Avidyne Launches New IFD Capabilities

Avidyne announced new capabilities for its IFD-series navigators today at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida. With the latest software upgrade, Release 10.2, the IFD440 and IFD540 will have synthetic vision views, safety functionality that is retrofittable to existing units for free. The R 10.2 release is expected in the next couple of months, said Dan Schwinn, Avidyne’s president and CEO.

Along with the new software, Avidyne announced new IFD550 FMS/GPS/navcom and IFD545 GPS-only units, which will incorporate an Attitude Reference System (ARS), providing a 3-D attitude indicator-like overlay with egocentric (out-the-window) as well as exocentric (in-trail) views. While this new functionality acts as an attitude indicator, it cannot be used as a backup instrument since the unit does not have a built-in battery, Schwinn said.

Avidyne has also put a strong focus on connectivity with its panel-mounted units. A free IFD100 iPad app has been launched to provide views from the IFDs to the tablet. The IFD100 is, however, not a full-fledged aviation app, but rather is designed to work together with other apps such as ForeFlight and FltPlan Go.

Another nifty connectivity feature that was recently added is the ability to control the IFD units through an MK10 keypad, which is linked via Bluetooth. Avidyne also expects to soon add wireless Internet connectivity later this year through its partnership with Globalstar.