intial design release questions....
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Category: Avidyne General
Forum Name: IFD 5 Series & IFD 4 Series Touch Screen GPS/NAV/COM
Forum Description: Topics on Avidyne's IFD 5 Series and IFD 4 Series Touch Screen GPS/NAV/COM
URL: http://forums.avidyne.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=197
Printed Date: 19 Apr 2024 at 2:45pm
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Topic: intial design release questions....
Posted By: tony
Subject: intial design release questions....
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:53am
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Do you plan to incorporate runway extensions in the intial release to improve situation awareness? Time enroute with customizable messages like "switch tanks" ?
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Replies:
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 11:58am
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Hi Tony, 1. Maybe. We've been considering adding this feature in for initial release but haven't made the in/out priority decision yet for that one. We like it a lot. 2. Yes. If I remember correctly, there are 9 different timers/schedules/messages you can program to say anything you want and you can specify the period/duration until the next alert. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tony
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2012 at 6:03pm
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from the release 9 forum"R9.3 TSO and the associated Cirrus and Matrix STC amendments are the top priority at Avidyne right now and are internally required before we can complete the IFD540" can you comment on the impact to the IFD540 development and certification schedule?
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2012 at 8:15pm
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Gladly. There is no known measurable impact. The 9.3 non-SynVis content is a subset of that in the IFD540 and those comments from the R9 forum were meant to re-assure any R9 customers that we have not taken our eye off that release ball, so to speak. SynVis is a highly anticipated feature for the R9 owners and R9 is the same basic code base as IFD540. R9.3 has always been ahead of the IFD540 release and it has been planned that way from the beginning of IFD540 and hasn't changed since. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2012 at 7:18am
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My apologies if this question should be in another forum. I have taken advantage of the early purchase offer and will be visiting Oshkosh this year all the way from Australia. Will the IFD540 be on display at Oshkosh? Thanks
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2012 at 10:41am
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Yes it will. Do you know your specific dates yet? I can arrange to provide as in-depth an evaluation/show & tell as we can muster if you want to coordinate a date/time ahead of time. Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2012 at 5:24am
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Steve, I don't know the specific dates at this stage, but I will definitely be there and will let you know as soon as I know. Do you prefer me to advise via this forum or private email? BTW: Congratulations to Avidyne and you for taking the time to answer your customer's inquiries via these forums. This to me shows excellent customer focus and leadership in the avionics industry. I am looking very forward to the IFD540's eventual release and install. I just wish the DFC90 was certified for install in the Mooney M20J, but that's another story and something else to look forward to. Keep up the good work. Victor
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2012 at 8:14am
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Thank you Victor, those are very kind words. As a general rule, if the questions might be useful to others, the forum seems like a better choice but if it's very specific to your situation, email sounds better. In either case, my email is sjacobson@avidyne.com ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2012 at 10:49am
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Has the feature list for the 540 been frozen yet? How are the certification headaches going? Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 6:05pm
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Hi Tim, I'll answer your first question with both a "yes" and a "no". To amplify that a little - first let me say that everything that can be done on a GNS530W can be done on an IFD540 at initial release except HTAWS (fixed wing TAWS is part of initial release). Everything above/beyond the 530 feature set is explicitly defined and prioritized. Since there are so many hardware and software components to the IFD540 product, something will end up being the schedule driver. We are working off that prioritized feature list while the schedule driver is being completed which means the final cut of those features above/beyond that of the 530 has not had the "pencils down" command issued yet. Please let me know if that explanation wasn't clear enough. As for the cert "headaches" question, I'm sure we have more still ahead of us. As I'm sure you know, there are always surprises on that front so I can't declare victory on that one until we have the FAA approval in our hands. You can be sure we'll be broadcasting that news loudly and clearly when we have it. We're still driving to an end of 2012 final submission to the FAA. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 9:06pm
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I am in the software field, and our company actually has products so I am very familiar with the schedule/release concept working against a priority list of features. It is nice to hear that you will have a list of future features which I expect to see in following releases (I hope only software based and all the hardware preinstalled, and does not require hardware changes). So the next question is, does the FAA certification wait until the code is finalized, or can you be working on new features as you progress through the FAA certification? ( I have no real clue about how the FAA process works -- or doesn't). Good luck and thanks for answering, Tim |
Posted By: tony
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 9:50pm
| Perhaps a better way to ask that question: When is your FQT scheduled and how long after that will it take for you to submitt those reults and the sas? |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 9:56pm
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What is FQT? I know all about FISMA and DoD security protocols. Just about nothing about the FAA process and acronyms. Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 24 Feb 2012 at 9:00am
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Tim, Tony, We don't use "FQT" in our lingo but from the context, I'm assuming it means "Final Qual Test". The typical interaction with the FAA on a program like the IFD540 cert is a long term engagement with a series of deliverables that are spread out across the life of the project. It sounds like the ones you are asking about are the "end game" milestones and document sets. We do expect to have some intermediate product "familiarization" interactions with the FAA during the course of the summer. There *may* be a human factors review of the product by a group of FAA evaluators when the product is declared to be fully representative of the to-be-certified unit by us. The final end-game milestones are the submission for TIA (Type Inspection Authorization) which is considered the final exam ground and flight tests by the FAA and all of our final compliance documentation. Since there are literally dozens of submissions, I fear this response is too general. It is these final compliance document submissions and TIA that we are driving for the end of 2012. Predicting the duration between submission and FAA approval is a fools game. We've seen turn-arounds in as short as 1 week in the past and some as long as 4 months. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: LarryPetro
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2012 at 10:45pm
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Will the IFD540 display lightning strikes from the TWX670 in the same manner as the MHD300, or will it display in compatability mode, or not at all? I greatly appreciate Tom Harper's excellent presentation on the IFD540 on the 29th and am looking forward to being able to download the recorded version.
