a
lot more airplanes," Fulton said.
The King Air 200 will not be the only Avilon
customer, according to Risty. It will expand to other
airplanes. Sandel has not yet decided on which one, but
it will be another member of the King Air family or its
cousin, the Beech 1900. Ultimately, selecting the best
member of the turboprop royal family "will depend on
market research that starts with Sandel's dealers because
they know the customers best," said Risty, and "we're
already in those discussions." q

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News May 2016