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The World of Avionics

It all started with rough runways.

In our Pilatus PC-6s, the mechanical KG-102 gyro driving the EHSI was mounted on an avionics rack in the tail. Every landing on interior airstrips was subjecting these gyros to a beating they weren’t designed for. We were averaging approximately 1,000 hours between failures and a $3,000 repair or overhaul bill. (Sometimes pieces of the gyro would literally fall out when the case was opened!)

So we started looking for something without any moving parts. That search led us to the Sandel SG-102, a solid-state laser gyro that JAARS installed in our third PC-6 when it was refitted for field service in Waxhaw, N.C. We were very happy with that unit until something better came along.

That something better was the Aspen EFD-1000. This “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” design replaces our current four-component installation, worth $34,000, with a simple-to-install two-component AHRS-driven system for $10,000. A huge draw was the fact that at that price, we could afford to stock a spare unit, greatly increasing our dispatchability. The Aspen consists of a panel-mounted Electronic Flight Display (right) and a fuselage-mounted Remote Sensing Module (size and shape of a GPS antenna).

If the Aspen had simply duplicated our existing system, we would have been happy, but as with any modern “glass panel” unit, the Aspen brings numerous additional features over our previous legacy installation. Some key features are:

  1. A backup battery provides standby power for 30 minutes in the event of a complete electrical failure.
  2. The unit comes with a built-in standby GPS that will also supply emergency navigational guidance in the event of a total loss of electrical power.
  3. There are airspeed and altitude tapes (with altitude alerter) overlaid on the attitude indicator.
  4. It has minimums alert for instrument approaches.

YAJASI's* top-notch avionics team, Henry Moore, Zeth Nabyal and Sam Marlowe, completed our first Aspen installation on PK-UCI in December 2009. The guys really like the unit, are pleased with the build quality, and are happy with the support they have received from Aspen. The ease of installation was a real plus: the EFD-1000 fits directly into the middle two “six-pack” holes in a standard panel, so there is no need to modify the panel.

The pilots are also smiling. After completing a training session and written test, we required them to complete two VFR flights before flying the Aspen in IFR conditions. We’re planning on installing the Aspen EFD-1000 in the remaining two PC-6s during inspections in the first half of 2010.

So far, so good—and no signs that the Aspen is allergic to rough runways!

JAARS will be installing the Aspen EFD-1000 in the Soloy Cessna 207. Additionally, our repair station is now an Aspen dealer.

* YAJASI is our aviation partner in Indonesia.

—Nate Gordon and his wife, Sheri, have served with YAJASI in Papua, Indonesia, since 1997.

Read more from Nate in "The End is Never the End."



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