Avionics News February 2023 - 22

BRINGING NEW LIFE TO ROBINSON R44S
Continued from page 21
training, they wanted to ensure students would have the
shallowest possible learning curve. Hence, the simplicity of
the system's operation was paramount.
" Both the AeroVue Touch and AeroNav have very shallow
menu structures, so all flight-critical information is only one
or two touches or button pushes away, " he said. " HeliVue
gives the pilot the option between touch or tactile data entry
when pilots need to be head-up in high workload situations.
This is particularly important to minimize the learning curve
for pilots that are not used to flying glass cockpits. "
Becker AMU6500 digital audio system
While it may seem that the system's audio controller
would be a proverbial afterthought for an upgrade like this,
Young stressed the exact opposite was the case here.
" We wanted to put together the right solution built around
the right products, " he said. " Becker has been the innovator
of so much of the audio panel development
for over 65 years.
" When we started looking at the project
and the futuristic look and function of the
panel that AvPanels was putting together,
the AMU6500 was a perfect match, "
explained David Oglesbee, director of
sales and marketing for Becker Avionics.
" Becker was the first to develop digital
audio. Building on that, this unit has 3D
audio capability, which, if you've never
heard it or had the opportunity to fly with
it, it's hard to describe the difference. It
brings an advanced audio complement to the
information-filled glass cockpit environment that is simply
astonishing.
" The AMU6500 also has built-in Bluetooth allowing
a portable radio used by our first responders or others to
be brought into the audio panel. It also has the multi-cast
capability, which enables multiple radios to be tied into one
broadcast stream if needed. It also has a retransmit capability
allowing the system to tie together two separate radio
frequencies. "
RC Allen RCA2610-3 digital
attitude indicator
Aside from being a Federal Aviation Administration
requirement, Young said the selection of a battery-powered
standby digital attitude indicator was undertaken with the
same care as any of the other components.
" There's isn't an instrument on a helicopter that isn't
22 avionics news * february 2023
critical to the aircraft's safety of flight, and that's especially
true for the standby instruments, " he said. " Bottom line is,
we selected the RC Allen based on the reputation of the
system and the fact that the team at Honeywell (BendixKing)
has had a long-term working relationship with RC Allen. We
know it's a great system with amazing reliability.
" When we started discussing the HeliVue program with
the engineers at RC Allen, they were extremely interested in
the idea and open to creating a custom housing for the 2610
to meet our needs. While the ruggedized 3-inch ADI provides
all the display information the HeliVue panel needs, it also
offers the added advantage of featuring an optional internal
backup battery, which further simplifies the installation. "
Engineering a more-flexible solution
While the full-on HeliVue STC includes all the
avionics as mentioned in earlier upgrades, Young
stressed that because it was created to meet the needs
(and budgets) of helicopter flight schools, it was created
with as much flexibility as possible.
" We wanted to make sure the customer
was not tied to one solution moving
forward, " he said. " In other words, if the
customer already has a brand X GPS and
didn't want to replace it, we wanted to
make sure our solution worked with their
equipment, and we have been successful
at that. Other systems only work with their
gear. "
RC Allen RCA2610-3
digital attitude indicator
Of course, one of the beauties of the
BendixKing AeroVue and AeroNav units
is that their architecture has been created
to provide a high level of installation
integration flexibility. According to the
company, both units seamlessly integrate with legacy
BendixKing KSN and AeroNav units, as well as Garmin's
GTN/GNS and Avidyne's IFD GPS navigators.
" Customers have learned that if they want to replace
a portion of the system with something new, it's not that
easy if you go with some other brands, " Young said. " The
whole system was designed to work together and only
together. That's not what HeliVue is. We can tailor an
installation to work with whatever you want to keep in your
current panel. "
While you may think that kind of open-door flexibility
would create mind-numbing problems at installation time,
Young stressed that wouldn't be a problem.
" The HeliVue STC has been developed to minimize
installation cost and ease its integration into your R44's
cockpit, " he explained. " Airframe downtime for any
helicopter is extremely costly, but even more so at a flight
Avionics News February 2023

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