Only time will tell if Eclipse Aviation’s decision to sever ties with Avidyne and bring in a new team of avionics suppliers for the Eclipse 500 will satisfy buyers, but an early glimpse of what’s coming to the VLJ’s front office looks promising. Perhaps the bigger question should center on whether Eclipse can indeed integrate all the pieces of the retooled cockpit on the aggressive schedule company founder and CEO Vern Raburn outlined last month.
Speaking with reporters on a conference call on March 5, Raburn said “significantly fewer than half” of the 402 Eclipse 500s scheduled for delivery this year will include the original Avio integrated avionics system containing the old Avidyne hardware. The remainder will be fitted with Avio NG avionics, the next-generation package containing displays and select software from Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S), flight management system software from Chelton Flight Systems, dual IFR mode-S transponders supplied by Garmin, navcom radios from Honeywell and a digital audio panel produced by PS Engineering.