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Posted By: LarryPetro
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2012 at 11:03pm
I can crossfill the flight plan in my GNS530W to my GPSMAP396, which is very useful for visualizing my intended route relative to the animated NEXRAD weather downloaded through the XM satellite. Will the IFD540 crossfill its flight plan to a GPSMAP396? If not at initial release, are there plans to provide that capability at a later date? Thanks. ------------- Larry Petro - Columbia 350 @ KFME |
AviJake wrote:Posted By: BobsV35B
Date Posted: 04 Mar 2012 at 7:52pm
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I thought I signed up to receive data concerning the IFD 540 when I bought it at Oshkosh. So far, nothing. Did I do something wrong?
Happy Skies,
Old Bob
AKA
Bob Siegfried
Downers Grove, Illinois ------------- Old Bob, Ancient Aviator |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 04 Mar 2012 at 8:45pm
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Old Bob, Ahh, I see the problem. The extra information option was the $100,000 deposit plan. I see you opted for the less expensive deposit plan. But, all kidding aside, as the IFD540 Product Manager, I will take it as part of my job to ensure that happens. I have to admit that I wasn't aware we had made additional commitments beyond what you can find here at AvidyneLive. That being said, that's a pretty lame excuse so I'll make sure we fulfill those expectations. In general, I like to use AvidyneLive. I've been doing periodic updates on program progress for the DFC90 and 100 autopilots on AvidyneLive and I'll take a more proactive role on the IFD540 here too. We should be able to supplement that with periodic email blasts to the deposit holder email list. Thanks for the prodding, it should benefit all. Expect an email blast shortly before Sun-n-Fun where we let our early adopters have a preview of what we'll be showing at the show for the IFD540. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 04 Mar 2012 at 8:46pm
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Larry, Reference the displaying of data on the 396, let me check the data flow mechanisms early this week and then respond with a high confidence answer. Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2012 at 4:43pm
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Larry, Still refining the details on the 396 data display answer. Haven't forgotten..... Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2012 at 3:58pm
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Old Bob (and others), As a test of our external comm, did you receive an email today from Avidyne titled "Avidyne Insider - Sun n Fun Preview - March 19, 2012"? It's a quick preview of one of the features of the IFD540 we are showcasing at SnF next week - namely 2-box integration capabilities. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who thinks they are on, or would like to be on, the Avidyne Insider email list. We don't abuse that list by pounding inboxes with excessive amounts of notes. (and Larry, I know it's been a while since you posed your question - haven't forgotten but haven't found the time to finish a few homework assignments wrt the question) ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tony
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2012 at 9:11pm
| ok, I have another question for the design team. I see avidyne is one of the partners for the aspen connected panel interface. So will I be able to bring my Ipad, running foreflight, into the cockpit and down load my flight plan from my Ipad into the IFD540? Then use the IFD540 as the certified nav solution for the aircraft while monitoring how the weather (using the new stratus receiver) will impact my flight? If there is an issue, then rubber band the flight plan on the ipad and upload the updates into the IFD540? |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 7:25pm
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In a nutshell, that is our intent. In your stated scenario, there are about 6 clear moving parts and few hidden ones so one should read into that what you think is prudent but yes, we see the wireless integration of the products for that kind of an operational scenario to be the kind of capability the IFD540 will support. As a side note, it has been very fun being part of the design team trying to create these kinds of operational scenario based integration questions and work through them. This is shaping up to be a real leap forward in cockpit capabilities. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2012 at 5:57pm
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Larry, Yes, the IFD540 will output all the necessary data, and in the same format, to correctly display the same data on the GPSMAP 396 as a Garmin 530 does. Out of curiosity, how do you have your 396 wired into the harness today? ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: LarryPetro
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2012 at 8:48pm
I had an avionics shop route cables from the panel to a location on the yoke where the 396 is held in its cradle. The cables are for: 1) the 530W -> 396 Aviation In signals via the 396's power/data cable 2) fused ship's power from the power/data cable 3) an external GPS antenna 4) the GXM40 XM antenna puck (mounted on the glareshield) 5) 396 audio alerts to the GMA340 audio panel ------------- Larry Petro - Columbia 350 @ KFME |
Posted By: LarryPetro
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2012 at 8:50pm
Do you have any information regarding TWX670 to IFD540 integration? Thanks. ------------- Larry Petro - Columbia 350 @ KFME |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2012 at 9:27pm
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Larry, Well that's good news on the way you've got the 530 to 396 wired. As you swap the 530 for the 540, you shouldn't see a single thing different on the 396. The TWX670 will display lightning strikes on the IFD540 at initial release. I'll check on a few details Thursday to compare/contrast the 540 strike display with those currently on the MHD and post an update here. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: LarryPetro
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2012 at 11:10pm
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Thanks for the information -- much appreciated. Sounds like it will be a great setup with the 396 and the TWX670. ------------- Larry Petro - Columbia 350 @ KFME |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2012 at 7:17am
Steve, I will be at Oshkosh for the entire 10 days, so just name the time and date. Also, is the IFD540 still on track for release toward the end of 2012? Regards, Victor
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2012 at 8:45am
