Aero Friedrichshafen, Germany — The Flight Design has chosen Garmin to provide avionics for its new four-seat aircraft, the C4. The avionics suite for the $250,000 composite aircraft is named the Flight Design Vision Touch by Garmin.
The newly developed system with two 10.6-inch glass displays of the new Garmin G3X Touch series offers state-of-the-art performance and outstanding utility to the pilots, according to Flight Design officials. They add that the decision to use a system that does not have a TSO approval on its own, but will be certified together with the airframe, allows for a significantly lower price point with much greater flexibility for future system enhancements and upgrades.
“Flight Design challenged us to design a product that would work for their aircraft, in performance and price,” says Jim Alpiser, director of aviation aftermarket sales at Garmin. “The Vision Touch suite is designed for this aircraft and meets the desired goals.”
The C4 will debut several of the new possibilities that go along with the CS-23/Part 23 rewrite, driven by the FAA and well on the way to adoption by all major aviation authorities. One of these possibilities is the use of alternatively approved avionics in aircraft when certifying the avionics as part of the airframe.
“Affordable new technology is the goal of the (FAA) Part 23 rewrite,” said Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA. “That’s what we’re doing with the C4. The use of non-TSO avionics raises the certification burden for the airframe manufacturer, but in the end saves a significant amount of cost while offering much more up-to-date technology.”
The Flight Design Vision Touch suite by Garmin provides two wide screens capable of synthetic vision, combined with a Garmin GTN 750 GPS-Nav-Com, Garmin GNC 255 Nav/Com, Garmin GMC 305 autopilot, and a Garmin GMA 350 audio panel. Primary flight information is enhanced by an independent RC Allen solid-state attitude indicator, directional gyro, as well as analog airspeed and altitude indication, company officials explain.
The C4 development process is well under way with the continued production of the first flying prototype and the successful completion of the first series of structural load tests to support prototype operation, company officials report. First flight is expected for summer this year, leading to the production of the first conforming prototypes to directly support certification. Certification is anticipated before the middle of 2015.
Flight Design is a 26-year-old manufacturer based in Germany. The company remains the worldwide Light-Sport Aircraft market leader thanks to its CT series of aircraft. More than 1,800 of these aircraft are flying in 42 countries. One of the first aircraft certified under ASTM International standards in 2005, the CT (“composite technology”) remains the top-selling LSA in America and many other countries through many consecutive years. Flight Design sold the first LSA to India and was the first LSA to earn Chinese Type Design Approval.
For more information: FlightdesignUSA.com
The Flight Design CTLSi is a modern, fuel injected all-carbon-fiber Light-Sport Aircraft with a wide, comfortable cabin with unparalleled visibility; a 1000-NM range at 115 Kts using <4 gph. Synthetic Vision Full glass panel, Garmin radio and a BRS airframe parachute are all standard equipment. Flight Design LSAs are backed with a nationwide service network, next-day parts availability from an established company serving more than 1,800 airplanes worldwide. Surveyed owners express high customer satisfaction.
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