SkyView Flies!

Two testbed airplanes recently started flying the Dynon SkyView system!

We've got an RV-6A:



And an RV-8 (WITH tons of left over room! I think this guy might like Dynon just a bit):



Both of these installations are of the 10" screen too!

This is a big milestone for us - we consider it the start of what we call "Alpha" testing, where we shake out the really major performance and functional bugs while we drive towards feature-completeness. Then, at a later date, we'll roll out to a slightly wider audience of handpicked friend-of-the-company with our Beta program.

See you at Oshkosh!

New Dynon Twitter and Facebook pages

We're doing a little experimenting with the latest social media tools. Come follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/Dynon and become a fan of ours on Facebook!

Oshkosh 2009 - Dynon SkyView!

We now have a name for the (formerly known as) Next Generation family of Dynon products. At Airventure 2009 we'll be unveiling the Dynon SkyView!

It only took what seemed like endless sessions of forced pair voting (around the office), customer and pilot polls, and many "spirited" discussions. An interesting statistic is that once we came together on "SkyView", 11 out of 12 pilots preferred it to other leading names in blind comparison taste tests.

So if you'll be in Wisconsin next week, come see the current status of the new SkyView products for yourself! We hope to see you at Oshkosh, in Building D, Booths 4053 & 4054.

We have actual working hardware to give you an idea of what's coming...soon!

If you can't come see it in person, read all about it on our Website, where we have updated information including mechanical specifications. You can find the new information at www.DynonSkyView.com

Pricing is still TBD - we'll probably hold that close to the vest until we're closer to release.

Sheriffs Fly Dynon

Dale County Sheriff's Department will soon "Fly Dynon". They are purchasing six EFIS-D10A electronic flight information systems to equip their fleet of three helicopters. Each aircraft will sport a stack of two EFIS displays in place of the original attitude indicator and directional gyros. Tim McDonald, creator and head of the Sheriff's Aviation Department, reports he selected Dynon in part because the installation will allow the elimination of an A/C converter necessary to power the original gyros. But Tim and his pilots are also looking forward to the increased capability and vastly improved informational displays afforded by the glass panels devices.

Tim chose to install two of the 4" EFIS displays so that one can continuously present a primary flight display while the other offers a permanent HSI display. With the simple low-cost upgrade, each aircraft will be equipped with complete redundancy of not only its primary flight display, but also the flight data sensors (AHRS) which drive the displays. Internal backup batteries in each EFIS display will add yet another level of redundancy.

Just as important to Tim is the Dynon's capability to calculate and display wind vectors on both flight displays based on an integrated GPS signal from the avionics stack. He points out that wind vector information will be an invaluable aid to safety and situational awareness to pilots conducting off-airport landings and low-level operations.

Because law enforcement aircraft fly under rules governing "Public Aircraft", they are free of many of the restrictions imposed by the FAA on the installation of non-certified, non-TSO'd equipment in their aircraft. As a result, these public service aircraft can be equipped with the very latest glass panel technology, enhancing safety, system redundancy and mission capability all at a cost to public agencies that is just a fraction of the cost of a typical certified glass panel display.

Dale County Sheriff's department is not the first law enforcement agency in their state to select Dynon equipment. Tim reports that the Alabama State Troopers and Morgan County Sheriff's Department are also flying Dynon EFIS displays.

Dynon in the Rocky Mountains

Hello, Rocky Mountain pilots:

Visit me at our booth at the Colorado sport International Air Show and Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-in, at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), 22-23 August 2009 (http://www.cosportaviation.org/index.htm). I'll be giving a forum titled: "Glass Panels: Sexy or Practical?" Date and times for the forums are yet to be announced.

For those of you on the west side of the Rockies, I'll be in Caldwell Idaho the two days prior to that airshow, giving a presentation in the shop/hangar of Maule Mods, at Caldwell Airport about 20 miles west of Boise. Time of the presentation is 6:30-8:00pm. Contact Johan at Maule Mods to inquire about the presentation and to find out what Maule Mods is all about! (Johan Pieterse, http://www.MauleMods.com)

Kirk Kleinholz - Sales Account Manager, Dynon Avionics

Dynon Welcomes Kirk Kleinholz as Sales Account Manager

While many companies are shutting down or laying people off, we're fortunate enough to be able to hire some new faces to help fuel our growth.

Kirk Kleinholz is joining Dynon to help with our marketing efforts as Sales Account Manager. Where you'll see his impact is at many of the smaller, more regional fly-ins and events that we haven't had the ability to send anyone to before.