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Hi Victor, I'll personally be at Oshkosh from Mon-Thurs. Even if we can't connect directly, the IFD540 will be on display in several kiosks at our booth at Oshkosh so you can get an in-depth evaluation at any time of your choosing. That being said, if you want to arrange a specific time/date for the two of us to do the box show/tell, send me a direct email at sjacobson@avidyne.com. I do have some commitments for each day of the show but I also have plenty of open windows in each of the days I'm there. As for availability dates, we'll be publishing an update in a few days but the short answer is that we believe we'll be done with development at the end of 2012. It'll likely take a few months to get through the certification testing before shipment so that will push into 2013 a bit. I expect to be posting more frequent updates of our progress on this AvidyneLive forum throughout the summer and fall. We're now flying the unit on a regular basis and will be putting gobs of hours on the units in flight environments as we install them into more test aircraft this summer. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: BobsV35B
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2012 at 12:57pm
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Good Morning AviJake, Any chance of seeing a downloadable simulator on the net that we can play with while waiting for the real thing? I learned a lot about the 530W by using Garmin's downloadable simulator <G> Happy Skies, Old Bob ------------- Old Bob, Ancient Aviator |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2012 at 2:57pm
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Hi Old Bob, No, afraid not, at least not for a while. We agree that a downloadable sim will be very useful and interesting to everybody. The development tool that we're currently using and intend to convert into a useable sim is very much an engineering tool right now, meaning it is not a user friendly tool right now and contains a lot of proprietary material. As we get closer to the cert date, we expect to modify that as required to be something useful and distributable. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2012 at 9:06am
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Steve, Nice to meet you guys personally at Oshkosh. Thanks for putting up with all my q's. One I forgot to ask, is there a dedicated traffic page on the 540? I notice an alert tab down the bottom of the 440 image and wondered whether this had any association. Also, the brochure download link does not work. Regards, Victor
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2012 at 1:52pm
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Hi Victor, It was nice to meet you as well. You must be a contender for "Longest Distance Traveled To Get To Oshkosh" this year. As for a dedicated traffic page on the IFD540, no, there is no dedicated page. Did you notice the full-time display of the traffic thumbnail on the left edge of the display? That's up on every page, all the time. I can email you an image if you want to see it. And, in addition to that thumbnail, traffic is depicted on all non-North Up maps as well as via a Caution-Alerting System (CAS). The Alerts tab you noticed is part of the CAS system and is always the right-most tab on any page. That Alerts tab will be on both the IFD540 and 440. It's a one-stop place to go to see all current/active alerts, whether or not they've been acknowledged. That ALERT tab is also colored based on the highest active alert at the time. In other words, it can be Red, Yellow, Cyan or no color fill. I expect to be posting more user info and images during the fall as we get closer to cert. Thanks for the heads up on the brochure download link. I'll have the web/marketing guys look at that and fix it. Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2012 at 9:21pm
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Steve, The distance was absolutely worth every mile! I had a great time and it wont be my last. Will the traffic symbol/s change colour on the thumbnail and map as a threat becomes more imminent, such as blue to yellow? Does the actual alerts page display all the current warnings in coloured text? I am just trying to get an idea what is displayed on the actual page. When will the AXP340 transponder be released? The brochure tab is now fixed and answers a lot of my other q's. Thanks, Victor |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 6:52am
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Yes, the traffic symbols do change color on both the thumbnail and map depending on threat level. And yes, the alerts on the ALERTS tab are color coded and displayed in threat priority level of Red, Yellow and Cyan. We're going to time the transponder release to be approximately the same time as the IFD540 release. Thanks again for the heads up on the broken brochure link. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 7:56am
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Is the red threat also voice annunciated? Thanks, Victor
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 9:17am
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It depends. The ability of a traffic system to annunciate is a function of the traffic system itself and whether it has an output line to the audio panel. Most mainstream traffic systems have some aural alerting capability and the Avidyne TAS 6xx systems lead that pack by verbally annunciating clock position, relative height and distance. We have always thought that one of the worst times to bring your head into the cockpit is during a real traffic alert. So, instead of hearing an alarming "Traffic, Traffic!" aural alert and then having to look inside for a depiction where that traffic is, our system will tell you "Traffic, 2 o'clock level, 2 miles". So, that being said, the IFD540/440 do not provide traffic voice alerts themselves. If your combined traffic/audio panel provide that, then that is not inhibited by the IFD units. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 9:41pm
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As I flew across the country and kept Com 2 tuned to guard 121.5 it occured to me this seems a waste of a significant piece of hardware. What about having a second tuner installed in the 540 dedicated to 121.5 with separate connections to use Com 3 which is available in most com panels? In addition, why not have more than one standby frequency availble? Such as having the awos, tower and ground all queued up... Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 10:48pm
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Hi Tim, We like how you think and couldn't agree more. Consider yourself having won a "gold star" for correctly guessing one of the unannounced features of the IFD540. Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2012 at 10:44am
