Avidyne, IS&S Partner on Sikorsky S76s Integrated Flight Deck

The Helix uses IS&S’s 10.4-inch flat panel displays in concert with Avidyne’s Helios flight management system to modernize legacy helicopters. Other features include 3D synthetic vision, electronic charts, ADS-B weather and traffic, and SBAS/LPV capability. The new system will be on display this week at the Helicopter Association International’s Heli-Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.

Avidyne sees the platform as providing a well-priced upgrade with “significant value over anything currently available in the marketplace,” according to John Talmadge, Avidyne’s vice president of worldwide sales.

“Avidyne and IS&S have put together a solution that is designed and targeted to extend the life of the large number of legacy helicopters still in operation, including the S-76C++, the Blackhawk, the AW109 and more,” he added in a release. “We are excited to be working alongside IS&S to develop Helix, which will give new life to these airframes at a cost that won’t break the bank, and that provides operators a whole host of new capabilities while dramatically improving reliability and dispatchability.”

PHI of Lafayette, Louisiana, has agreed that its MRO Services department will be the initial systems integrator for the Helix flight deck in the S76++.

“We are happy to have Avidyne and IS&S as avionics OEM partners for systems integration and support of their new Helix flight deck,” Tom Neumann, president of PHI MRO Services. “We see the Helix system as a terrific upgrade solution for helicopter operators facing legacy avionics obsolescence issues, and who want to improve reliability and dispatchability of their fleet.”

Avidyne intends to expand the Helix into other rotorcraft applications, and plans to continue its partnership with PHI on those projects.