At AERO 2019 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Sonaca Aircraft unveiled its glass cockpit version of the Sonaca 200: The Sonaca 200 Trainer Pro.
For the primary flight display and navigation system, Sonaca Aircraft has turned to the latest products of the Garmin range.
“The Garmin G500 TXi suite coupled with the GTN navigator is modern, reliable, user-friendly, multifunctional and scalable all at the same time,” company officials said in a prepared release. “The latter offers unlimited possibilities of connectivity and compatibility with products from the Garmin range and those from other manufacturers.”
Sonaca 200 Trainer Pro standard configuration
- Garmin G500 TXi, 10.6-inch screen (Primary Flight Display)
- Garmin GTN 650 GPS (Combined GPS-radio-transponder)
- Honeywell KI300 (Backup flight display)
- J.P. EDM 900 Instruments (Engine Monitoring System)
- Garmin GNC255A second radio (COM/NAV 2. Optional)
- Garmin heated pitot (optional)
- Automatic ELT (optional)
The glass cockpit version provides an “inflight Wi-Fi” option that will allow pilots to download flight maps directly from their tablet to the plane’s GPS. This version can integrate future software and hardware developments dedicated to plane monitoring activities, for instance.
“The monitoring function will provide the opportunity to follow and to save certain parameters of the aircraft in flight in real time. It will allow pilots to detect and anticipate any malfunction of the aircraft; it will also allow for predictive maintenance and thus reduce the aircraft’s downtime on the ground as much as possible. Finally, the calculation of airframe wear in real time will ensure full use traceability and will facilitate aircraft fleet management,” said Carl Mengdehl, Sonaca’s engineering and certification manager.
Other features, such as the ability to make inflight phone calls via Bluetooth, inflight access to updated weather maps, see aircraft in the vicinity on the screen in order to avoid collisions, as well as Internet access via the 3/4G connection, are also available in production models or as options.
The first deliveries of the Sonaca 200 Trainer Pro will start in June to Ayjet, an aviation school based in Istanbul, Turkey.