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I had wondered about the two receivers in the IFD540. The brochure suggests that the second one is only capable of monitoring the standby frequency. The active/standby paradigm makes sense for old NAV/COM radios but the IFD hardware is capable of much more. It sounds like my second COM radio will be useful only as a backup. The receivers in the IFD540 have access to the frequency database and will be more convenient to use for things like checking an AWOS. Very cool. What will be the requirements for the audio panel for this? In particular, will my existing panel work or will I need to upgrade to an AMX240 or PS7000BT? Also, is there anything similar for NAV? I think there would be a limitation because the IFD540 can only drive one indicator. I suppose a good answer would be "and why would someone be following VORs if they have an IFD540?". |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 19 Aug 2012 at 9:49am
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Hi Paul, What audio panel do you have now? I can tailor my response based on your answer. As for Nav radios, yes, we could do all kinds of wonderful things with the multiple nav radios inside each IFD but we're planning now on only using them as internal cross-checks and comparators since, like you said, it could be too confusing and simply overkill for a pilot in the IFD world now. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 9:17pm
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Hi Steve, The existing panel is a King KMA 26. I may replace it for other reasons but I haven't decided yet. Adding the IFD540 is a pretty expensive upgrade and I'd like to have enough left over to buy a tank of avgas. I'm now curious about the COM/NAV capabilities of the unit. Is the receiver an SDR? Is there a block diagram available? Can the IFD540 display the VOR direction information on the screen? Can it calculate and display DME information? When used with an external indicator such as the KI 209 does the IFD540 decode the VOR information and then convert it to an analog signal for the indicator? Will the indicator have a different "feel" than it does when used with the KX155A? Will it be less twitchy when near a VOR? Oh, and do you mind lots of questions? |
Posted By: wsh
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 9:33pm
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I realize that integrating with the MLX is not in your initial design release ... however... Here in Europe it is our only option for inflight weather. Is there anyway to move forward this item? also... is there anymore news about the delivery? regards Willem
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Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2012 at 10:35am
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I do not see support for the MLX770 in the IFD540 product pages. How far down the list is this? Also, I know I have seen something but cannot find it. Will we be able to display weather, radar on the IFD540? Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 8:42am
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Paul, I missed this response. I'll respond on Tuesday, 4 Sep. Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 8:45am
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Willem, Yes, we recognize that MLX is the only viable weather offering for outside the North American area and for this product to have any real success outside the US, we need to integrate MLX into the IFD540 soon. As you note, it is not in the initial release but it is very high on our follow-on feature list so that we can fully support the international market. I'll start posting status updates on the IFD540 development and cert on a different thread in a few weeks. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 10:35am
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Hi Tim, We have not announced support for weather radar on the IFD540. We agree that would be a great feature add but we're going to stay focused on getting the essentials done for this first release. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 11:33am
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Steve, So the short answer is, it is high on the list for a future release. Just not going to commit how high or soon.... :-D Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 11:35am
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I wouldn't go that strong. We can see how weather radar would be a great capability but we have no plans to pursue that anytime soon.
------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 11:49am
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Cool, I forgot to mention. With the dual tuners (you answered this above) and for those of us planning dual IDF540 in the radio stack. Is there a plane for a new radio panel or remote one? By my way of counting there would 4 radio inputs there and Avidyne's radio panel supports 3.... Again, thanks for answering the questions. (especially on a holiday, I am making the assumption you are in the states) Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 12:33pm
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Yup, I'm in the states (MA). Without trying to make it sound more complex than it really is, if you have a dual IFD540 stack, you'll be able to queue up 10 individual comm freqs. Now I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who can handle 10 comm channels at a time (I used 4 at a time while flying fighters and that was no easy feat), but the system can support it. By 10 comm channels, I mean the following: One way to optionally configure your IFD540 is to select up to 5 freq slots to be displayed along the left edge of the unit. The first two are always available and if the user elects, they can swap out the traffic thumbnail area for three more freq slots. We're building a system where you have one active freq (the one that you will transmit on when you key the mic) and up to four standbys. You can elect to set up both IFD540s this way, getting you the 10 freqs. The potential complexity is selecting and indicating which frequency or frequencies you are sending to the Monitor slot on the Avidyne (or PS Engineering) audio panel. Until I really start flying and testing that part, there is some likelihood of the method changing so I'm a little reluctant to talk about how we are trying to make that part intuitive and simple. Did I address your question, albeit in a not very direct manner? ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 1:09pm
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Yes, I follow. Here is the scenario I deal with. I have ATC on my primary radio. With the next frequency for the next sector already loaded (I fly there enough to know most of the sector hand offs). On the secondary radio, I alternate between 121,5, AWOS for my destination, and Unicom for my destination so I know what is going on. End result, four radios I am trying to follow ideally. Usually guard is not very active (I hope), AWOS I am looking for specific information so I have the volume lower so if I miss it; I just wait for the cycle to continue... I think you get the idea. Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2012 at 2:23pm
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Yes, I follow. That's exactly one of the scenarios we keep working through as we refine our design. Let's re-engage on this topic in a few weeks or before if we have something solid to show/tell you on the topic before then.
