The trend toward “plug and play” replacement of legacy electromechanical instrumentation with electronic glass displays continues into the rotorcraft market with an STC won by Aspen Avionics authorizing installation of its EFD1000H flight display system in Bell 206 and 407 panels. A full-function simulator at the Aspen booth (No. 2304) demonstrates the system’s versatility, ease of installation and user-friendly pilot-machine interface. Aspen bills it as “the lowest priced certified EFIS in the helicopter market.”
Albuquerque, N.M.-based Aspen, in partnership with Keystone Helicopter, achieved certification of its Evolution EFD1000 fixed-wing primary flight display (PFD) with helicopter-specific software. Aspen helicopter sales manager Anson Gray predicted that helicopter operators will appreciate the EFD1000H’s light weight, compact form and specially designed vibration-isolating kit. He said the simple installation in standard three-inch, instrument-panel holes and modular architecture of EFD1000H units in PFD and multifunction display (MFD) configurations are already attracting strong interest among helicopter operators.
