You may not have noticed but COVID-19 and the supply chain have put a damper on new product introductions coming from GA avionics manufacturers. As an avion­ics writer, I notice this simply because new products give me something to talk about, and new product topics have been lean in the last few years. Good news for you and me! Here are the new products that are worth talking about.

Aspen Avionics/ Trio Avionics Integration

The Aspen EFD1000 Primary Flight Display stood alone in 2008 as an alter­native to vacuum flight instruments in a certified GA aircraft. The concept of a solid-state AHRS driven integrated flight display with AI and HSI in a single bezel that replaced less reliable vacuum driven gyros and that did not require a new panel was revolutionary. The Garmin G5 or uA­vionix AV-30C or even the first certified AI replacement, the Dynon D10A had not yet come along. Since then, Aspen has continuously upgraded its EFDs with new displays, faster processors, and additional features, and it introduced its E5 version in 2018 designed and priced for the VFR and Light IFR pilot.

No manufacturer has put more effort into autopilot inte­gration than Aspen. Aspen designed solutions for the vener­able S-TEC System 55X that we talked about recently and the introduction of its EA100 interface gave pilots flying behind 40-year-old legacy autopilots a path to remove less reliable vacuum gyros and drive them with the reliability and accuracy of AHRS.

Now Aspen and Trio Avionics have in­troduced an interface for the Aspen E5 (and EFD1000 Pro) to the Trio Pro Pilot autopilot. The Trio Pro Pilot is a very ca­pable, two-axis autopilot also designed and priced for the VFR and Light IFR market.

The Interface provides these functions from the E5 or Pro Max to the Trio Pro Pilot:

Aspen Evolution E5
  • Selected heading
  • Selected Course
  • Corrected barometric altitude
  • Selected altitude
  • GPSS roll steering
  • GPS LPV approaches

Aspen and Trio are offering packages combining the Aspen E5 Electronic Flight Display with the Trio Pro Pilot Autopilot starting at $10,750 for certified aircraft.

Visit either Aspen’s or The STC Group’s website for more information. Links are available at cessnaowner.org/dec23.

Dynon D30 Touchscreen Electronic Flight Display

Dynon D30 Touchscreen Electronic Flight Display

Dynon’s D10 EFD was introduced in 2004 for the experimen­tal market and the updated D10A was STC’ed for installation in certified aircraft in 2016. It was designed as a standalone instru­ment to replace a vacuum AI or backup for Dynon’s large format Skyview EFIS systems, originally for the experimental product, later approved for certified aircraft in 2018.

The Dynon Skyview, like all EFIS systems requires backup instruments, but the D10A filled that role until it was discon­tinued. Unlike the D10A, the New D30 Touchscreen EFD is only approved as the backup instrument for Dynon’s Skyview HDX. It’s not approved as a standalone instrument. The D30 is a 4-inch (diagonal), high-resolution touchscreen display with integrated backup battery that provides up to five hours runtime. Screen quality is one of the improvements we see in aviation displays, and the D30 is significantly better than the previous D10A.

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