Based in The Netherlands, the PocketFMS Foundation has been providing aeronautical data since 2003. AeroData is professionally maintained and continuously updated from official Aeronautical Information Publications, and is enhanced and extended from a variety of other sources, including local expert contributors. AeroData for SkyView is updated every 28 days with the most current information.AeroData is available as a one-year subscription for €119, and only one subscription is required per cockpit even those with two SkyView displays. Orders for PocketFMS AeroData can be placed online at www.pocketfms.com/dynon/

Robert Hamilton, director of sales and marketing at Dynon, said, “We are pleased to be partnering with PocketFMS to provide another high-quality, low-cost source of navigation data for our international customers. Customers who fly VFR and fly from smaller fields will find the AeroData invaluable.”

For more information about Dynon products, visit www.dynonavionics.com.

Version 3.1 enables pilots to enter flight plans with multiple waypoints right on their SkyView display. It can also use computer-based flight planners that support the .GPX file format to create flight plans at home. In addition, SkyView flight plans can now be set up to provide turn anticipation between flight-plan legs. When so configured, SkyView starts its turn guidance in advance of a waypoint to fly a transition that will not overshoot the next leg, the company says.

Another new 3.1 feature is the ability to output complete, real-time RS-232 data from the engine sensors and other inputs that are connected to the SkyView SV-EMS-220 module.

Customers can download SkyView Version 3.1 free from the Dynon web site.

For more information, call 425/402-0433 or visit www.DynonAvionics.com.

N403PB received her airworthiness certificate in April, 2010 after 14 months and 1,500 hours of build time. Powered by the Rotax 912UL engine, this 748 pound aircraft still cruses at 95 mph at 5,000 rpm. At 5,200 rpm, the cruise increases to 102/105 mph with a four (4) gph burn rate. After some minor adjustments to the rigging configuration, she now flies hands-off and is very predictable throughout all flight manuevers.

Instrumentation and special features include a Dynon EFIS, EMS, AP 74 (2-axis auto pilot), traffic watch system, nose-wheel disconnect with shimmy damper, insulated cabin, two heaters, two baggage compartments, dual hydraulic toe brakes, electronic fuel monitoring system, Lowrance GPS, XCOM radio and a Becker transponder. If the glass panels fail, there are regular “steam” gauges that produce air speed, altitude, VSI, slip/skid, wing level to horizon, engine rpm, and engine oil pressure information.

This was a fun project that produced a great flying machine. The added bonus was the Grand Champion Award (Gold Lindy) at Airventure Oshkosh 2010 in the Light Plane category. It just doesn’t get any better!

Location: Sugar Grove, Illinois 60554

e-mail address: pwbolenbaugh@sbcglobal.net

This post was submitted by Phillip W. Bolenbaugh.

The VP-X system enables pilots to monitor and control their entire electrical system using a SkyView display. The VP-X pilot portion will appear as a window along with the SkyView engine monitor, primary flight display and GPS moving map. Pilots will be able to monitor the health of their electrical system, view and control the status of individual circuits, and respond to circuit faults using the SkyView display. Further, trim and flap position via the VP-X will also be displayed.

The VP-X Pro offers more than 30 power circuits, providing enough capacity to wire almost any two- or four-place Experimental or Light Sport Aircraft. The VP-X replaces older mechanical components with modern, solid-state technology to increase reliability, reduce weight and simplify wiring.

“Many SkyView customers are asking for VP-X support, said Robert Hamilton, Dynon’s director of sales and marketing. “It is one of our most highly requested features. We are excited to put this on our development schedule. We share Vertical Power’s high quality standards and appreciate the innovations they are bringing to the Experimental market with the VP-X.”

Vertical Power President Marc Ausman is looking forward to the collaboration. “The VP-X offers a tremendous amount of capability at a very affordable price, and we’re excited to be working on this integration with Dynon,” he said. “The VP-X is based on the same field-proven technology used in hundreds of Vertical Power systems flying today.”

Dynon plans to license the VP-X SkyView application for $275, with availability by the end of 2011. Customers may configure and test the VP-X system using Vertical Power’s free Windows PC-based Configurator application.

For more information, visit www.dynonavionics.com/VPX or www.verticalpower.com/VPX.html.

According to the company, “Traffic will show up on SkyView’s moving map and synthetic vision displays using standard TCAS I symbols. SkyView will identify the location, severity of threat, distance, vertical separation and heading of any aircraft within the traffic system range.”

The SkyView system starts at $3900 with a 7-inch screen and a single ADAHRS (air-data and heading reference system) module. The system can support multiple screens and ADAHRS modules, engine monitoring, and will drive Dynon’s proprietary autopilot servos. According to Dynon, there are nearly 1000 SkyView systems currently flying.

For more information, visit Dynon’s website.

Dynon's two-screen SkyView in an LSA. (Sadly, not a Gobosh.)

As a longtime user of the Dynon original product line, specifically the EFIS D100 and EMS D120, I was eager to sample its latest endeavor, the SkyView system. During Oshkosh, I had the chance to fly a Gobosh LSA fitted with the largest of the SkyView screens, an impressive 10 inch display.

This particular Gobosh was fitted with the single screen, the latest mapping software, a single AHRS (attitude heading reference system) module and an engine-monitoring (EMS) module. The SkyView system is highly modular, in fact; you can have one screen and one AHRS box, which contains the attitude sensors, magnetometer, and pitot/static connections—and then add a second AHRS sensor pack, the EMS, as well as the recently released ARINC-429 module (for getting more data from your Garmin GNS 430, for example) and remote transponder. You can also add a backup battery and autopilot servos, though this particular Gobosh was meant to be hand-flown. Oh, yes: And more screens.