Kirk is a Private Pilot, CFII and Commercial, loves Maules, and isn't at all bashful about asking you for a ride in your airplane. He also sports the only haircut worth having (in my opinion):



If you have an event that you think Dynon and Kirk should consider attending, please email us at marketing at dynonavionics.com.

New 5.1 Firmware Adds IMC Reliability and Autopilot Features - May 2009

New! Dynon Software Improves IMC Reliability for Rock-Solid IFR Performance

 Dynon Avionics, Inc. today announces immediate availability of software version 5.1.

Woodinville, WA, USA, May 26, 2009 - Dynon Avionics, Inc. today announced the release of new software version 5.1 for their EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System) and EMS (Engine Monitoring System) products. This software upgrade is available free to all existing EFIS-D10A, EFIS-D100, FlightDEK-D180, EMS-D10, and EMS-D120 customers and will ship with new instruments.

IMPROVED ATTITUDE RELIABILITY

Dynon Avionics EFISs are installed in thousands of aircraft and are used in everything from VFR-equipped Cub replicas to technically advanced aircraft capable of “hard” IFR. With this latest software update, the ADAHRS (Air Data, Attitude, Heading Reference System) inside every Dynon EFIS receives a significant and free performance upgrade with the ability to provide a reliable artificial horizon even when major systems in the aircraft have failed.

Dynon’s ADAHRS has previously required a valid airspeed reading through connections to the pitot/static system in order to maintain an accurate attitude in all flight regimes. Airspeed data gives Dynon’s products class-leading performance, allowing its attitude indicator to recover in ways most others can not. For example, Dynon EFIS systems can be powered up or rebooted in-flight and provide accurate attitude indication within seconds of coming online. Additionally, even after aggressive aerobatics at extreme rates, the attitude indication on a Dynon EFIS system automatically returns to full capability seconds after the aircraft is returned to lower rate, coordinated flight. These capabilities are automatic and require no pilot input whatsoever.

Historically, the attitude indication provided by a Dynon EFIS would become less accurate if airspeed became unavailable to the system. Though such a failure is extremely unlikely (especially when an IFR-equipped aircraft is equipped with a heated pitot), Dynon has endeavored to make its products as robust as possible when faced with system failures.

When a Dynon Avionics EFIS is upgraded to version 5.1 and has a GPS connected to it, GPS ground speed can be automatically substituted for airspeed when the EFIS detects that the airspeed indication has failed (usually because of an iced, blocked, or otherwise disconnected pitot). When this happens, the EFIS annunciates that its attitude indication is in a “GPS Assist” mode. The EFIS display also shows GPS ground speed next to the failed airspeed indication to help the pilot maintain situational awareness. Most importantly, when in GPS Assist mode, the attitude provided by Dynon EFIS systems continues to be accurate.

ADDITIONAL AUTOPILOT CAPABILITY

With the 5.1 update, Dynon’s recently-released autopilot also receives enhanced IFR capability:

True Preselects

When a Dynon Autopilot is configured with the optional panel-mounted AP74 Dedicated Autopilot Interface Module, pilots can configure the way that that the autopilot engages to enable true preselecting of magnetic heading, GPS ground track, or Altitude targets before the autopilot is engaged. This allows pilots to pre-set their direction and altitude targets in anticipation of ATC clearances, reducing workload in IFR flight.

VOR / Localizer Autopilot Tracking

The Dynon Autopilot can now fly VORs and the localizer (lateral) component of ILS approaches! With this added capability - formerly only available on autopilots costing many thousands more - Dynon once again redefines the Autopilot price / performance equation.

GPS Steering

When paired with a capable IFR GPS unit (such as the popular Garmin 430/530 series) and Dynon’s HS34 HSI expansion module, GPS steering (GPSS) commands are now followed by the Dynon Autopilot when available. GPS Steering commands allow the Dynon Autopilot to benefit from the advanced navigation features available in modern IFR GPSs. One of the popular features this enables is the ability for the Autopilot to “cut the corner” when approaching waypoints instead of first overflying them before turning.

About Dynon Avionics

Founded in 2000, Dynon Avionics is the leading manufacturer of avionics for Experimental and Light Sport Aircraft. Continuing a tradition started with the introduction of their first Electronic Flight Information System “glass panel”, Dynon is committed to developing innovative and high-quality avionics at affordable prices for all pilots.

For more information about Dynon Avionics Inc., please contact Robert Hamilton, Sales and Marketing Manager, at 425-402-0433 or info@dynonavionics.com.

Note to editors:  High-resolution images are available on our website. 

Visit Dynon Avionics on the Web at www.DynonAvionics.com.