------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2012 at 12:18pm
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Hello Paul, Getting back to your series of questions: You noted you have a KMA 26. That audio panel does have a MON function which will be helpful. Check out my 3 Sep, 12:33pm post to Tim on this thread with respect to freqs and how to use them. It's a little high-level right now but see if that addresses your questions. Reference your question about SDR and block diagrams - I wouldn't declare the IFD540 radio to a SDR (software defined radio) in the strictest of senses. I'm only familiar with SDRs in the context of internet radios where multiple users can "tune" to multiple channels on the same "receiver". On the contrary, our radio is clearly heavily software dependent and software tunable. I'm apparently not able to attach an image (like a block diagram) to this forum but think of the IFD540 VHF radio as having 3 main components - RF card (RF section, power supply, transient suppression), Digital card (A-D, databus interface, DSP) and the Mechanicals (RF shields, heat sink, etc). Reference your VOR and DME questions - yes, the IFD540 can display a VOR station bearing and distance and that distance is "pseudo-DME" in that it is computed distance, not an actual slant range DME receiver display. And of course the VOR station can be drawn on the moving map. Reference your external indicator question - yes, we convert and send the analog data to those legacy nav indicators like the KI 209. I don't know until I start flying and looking at those test points if you'll sense any visible difference in "feel" or twitchiness. Keep the questions coming...... ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2012 at 4:05pm
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Hi Steve, That gives me a reasonable feel for what the receiver can do. I consider a radio which feeds the signal into an A/D converter and demodulates it in the digital domain to be an SDR. Would it be legal to fly a VOR approach using the on-screen information instead of the indicator? It sounds like you will be visiting the Gardner VOR soon. If you want a real challenge try using the IFD-540 to fly the VOR 21 approach to Minuteman from GDM. Paul |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 9:20am
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Hi Paul, There is a definite "art" to the various install configurations and what they will and will not support on their own (without the need of external indicators). We're working our way through that myriad of details this fall but the short answer is that the IFD540 was designed to be a stand alone unit in that one can fly things like a VOR approach without the need of a supporting indicator. It will be highly dependent on the location in the cockpit of the 540 and some continued negotiation with FAA cert authorities. So, the official jury is still out on that one but we're optimistic. As for the Gardner VOR and Minuteman airfield, I fly over them both every day on my daily IFD540 flight tests so I'll drop in and start shooting that VOR 21 from now on. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 10 Sep 2012 at 1:35pm
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Steve, One mroe feature request. On the flight planning page (or whatever it will be called) it would be nice to be able to note the direct bearing and distance from the current position, even better would be the ability to have it displayed on the Aspen as part of a data feed. There are many times when I would like to know the distance and bearing. For this reason I do not have auto cross link enabled between my current 530W and 430W. I often set one to direct to destination so I can pull up the distance and bearing on the Aspen and leave the other to manage the flight path. Tim
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 10 Sep 2012 at 2:24pm
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I use the same technique and it is THE reason why we added the "Aux" line selection to the first generation Entegra PFD display. Of course that isn't directly relevant here. However, we do allow you to select a datablock on the IFD540 that gives Destination info (e.g. bearing, and time-to-go and ETA). Assuming you don't change your destination, that wouldn't matter how you manage your crossfill/box syncing options. This datablock can be set up to be visible on every IFD page. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tspear
Date Posted: 10 Sep 2012 at 6:04pm
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Yes, I miss it on my Entergra I had on the Cirrus SR20. Glad you guys included it, now to get Aspen to be able to display it on the PFD.... Tim |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2012 at 9:06pm
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Steve, How did flying the Minuteman (6B6) VOR 21 work? Did the readout on the 540 put you right on the end of the runway? For those who aren't familiar with this approach it is based on the Manchester VOR which is 30 nm away. Flying it with a normal radio and analog indicator is "challenging" because if you are 1° off you will miss the runway by a half-mile. I'm wondering if it is easier with the digital radio in the 540. |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2012 at 8:29am
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Will fly it on today's 540 test flight and report back tonight.
