Professional Pilot, September 2016

past decade According to Tiana In the past when HGS was an option roughly 80 of the operators would opt for the system Today many new business aviation aircraft have HGS as an integral part of its design and are offered as standard equipment Tiana and Rockwell Collins are now focusing on combining or fusing EFVS images and synthetic vision system SVS graphics Key components of this system include advanced SVS algorithms with multispectral EVS infrared cameras EVS 3000 and aircraft information Once combined this information is displayed on the HGS combiner in an eyes forward display of the runway terrain and obstacles This unique approach which combines 3 technologies delivers incredible situational awareness and approach stability in low visibility conditions According to Tiana this combined vision technology is enabled in part by new technology cameras such as the EVS 3000 available at lower cost This confluence of cost plus quantifiable operational credits the ability to operate in low visibility conditions etc makes this safety enhancing system much more popular with operators Garmin is working on enabling voice commands and connectivity Garmin is another innovative company that has changed the landscape of the avionics industry from light general aviation aircraft to the most capable modern bizjets According to Aviation Media Relations Specialist Jessica Koss Garmins vision for 26 PROFESSIONAL PILOT September 2016 the future of avionics is to provide innovative and cost effective avionics which reduce pilot workload and enhance overall safety among the GA industry She later adds Were constantly making significant improvement in R D and are always working on new and innovative products and features As an example of some recent innovations announced at the 2016 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh Koss says Today features such as Telligence Voice Command were just added to the latest GTN 650 750 touchscreen navigators in the latest software upgrade With Telligence pilots feel as though they have a virtual copilot sitting in the seat next to them as the GTN completes tasks via spoken commands These and other features help pilots keep their eyes out of the cockpit by providing a more intuitive and natural user interface that assists them in completing their most important task flying the aircraft According to Garmin Telligence allows over 300 voice commands to complete tasks that would normally require a knob or touchscreen input on the GTN controller Such a command could be tune to destination tower and the GTN automatically would load the appropriate frequency in the standby position Other helpful commands include tune nearest center create waypoint or say distance to destination Koss continues by adding Garmin has long been known for incorporating a growth oriented architecture throughout its entire product line and we look forward to providing our customers with state of the art technology as we continue to make enhancements to these products Case in point the Garmin Telligence feature is a free upgrade for GTN 650 750 operators the only additional equipment required is a push to command button and either a GMA 35 GMA 350 audio panel Additionally after the update pilots will be able to use the pinch and zoom features of the GTN In addition to voice commands the Telligence update allows integration with the new Wi Fi enabled Flight Stream 510 card that allows for wireless database transfers As part of the new Database Concierge program operators can now download all databases with Garmin Pilot the mobile app available for Apple IOS or Android devices and upload them wirelessly to the aircraft using the Flight Stream 510 which simply is installed in the card slot of the GTN The future is now Concepts such as voice activated avionics and a HGS that fuses SVS graphics with infrared EFVS images into one picture would be unheard of a decade ago But now these systems are leaving R D labs and making their way to the flight line The trick for the avionics manufacturers is to find the right balance to properly implement these systems into next generation aircraft As Geoff Shapiro of Rockwell Collins suggests The ideal aircraft will have a combination of touchscreens voice and other more tactile controls that are both intuitive and efficient On the other hand EFVS and other avionics advances that provide meaningful operational advantages such as lower approach minima will ultimately convince operators and airframe OEMs to invest in these systems Garmin recently enabled pinch to zoom capabilities on some of its touchscreen equipment The upgrade came via a software update based on pilot experiences with modern electronic devices Stuart Lau is a FDM systems manager for Kelowna BC based SkyTrac Systems He currently flies for a large international airline and is a member of its safety and accident investigation committees He also volunteers for a number of industry safety groups such as the Global HFDM Steering Group Lau has been continuously associated with Pro Pilot since 1996