AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2014 - 90

P&E

AVIONICS

L-3 Trilogy: Quietly capable
An electronic lifeline ready for when you need it
BY THOMAS B. HAINES

THE WEAK LINK in most glass cockpits-whether new from the factory or
aftermarket-is system redundancy. What
do you do when the power goes out or a
display fails? For most, it means reverting to backup mechanical instruments.
In legacy aircraft, at least one of those is
frequently driven by a vacuum pump-
another weak link. And those mechanical
backups take up panel real estate that is
often in short supply.
L-3 Avionics Systems is among the
companies offering a compelling one-stop
solution to replace all of the mechanical instruments with a reliable solid-state
electronic system that can include a battery backup for use when the main displays
go dark. And, depending on your model of
airplane, you can also unload the balky
vacuum pump as well, saving weight, complexity, and maintenance.
As part of the recent glass cockpit
upgrade in my 40-year-old Beech Bonanza
A36, I removed the pneumatic pump
and mechanical flight instruments and
installed an L-3 Trilogy Electronic Standby
Instrument. The only conventional flight
instrument left is the turn coordinator, necessary for the S-Tec 50 autopilot.
Since I don't have a backup alternator, I

90 | AOPA PILOT January 2014

chose the ESI 2000,
the Trilogy model
with the battery
backup. The lithium ion battery adds
less than a third of a
pound to the unit's
base weight of 2.2
pounds and promises
to provide more than
an hour of power to
get you out of the
clouds and on the
ground should the
primary displays fail
at the worst possible
time. I also chose the
optional MAG 3100 heading system, which,
at $5,480 is admittedly a bit of a Cadillac
feature when I already have heading information available from two GPSs on board. A
more common setup is a connection to a GPS
for heading information. However, failure of
that GPS means a loss of heading to the L-3.
In a bad situation, the Trilogy's bright
LED is a familiar friend, combining airspeed, altitude, attitude, slip/skid-and,
optionally, heading in a format that looks
much like what you just lost in the primary
displays. The airspeed and altitude tapes
could be right off of a Garmin or Aspen
display. The airspeed tape even includes
V-speed color bands unique to your model.
The pitch ladder on the attitude indicator
helps nail climb and descent profiles.
Most important, the Trilogy is simple
to use. The last thing you need in a busy

LEARN MORE
To learn whether the vacuum pump can
easily be removed from your airplane,
check the type certificate data sheet
for your aircraft model on the FAA's
website (search the Web for "FAA
TCDS") and work with a knowledgeable
avionics technician.

cockpit is more button pushing, especially
when things go bad. Four buttons across
the bottom of the display control all functions. However, in flight, the only ones you
normally need are the two on the right-
the plus and minus, which change the
barometric setting. Bump the setting up
or down to keep the altimeter in sync with
the primary altimeter. When the optional
battery is active, a battery status indicator
displays in the upper left. With the heading
system installed, a horizontal heading tape
spreads across the bottom of the display,
moving the slip/skid indicator to the left.
When the power goes out, the battery
automatically takes over and you simply begin using the Trilogy for primary
information. As with other systems, it's
important to practice for such eventualities. During a recent instrument proficiency
flight, I had my safety pilot pull the circuit
breakers on the Garmin G500 primary
flight and multifunction displays while I
flew under the hood. With an instrument
approach loaded in the number two navigator, a Garmin GNS 530W, I easily glanced
back and forth between the mechanical
course deviation indicator and the Trilogy
to fly an entire approach and missed
approach with no significant problems.
Climbs, descents, and turns were intuitive.
With the heading system, there was no need
to look at the 530W to determine heading,
a move which would have required a significant bit of head movement-not a good
thing in instrument conditions.
Learning to use all the gear in a newly
upgraded panel presents its own challenges. Thankfully, the Trilogy quietly
soldiers on, a lifeline ready for when you
need it.
AOPA
PRICE: ESI 1000 (no battery) $14,995; ESI
2000 (with battery) $15,700
EMAIL thomas.haines@aopa.org
WEB

www.as.l-3com.com
http://www.as.l-3com.com
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2014
