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.

Pilots will be guided through navigation exercises using the integrated VFR GPS moving map and flight planner. They will also configure as well as operate the autopilot for both VFR and IFR missions and locate and interpret the various types of data presented on the SkyView (winds aloft, TAS, density altitude, fuel computer, etc.).

For those pilots planning to switch from analog to digital/electronic instrumentation there will be opportunities to explore the benefits and compromises of glass panel systems, cockpit resource management and procedures for safe transition. “Dynon realizes that transitioning to glass panel technology is not difficult, but requires focus,” said Robert Hamilton, director of marketing. “Pilots should be proficient with their avionics during flight, and hands-on training is a good way to achieve that.”

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

Due to the light weight and low mounting depth no complicated mounting brackets or trays are needed, MGL says. Power use is low, and operation from much less than 12 volts to about 28 volts is fully supported.

The XTreme EMS is an engine-only version of the existing XTreme EFIS that includes primary flight (pitot/static), AHRS and GPS instrumentation. 

An example of a basic package for a four-cylinder engine would be: XTreme EMS, $850; 
RDAC XB, $220; engine senders, $425 for a total of $1495.

More information about the XTreme EMS can be found  here.

Resolution is 1024 x 768, there are 21 buttons, an SD card, HITS, and the unit has a depth of 3.75 inches. The AF-5500 also provides XM Weather and ADS-B, Traffic TIS and ADS-B, approach plates, flight guide for airport diagrams and internal flight planning.

For more information and pricing, call 503/263-0037, or visit www.advanced-flight-systems.com.

Jeppesen NavData and obstacle services are available for the MGL EFIS systems, including the Enigma, Voyager and Odyssey. Coverage areas include the contiguous United States, East-Central U.S.A., West-Central U.S.A., North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East, the Pacific region and worldwide.

For more information on Jeppesen, please visit: www.jeppesen.com. For more information about MGL Avionics, please visit: www.mglavionics.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.

Now with the AC Plug-In Charger, TCW makes it possible to keep the IBBS battery recharged without tapping current from the airplane’s main battery. (In the normal IBBS installation, a wire is connected to an “always hot” terminal to trickle-charge the battery, but this can over time deplete the main ship’s battery.) Offered at $105, the PIC connects via the supplied circular connector feeding the IBBS, plugs into an AC outlet, and maintains the IBBS’s charge state without impact on the aircraft battery.

For more information, visit TCW’s website.

The AF-Pilot seamlessly integrates with the AFS systems and can feed back mode annunciation and other data; the connection is not a “one-way street” from the EFIS to the autopilot. The autopilot itself is a refined version of the TruTrak DigiFlight II VSGV, featuring trim annunciation (also displayed on the EFIS), GPS Steering and GPS Vertical capabilities. With the AF-4500 system, the autopilot will fly fully coupled lateral and dual-axis approaches (both GPS and analog nav, such as VOR, localizer and ILS).

The AF-4500 include integral mapping, synthetic vision, a fully featured engine monitor, angle-of-attack display and much more.

AFS has also announced that its new AF-5600 big-screen EFIS will be available late this year.

For more information, visit Advanced Flight’s website.

Purchase the MGL Xtreme and the Vertical Power VP-X Pro and save $300; the bundled price is $2600, which includes the base version of the Xtreme EFIS and the VP-X Pro. Purchase the Xtreme and the VP-X Sport and the total cost is $2150, $150 less than the two separately.

The MGL Xtreme is a full-featured EFIS designed to fit a 3.125-inch instrument hole.

The VP-X is a next-generation electrical-system distribution and control network using solid-state circuit breakers, smart current sensing and full annunciation on most EFIS panels sold today. The VP-X series uses standard mechanical switches for circuit control, but the rest of the features are automatic and internally redundant for safety.

For more information on the VP-X series, visit Vertical Power’s website.

For more information on the MGL Xtreme, visit MGL Avionics’ site.

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.

This adds even greater situational awareness to the pilot of Light Sport and amateur-built aircraft regardless of weather conditions: a bright sunny day or a night flight in the clouds, says Carlos Fernandez of GRT Avionics.

For more information or to download the latest software, visit GRT Avionics.

Dynon EFIS-D10A

Dynon Avionics has introduced updates for its EFIS products with the Version 5.4 software. Designed for the EFIS-D10A, EFIS-D100 and FlightDEK-D180 units, the upgrade features enhanced autopilot pitch control. Included are new user-adjustable parameters to optimize autopilot performance for individual aircraft. “The autopilot now flies just as an experienced pilot would, with crisp, appropriate inputs that really seem to understand the airplane,” said Ian Jordan, chief systems engineer.

These EFIS products have been in service for over seven years and continue to be upgraded by the company, including the free autopilot upgrade two years ago. “It’s all part of our commitment to support our customers,” said Robert Hamilton, marketing director.

For more information, visit Dynon Avionics.

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.