------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2012 at 8:15pm
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Had a chance to fly the VOR 21 to 6B6 using the Gardner transition today. I flew it both on the Avidyne R9 system coupled to the DFC100 autopilot and on the IFD540 system. It was a nice and blustery/gusty day and as I had expected, both systems flew it flawlessly. We are trying to upgrade the AvidyneLive forum infrastructure to allow easy posting of pictures and if we're successful with that, I can post a series of photos I took on today's sortie to help illustrate the behavior/performance. As I'm sure you know, it's a VOR that most local area instructors I know suggest a dive and drive technique inside the FAF because of the long distance VOR behavior challenges. I did not do that today and just flew exactly per the guidance depicted on the displays and hit the MAP nearly perfectly aligned on centerline and in a position to make an uneventful landing (albeit with significant direct crosswind today) As a side note, one of the features of R9 and the IFD540 is a very clear depiction of the current leg of the flight plan and the next leg and both are visually differentiated from all other downpath legs. The current leg is solid magenta and the next leg is a candy-cane striped depiction. This means that previously complex or confusing procedures are now presented in an intuitive manner. This is especially true on that VOR using the Gardner transition when trying to enter the hold pattern - the teardrop and course reversal legs are clear as day and you know exactly what the system is planning on doing. Very comforting. All in all, I would characterize the approach as "a shrug", at least with the R9 or IFD540 systems. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2012 at 10:07am
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You flew that approach on a day when there was a nasty crosswind. Flying it with an analog radio and indicator under those conditions is tricky (some say not possible). Any chance you can post the pictures to http://www.avidynelive.com/forum_images/ for now? Is the IFD-540 now beyond "feature freeze"? If so, can you tell us about some of the currently unannounced capabilities? Is there anything new on connected panel or other tablet connectivity, ADS-B in, or Seattle charts, for example? |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2012 at 2:50pm
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Not in office today but I can look at posting pix when return - they were iphone pics with a lot of glare so quality leaves a lot to be desired.....
Yes, the 540 is well beyond "feature freeze". However, we're not willing to announce anything new. We have unannounced features in the first release but I'm afraid we're going to stay mum until right at cert time. It's an intentional business decision right now that we feel warranted based on the (understandable) behavior of our competition. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2012 at 10:30am
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Competition? What competition? The GNS-530W is too old. The KSN-770 is too young. The GTN-750 is too big. The GTN-650 is too small. The IFD-540 is just right. |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2012 at 6:59pm
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Well of course we agree with you but that won't stop 'em from trying....... We just upgraded the forum so it should be easier to paste pix - I'll start pasting some pictures of the units in action sometime next week I would expect. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 11 Nov 2012 at 12:03am
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When flying a localizer back-course will the IFD-540 reverse the output on the display and on the indicator? |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 30 Nov 2012 at 10:33pm
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The question about the back course is moot - the only one in the area is in New Bedford (EWB) and it is out of service, probably until 2014. So there's no chance an examiner will ask my wife to fly it on her checkride. But when you guys come up for air I'd be interested in the answer. |
Posted By: tony
Date Posted: 16 Dec 2012 at 7:52am
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Steve, I noticed on one for the more recent pictures of the 540, there now is three indictors above the course knob that weren’t there before. I thought they were buttons but when I called Reid for clarification, he explained that they just indicators. I guess during your cert process the FAA made you add them. This brings up a question. Does the 540 have an inertial unit integrated into the box or is the heading just the GPS calculated course and really not heading? |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 16 Dec 2012 at 3:51pm
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The IFD540 does not have an inertial unit integrated into the box. It can however take in actual heading from any number of 3rd party devices and if it does get that heading, then HDG is one of the allowable modes/states of the Nav Source knob that you are referring to. The nav source knob (that knob in the top right corner of the IFD540) has undergone an evolution over the last year. When you think of all the existing aircraft configurations in the 530-equipped aircraft that the IFD540 will be going into, the vast majority have an existing CDI, some of which can transmit set course and some that can not. The same is true with any EFIS/PFD display currently installed in the aircraft. Reasons like that have evolved the Nav Source knob design from something that was nearly identical to the R9 system to one that is more compatible with integrating to legacy equipment. Similarly, there are a lot of installed systems out in the field that are already wired to take in external heading input which is different from saying they can take in external (or internal) GPS course information for GPS-based navigation. I'll talk much more about that Nav Source knob design in the coming months. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: oskrypuch
Date Posted: 16 Dec 2012 at 4:32pm
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Cool, very cool. Is an ASPEN Pro, one of the systems that the IFD540 can pick up a heading indication from? * Orest |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 16 Dec 2012 at 5:20pm
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I'll look on Monday to see if Aspen is outputting Heading in a standard message protocol. I can't remember off the top of my head. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tony
Date Posted: 16 Dec 2012 at 10:37pm
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So if I'm flying my flight plan and ATC starts giving
vectors and says "fly heading 180 until you intercept the localizer". I'm going to be able to dial a course into the 540 and modify the magenta line? |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 17 Dec 2012 at 8:39am