Synthetic vision includes runways.

First impressions of the SkyView are overwhelmingly positive. The screen is bright and crisp, and the grooves between the eight soft keys and the screen carry the eye nicely; there was no problem with brightness or glare in the Gobosh, despite its having a large canopy.

When using a single screen, it’s expected that you’ll spend most time with the display divided into three vertical slivers, two equally sized for the primary flight display (PFD) and the multifunction display (MFD)/moving map; the EMS screen is half the width of the other sections. What’s more, it’s possible to rearrange the components literally on the fly, though it seemed natural to have the PFD on the left, the MFD in the middle and the EMS to the right.

The knobs at the lower edges of the bezel work in joystick fashion (click up, down, right and left) as well as rotate. Dynon’s methodology is to click up or down to enable the menu system—the current mode is always annunciated, such as “(HDG)” to show it’s in heading-adjust mode—and then you can click through the choices, which change the settings for heading, barometric pressure adjust, altitude bug, airspeed bug and vertical-speed bug. The modes come alive right away; you don’t need to acknowledge or dismiss the menu, just twist to get what you want. Typically, the left-hand knob manages basic flight settings, while the right knob sets the moving-map screen scale.

Several split-screen layouts are available.

Dynon’s synthetic vision is very good, though it was a bit hard to get wowed in the flatlands around Oshkosh. Terrain is color coded for elevation, and clever touches abound. The terrain has a faint checkerboard overlay to give it depth, and the white true horizon line has major magnetic markings. One quirk, easily compensated for: The slip-skid ball is at the top of the display. I had trouble finding it for the first 2 minutes, but soon learned to stop looking for it at the bottom of the screen. The SkyView’s high resolution (1024×600 pixels on the 10-inch, 800×480 on the 7-inch version) allows the vertical tapes to be finely drawn. Unlike Dynon’s legacy instruments, the pictorial vertical-speed indicator (VSI) is large. The horizontal-situation indicator (HSI) allows multiple overlays. On the split screens, the HSI’s size is fine, but it looks quite small when the system is in full-screen PFD mode.

As you probably expect, basic flight maneuvers failed to confuse SkyView, and the instrument reactions appeared to be right with the actual airplane. It took me just a few minutes to become accustomed to the layout and symbology, but then I’ve been flying glass since 2006. Those of you transitioning from conventional gauges should plan on several hours of acclimatization.

Moving map features are evolving, but the basic database is already in place, as is simple direct-to navigation. It’s worth looking at Dynon’s features page to appreciate what is currently in the box, and what the company is planning to implement in the near future. I was told that implementing the basic features took the most development effort and that the new features will come quickly.

Dynon’s initial SkyView release, as evidenced by the Gobosh installation, is strong. But there are areas that Dynon is aware could use a small amount of fine tuning. For example, the acceleration rate on the knobs is far too great. (Acceleration is a software trick that assumes the faster you turn the knob, the more quickly you want the data to change.) In the current form, it’s too easy to overshoot the desired setting. Also, the vertical-speed readout is a bit jumpy, and the flight-path marker, being white, is sometimes hard to pick out of the background clutter. Dynon’s representatives had already heard comments like these, and claim to be working on solutions.

A remote transponder was announced at Oshkosh. Dynon plans to add a com radio in the future.

With SkyView, Dynon is off to a great start. And that’s an assessment bolstered by the competitive pricing. A single-screen/single-AHRS system begins at $3900 (or $4800 for the large screen), with an extra AHRS costing $800. The EMS module is $600 (plus sensors), the backup battery is $180 and a GPS module (built into the antenna) is $200. The newly introduced ARINC-429 module is $475, and the soon-to-be-available remote transponders (built by Trig) are $1800 to $2200, and include TIS (traffic information service) as well as ADS-B Out.

For more information, visit Dynon’s website.

Included in the two updates are free trial previews of an upcoming optional Navigation Mapping Software feature that allows pilots to navigate “direct to” airports, aviation navaids and airway intersections in the United States and up to100 miles north of the Canadian border. It also provides basic information about airports, runways and navaids in the United States. Later in the year nav data for the rest of the world will become available, Dynon says.

Version 2.0 provides the option of adding a two-axis autopilot for $1500 with mounting kits at $25 to $75 per axis. The autopilot allows heading hold, GPS ground track hold, NAV course following, altitude hold and change with discreet vertical speed control, along with emergency 180 degree turn capability. With the V2.5 software the autopilot functions have been refined for smoother performance and transitions.

As part of the navigation feature set, SkyView will now paint obstacles in the synthetic vision mode and provide runways drawn to scale and with appropriate headings. What the pilot sees on the screen will be the same perspective and relative size that can be seen through the window.

When equipped with an SV-EMS-220 module and fuel-flow sensor, SkyView 2.5 will display fuel remaining, fuel used, time remaining, fuel efficiency (mpg), fuel at waypoints and available range. That same module provides an engine run timer, engine trip timer, total flight timer and flight trip timer, in addition to tach and Hobbs.

Version 2.0 introduced wind vectors on the PFD screen, indicating direction, magnitude and crosswind component. Version 2.5 adds a new lean mode that can show how many degrees the EGT is above or below peak temperatures for optimal engine operation.

For more information, call 425/402-0433 or visit www.DynonAvionics.com.

Kitplanes Magazine visits Dynon Avionics in Woodinville, Washington, to get an inside look at how the company builds and tests its electronic flight instruments.