The recent announcement that the FAA has approved a supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of non-TSO’d avionics in basic single-engine airplanes is a significant development, and I expect this is going to be a hot topic at this week’s Aircraft Electronics Association International Convention & Trade Show, which opened today in Orlando, Fla.
To recap, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) announced on April 6 that it developed an STC for installation of the Dynon EFIS-D10A electronic primary attitude indicator as a replacement for the attitude indicator on the Cessna 150, 152 and 172 and Piper PA-28 and PA-38 (Tomahawk). Flight-testing was accomplished in a Cessna 172M (a mid-1970s model). If the aircraft is already IFR certified, it remains so qualified after installation of the D10A.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
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