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In virtually every case where the IFD540 is replacing a legacy 530 and in most new install cases, the answer will be to continue to set your course and heading commands on the primary device in the airplane. This was done principally for legacy integration reasons. A clear illustration of what I mean is the external steam-gauge CDIs. In most cases, we can read and display what the CDI course is set to but in no cases, can the CDI read and adjust to the course that might have been set on the IFD540. So, to minimize confusion and the number of places where one must set course or heading commands, we elected to receive that info from an external source and not try to transmit that out to other legacy cockpit devices used for navigation. (Sending course deviation data to an autopilot is still retained). ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2013 at 7:57am
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Steve, Will the IFD540 integrate with a Garmin GTX330ES / 33ES transponder for ADSB capability? Victor
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Posted By: DaveM
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2013 at 1:53am
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I am optimistically planning my installation. I presently have a EX500 MFD (no radar or Cmax) along with a GX60 GPS. I am planning to remove the GX60 along with the EX500. It has been suggested I keep the EX500 to display the map and traffic. I will have room for both. What do you suggest? DaveM ------------- DaveM |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2013 at 7:59am
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First response goes to Victor with regards to the ADS-B support question. We have created the ADS-B serial protocol that we understand the GTX-330 series of transponders require but the unknown question right now is whether Garmin will recognize the IFD540 transmit data as an approved ADS-B solution for the GTX-330 family. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2013 at 8:10am
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And to Dave M's question about what we suggest in his particular case. I suppose there are a lot of options and pros and cons to each but my first reaction is to suggest you (temporarily) keep the EX500 for that extra screen display space. If you have the luxury of panel space to accommodate both, then I would for a few reasons. 1. Obviously, all the flight plan kind of data in the IFD540 will be transmitted and displayed on the EX500 in a seamless fashion. 2. That would free me up to use one of the units as my moving map indicator and do almost everything else on the other unit. Like was suggested, I'd probably keep the EX500 as a moving map and have the nice, easy to use and easy to read FMS up on the IFD540. It would also just about double the number of data blocks I can have displayed at any one time which I find very useful. 3. If you don't feel like you need a 2nd radio, the non-radio variants of the IFD540 or IFD440 will come out not too far down the road after the IFD540 is released and you can easily replace the EX500 with one of those at that time. I haven't checked current market prices for used EX500s recently but that could meaningfully help subsidize the cost of that second IFD unit. Heck, I'm sure the Avidyne Sales guys would love to sell you a 2nd unit right now at the heavily discounted early adopter price too..... ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2013 at 7:47pm
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Steve, Will the IFD540 come with RNP specs or will it be RNAV only? Thanks, Victor |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 23 Feb 2013 at 11:28am
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Hi Victor, Very interesting timing of the question. This is a very difficult topic to cover because so many things are changing and it is controversial. There are three categories of RNP approaches - special crew certification, special equipment or airplane certification required. It is a very dynamic situation with changes likely still to come. The FAA is trying to sort this out themselves and other avionics vendors like Garmin are Avidyne are heavily involved in finding solutions that will work for all. What we *hope* will happen is that approaches will be relabeled to fall into one of two categories - RNAV (GPS) and RNAV (RNP). At least until the RNP issues are resolved (and there are a bunch of them), pilots would be able to quickly look at an approach chart and if labeled as RNAV (GPS), it's easy to know they and their equipment are okay to fly that one. We have built the IFD540 to be what we think is consistent with RNP specs but until this all gets resolved, we can only guarantee some RNAV capability. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: tony
Date Posted: 23 Feb 2013 at 8:36pm
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Steve, when we speak of an RNAV (RNP) we are talking about Nav accuracy. When we speak of true RNP approach there is an availability associated with that Nav accuracy. With just a GPS solution, architecturally, I don’t think an IFD 540 will ever be able to fly and RNP approach. I personally think, any solution that flies an RNP approach needs to also be fail operative. The FAA has been silent on that issue. |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2013 at 8:28am
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Steve, Can you please answer the following two questions:
1. As you might recall, I have a Garmin GNS480 (formerly Apollo CNX80) and Garmin GMX200 MFD with Jeppview. The integration between the units is seamless in that when I load an approach into the GNS480, the approach chart will autoload into the GMX200, which will display the appropriate chart as I get closer to the destination. The autoload is a function of the GMX200. With an IFD540 and GMX200 combination, will there be the same compatibility between the units, so that the approach plate will autoload into the GMX200 when an approach is entered into the IFD540? Please forgive me if I asked the same question at OSH last year. I know we discussed other issues but I cannot recall your answer to that one, if I did in fact ask. 2. I understand the issues you are dealing with at the moment and your updates have been nothing short of exemplary customer service. In consideration of all those known obstacles you are encountering and other expected upcoming issues with the IFD540 program, at this stage are you able to provide an estimated time frame for release of the IFD440 following the IFD540's release? I imagine all resources are directed toward the IFD540 and the IFD440 is on the back burner. Regards from Australia. Victor |
Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2013 at 9:45pm
| The back course VOR approach at EWB is now in service. So you can fly one with the IFD-540. I recommend you try it at lunch time because the restaurant in the terminal is pretty good. |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2013 at 8:27am
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Will do. I'm currently out on a 6-day cross country with a dual IFD540 equipped airplane flying it "in the system" to keep stress testing the gear in real-world scenarios. When I get back next week, I'll drop into EWB and give it a shot. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: wsh
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2013 at 1:12am
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Steve, will the ifd540 also have a top of descent kind of function which it will display? |
Posted By: oskrypuch
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2013 at 8:46am
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Reportedly the IFD at first release will have advanced VNav calculations, allowing you to set altitude (?speed) restrictions for mulitple waypoints. Naturally, that should give you a TOD point. The Boeing Banana (20* arc displayed, to show predictive altitude crossing point) may appear in later updates. * Orest |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2013 at 4:59pm
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Just back from a multi-day XC with the dual IFD540 equipped aircraft. Yes, the initial release of the IFD540 does have a Top of Descent cue and associated aural chime. In fact I was able to use that multiple times on this past trip. Assuming you have some downpath waypoint(s) with altitude constraints in them (you can generate those on your own or take the automatic ones associated with published procedures), you get a green circle on the moving map that is labeled "TOD" and just prior to reaching that TOD point, a CAS message starts a countdown and an aural chime is issued at the TOD point. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 12 Apr 2013 at 2:56pm
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Regarding Victor's question 6 posts above from the 27th of March, The answer is "Yes, that is the intent." I am not able to answer it with more precision than that at this moment because that data is not publicly available and we are in the process of creating a protocol that will provide that data to the GMX200. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 04 Oct 2013 at 11:02am
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Steve, Has the techie who has been working on the marriage between the 540 and GMX200 in terms of complete compatibility, had any success as yet? Thanks, Victor Mooney M20J
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Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2013 at 11:03am
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Hi Victor, Sort of. We've confirmed all interfaces between the IFD540 and the MX20. We're still looking for any differences between a GMX200 and the MX20. Steve ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: Victor
Date Posted: 09 Oct 2013 at 6:58am
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Well done that man! Thanks Steve. |
Posted By: Jack Seubert
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2014 at 11:49am
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Steve, I got a chance to try out one of the pre-production 540's the Frequency button is really cool. When the 440 comes out will that capability be selected by going to the FMS NRST tab and selecting the nearest ARTCC freqs or will there be a separate tab for Frequencies? Jack Seubert ------------- Jack Seubert |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2014 at 3:41pm
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Both methods are planned. We don't have the extra tab method implemented yet but that's the kind of quick delta add we plan to do when IFD540 is "Red Label". ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: phkmn
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2014 at 10:25am
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Does the current 540 release contain RNP authorization? I was just reading about these new procedures: " In order to qualify for any RNP operations, the operator must have a compliance statement in the AFMS for the FMS establish - ing that the aircraft meets the equipment requirements. This can be in the form of a statement in the AFMS that claims compli - ance with AC 20-138 ( ). An example of this is: This installation complies with AC 20-138C for navigation using GPS and WAAS (within the coverage of a Space- Based Augmentation System complying with ICAO Annex 10 for enroute, terminal area, non-precision approach operations (including “GPS”, “or GPS”, and “RNAV” approaches), approach procedures with vertical guidance (includ - ing “LNAV/VNAV” and “LPV”). Navigation information is referenced to the WGS-84 reference system, and should only be used for approach where the Aeronautical Information Publication (including electronic data and aeronautical charts) conform to WGS-84 or equivalent." ------------- PH |
Posted By: AviJake
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2014 at 2:49pm
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The short (but not crisp) answer is "Maybe". The longer (and still not too crisp) answer is that by my understanding (and we have a company rep at a FAA-sponsored industry meeting on this and related topics this week) what we used to consider standard RNAV operations are morphing into RNP. The classic definition of RNP is now just a higher level of RNP. Anyway, this topic is one of the big remaining open areas in our STC effort - namely making sure we have the current and correct descriptive wording in our STC and AFMS paperwork. I'm not the best equipped person in the company to answer this one with high degree of confidence but I know we'll know more on how to answer this crisply in the next few weeks. ------------- Steve Jacobson sjacobson@avidyne.com |
Posted By: wsh
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2014 at 6:18pm
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It would be really strange if such a modern device would not be certified for .. It is imperative that the device complies with this. |
Posted By: BobsV35B
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2014 at 9:12pm
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Good Evening WSH, Do I understand that you want an approval for RNP approaches before the box is certified? Personally, I would sooner have the box without the RNP if we could get it sooner. I see very little advantage to the RNP approaches at this time. If they become the "next thing to have", would it not be better if they were offered as an upgrade? There will always be "nice to have" items, but I think we need a box in the panel as soon as practical. Happy Skies, Old Bob ------------- Old Bob, Ancient Aviator |
Posted By: oskrypuch
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2014 at 9:51pm
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Well, if IFD540 supported RNP (perhaps in a later release), that would be quite a feather in your cap. Do all you need to do now, but don't hold up the release. * Orest |
Posted By: wsh
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2014 at 2:10am
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I would have thought that it would be ready for RNP approaches by design? I understand that we all want our box yesterday, so do I ... Actually I wanted it 2 years ago ... RNP approach certification seems to be coming an issue more and more. I know several private n-reg operators in Europe who are going through a lot of hassle to get some form from the FAA that says that the aircraft and pilot are okay to fly these approaches. A standard 530W apoarently already complies.. So why would this supersophisticated device not comply? A later upgrade?? Then surely for free!! |